Chicago-Style Hot Dog
An all-beef frank in a steamed poppy seed bun, "dragged through the garden" with seven toppings, and never ketchup.
Vienna Beef says its founders, Emil Reichl and Samuel Ladany, debuted their sausages at the 1893 World's Columbian Exposition (Wikipedia spells it Reichel). The company's archived history says the Chicago style was born with Depression-era street carts that sold a hot meal on a bun for a nickel, with a "salad on top". Fluky's, which brands itself "since 1929", credits Abe "Fluky" Drexler's five-cent "Depression Dog".
🇺🇸 This one is American
An all-beef frank in a steamed poppy seed bun, "dragged through the garden" with seven toppings, and never ketchup.
🇦🇹 The original
In Vienna the same sausage comes in a pair, warmed in water below the boil, with mustard, horseradish and the roll on the side, not around it. See the Frankfurter Würstel with Mustard and a Roll recipe.
Why it works the kitchen science
Steam all round
Steaming keeps the frank juicy and the bun soft and stretchy enough to hold seven toppings without tearing.
A balanced bite
Sweet relish, sharp onion, sour pickle, hot peppers and juicy tomato cut through the salty beef, which is the usual argument for no ketchup.
Step by step
- Step 1
Bring 2 cups of water to a boil in a large pot fitted with a steamer basket, about 5 minutes.
- Step 2
Put the franks in the basket, cover, lower to medium and steam 5 to 7 minutes, until steaming hot (165°F for higher-risk eaters).
- Step 3
Lay the buns on top of the franks and steam uncovered 1 minute, until warm and soft. Work in batches; steamed buns dry out fast.
- Step 4
Put a frank in each bun and run a stripe of mustard down it.
- Step 5
Spoon on the relish, then the onion, so the relish sits between the mustard and the onion.
- Step 6
Tuck 2 tomato wedges along one side and a pickle spear along the other.
- Step 7
Add 2 sport peppers, finish with a pinch of celery salt and serve right away.
Chicago-Style Hot Dog
Serves 4 (2 hot dogs each) · 8 hot dogs · 30 min total
Dogs and buns
- 8 all-beef natural-casing franks (Vienna Beef recommended)
- 8 poppy seed hot dog buns
- 2 cups water, for steaming
The seven toppings
- 8 tsp yellow mustard
- 1/4 cup Chicago-style neon green sweet relish (or sweet relish plus 1 drop blue food colouring per 2 tbsp)
- 1/2 cup finely chopped white onion
- 2 ripe tomatoes, cut into 16 thin wedges (or 8 slices, halved)
- 8 kosher dill pickle spears
- 16 sport peppers (pepperoncini in a pinch)
- Celery salt
Method
- Bring 2 cups of water to a boil in a large pot fitted with a steamer basket, about 5 minutes.
- Put the franks in the basket, cover, lower to medium and steam 5 to 7 minutes, until steaming hot (165°F for higher-risk eaters).
- Lay the buns on top of the franks and steam uncovered 1 minute, until warm and soft. Work in batches; steamed buns dry out fast.
- Put a frank in each bun and run a stripe of mustard down it.
- Spoon on the relish, then the onion, so the relish sits between the mustard and the onion.
- Tuck 2 tomato wedges along one side and a pickle spear along the other.
- Add 2 sport peppers, finish with a pinch of celery salt and serve right away.
Adapted from America's Test Kitchen, "Chicago-Style Hot Dogs" by Jessica Rudolph (2023), doubled from 4 to 8. Heating spec from Vienna Beef. Topping order follows Vienna Beef's own history list and relish page, and we use tomato wedges per Vienna Beef. America's Test Kitchen. Ingredient list follows the source; the method is in our own words.
Tips
- Sport peppers are hard to find outside the Midwest; jarred ones ship well, or use small pepperoncini.
- Wedges tuck against the dog better than diced tomato (Tasting Table).
The rules people argue about
What the sources agree on, what they don't, and what is just a good story.
- No ketchup. Documented (ATK; Wikipedia on Vienna Beef's canonical build). Treat the claim that it is "illegal" in Chicago as Folklore.
- Poppy seed bun, steamed. Documented (NHDSC; Vienna Beef kit).
- Seven toppings, celery salt last, relish between mustard and onion. Documented (Vienna Beef celery salt page; relish page above).
- Pickle before or after tomato. Disputed: Vienna Beef's history lists tomato then pickle, and so does ATK; Fluky's lists pickle then tomato.
- Tomato wedges vs halved slices. Disputed: Vienna Beef says wedges; ATK says halved slices.
- Heating: below the boil vs boiled vs grilled. Disputed: Vienna Beef says 160°F to 180°F water; Fluky's says boiling water or the grill to 170°F.
- "Dragged through the garden" is the standard. The phrase is Documented (Vienna Beef), but Serious Eats' J. Kenji López-Alt says the full garden is "not required, nor even typical", and many stands serve fewer toppings.
Every other hot dog style
Frankfurter Würstel with Mustard and a Roll
Two slim smoked sausages, warmed in hot water that never boils and served in a pair with sharp or sweet mustard, horseradish and a crusty roll on the side.
New York Street Cart Hot Dog
An all-beef frank held in a hot "dirty water" bath, in a steamed bun with sweet red onion sauce, sauerkraut and mustard.
Detroit Coney Island Hot Dog
A natural-casing dog in a soft bun under a fine, beanless meat sauce, a stripe of yellow mustard and a pile of chopped onion.
Sonoran Hot Dog
A bacon-wrapped dog in a soft bolillo split along the top, loaded with pinto beans, tomato, onion, jalapeño salsa, mustard and a zigzag of mayo.
New Jersey Italian Hot Dog
Hot dogs fried in oil with peppers, onions and potato rounds, stuffed into a pocket of round Italian pizza bread over a line of mustard.
DC Half-Smoke
A coarse, smoky pork-and-beef sausage, grilled until browned, in a soft steamed bun with yellow mustard, onion and a scoop of smooth, spicy chili.
Seattle Cream Cheese Dog
A butterflied, griddle-browned dog on a toasted bun spread with cream cheese and piled with golden onions, jalapeños optional.
American Corn Dog
A hot dog on a stick, twirled in a cornmeal and buttermilk batter and fried golden, with a squiggle of yellow mustard.
Chilean Completo Italiano
A long hot dog in a big soft bun, buried under diced tomato, salted mashed avocado and a heavy line of mayonnaise, in the red, green and white of the Italian flag.
Danish Ristet Pølse
A griddle-browned sausage poking out of both ends of a soft bun, striped with ketchup, mustard and remoulade, buried in raw and crispy onions and topped with sweet cucumber.
Korean Corn Dog (Gamja Hotdog)
A hot dog on a stick wrapped in chewy yeast dough, rolled in potato cubes and crumbs, fried and dusted with sugar, then zigzagged with ketchup and mustard.
Coney Island Griddled Dog, Inspired by Nathan's Famous
An all-beef natural-casing frank cooked whole on a flat-top, gently first and hot at the end, for a blistered, snappy skin.
25-Minute Air-Fryer Chili Cheese Dogs
Air-fried franks, a quick skillet chili and melted cheddar, on the table in about 25 minutes.
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