The debate still rages in road food circles as to whether the Texas Hot Wiener and the Coney Island Chili Dog are one and the same thing, whether one is just a sad impersonator of the other, or whether they bear no relation to one another whatsoever. But there is one thing (besides the hot dog, of course) that everyone agrees they have in common – deceptive labeling!
The Texas Hot Wiener originated in Patterson, New Jersey, and you'd be hard pressed to find a stand selling them anywhere in the actual State of Texas even to this day. Not "real" Texas Hot Wieners, anyway! And the famous Coney Island Chili Dog (or just "Coney dog," as my mother called them) originated in Michigan, nowhere near Coney Island, New York.
For my mom, serving "Coney dogs" was a clever way of recycling leftovers. As beans were cheaper than meat, even back in the '70s, my mom's chili was always thick with them, usually a mix of dark and light red kidney beans swimming in under-spiced tomato sauce... After a couple of days sitting cold in the fridge, they could always be counted on to find their way back to the table, heated through and poured over boiled hot dogs cradled in squooshy buns, topped with plenty of diced hot white onions…
Now, a real Coney Island wouldn't be caught dead dressed in beans, kidney or otherwise, and you sure as heck wouldn't just boil the dog… But we were small town kids growing up in the Midwest – what did we know? My siblings and I loved Mom's Coney's, and the memory of those hot white onions still haunts me (in a good way) to this day...
I have followed the trail of that delectable memory across literal decades of time and diverse cultural and culinary landscapes in search of Nature's perfect dog-chili-white onion combo. That trail led me from the relatively low rent "Chili Dogs" of my youth (which is a truer description of my mom's espoused "Coney"), to the genuine Coney Island, served with creamy/meaty chili sauce, two hidden stripes of mustard, and, of course, heaps of hot white onions, to the crowning jewel of American hot dog cuisine, the Texas Hot Wiener…
Served here 100% vegan! Enjoy!
Ingredients:
1 package Yves brand "Good Dogs." Yves makes many styles of veggie dog, and they are all vegan, so use what you like the best. The "Good Dogs" are what they sell where I live, and they work great. Any brand of vegan dog should be fine. I just think the flavor of Yves is the best.
3 Tablespoons canola oil
1 12 oz. package Boca burger crumbles
1 medium yellow onion, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
2 cups water
1 6 oz. can tomato paste
2 teaspoons chili powder
2 teaspoons paprika
2 teaspoons cumin
1 teaspoon oregano
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon all spice
1/4 teaspoon cayenne
Salt and pepper to taste
Hot dog buns, lightly toasted
Yellow mustard (see note in the directions, step #11)
1 medium hot white onion, diced
Directions:
1. Heat 2 Tablespoons of the canola oil over medium heat in a large skillet with a lid. Sauté the chopped yellow onion and the minced garlic together, until the onion is translucent, about 10 minutes.
2. Add the Boca crumbles and continue cooking until the crumbles begin to brown.
3. Add the water and tomato paste. Bring to boil.
4. Add the chili powder, paprika, cumin, oregano, cinnamon, all spice, cayenne, and salt and pepper. Cover, lower the heat, and simmer for one hour. Then remove from heat and let cool to a temperature you're comfortable putting in your food processer.
5. Once the sauce has cooled, move it to a blender or food processor, and pulse until the Boca crumbles are broken up into tiny chunks. The goal here is not to puree things, but just to break up the crumbles into very small pieces. No blending leaves an inauthentic chunky chili sauce. Too much blending creates soup. Find the balance! I trust your judgment!
7. Toast the buns and get them ready on plates.
8. With a sharp knife, split the "Good Dogs" lengthwise, being careful not to cut them all the way through. You want to be able to open them along the "hinge" like a book, not create two halves that actually separate.
9. Heat the remaining Tablespoon of canola oil over medium heat in the same skillet you made the sauce in. A little leftover sauce in the bottom is a good thing! Open the hot dogs and fry them flat in the pan, until they begin to brown. Flip them and brown the backsides, too. I find this "flipping" is more easily accomplished using a fork than a spatula, but use what you have. Once cooked, close the dogs and move them to the waiting toasted buns.
10. Pour the chili sauce back into the hot skillet or sauce pan. Crank the burner to high and heat the sauce through as quickly as you can. It's almost time to eat!
11. It is traditional to lay down a fat stripe of yellow mustard on each dog before applying the chili sauce. I recently learned, however, that at least some brands of yellow mustard are not vegan, or even vegetarian (French's in particular)! If you're sure your brand is vegan, then I absolutely recommend following this step. If you're not sure, skip the mustard for now and do some research (and shopping) before you make this recipe again. You won't be disappointed either way. Texas Hot Wieners are fantastic with or without the yellow stuff!
12 Smother the dogs (and the buns, too) with heated chili sauce. Top with a heaping mound of diced, raw hot white onions.
13. Serve with plenty of napkins and a fork for each diner so not a single bite goes to waste. A traditional all-American decadently amazing side to serve with Texas Hot Wieners is "Gravy Fries." I recommend a big plate of Ore Ida brand "fast food fries." Just heat up a can of Campbell's Mushroom Gravy (100% vegan!), and pour on top. YUM!