Chicago-style hot dog

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A Chicago-style hot dog meal at the Bunny Hutch in Lincolnwood, IL

Superdawg Chicago, IL

A Chicago-style hot dog– as served in the U.S. city of Chicago, Illinois and its surrounding suburbs– is a steamed or boiled all-beef, natural-casing hot dog on a poppy seed bun. It is topped with mustard, onion, sweet pickle relish, a dill pickle spear, tomato slices or wedges, sport peppers, and a dash of celery salt [1]; but not ketchup.

1 History and more detailed information
2 In popular culture
3 See also
4 External links
5 External references

[edit] History and more detailed information

The style, once known as a "Depression sandwich," is generally acknowledged as having originated at Fluky's, a well-known Maxwell Street stand, in 1929.

Chicago-style hot dogs are boiled or steamed to a temperature above 170 degrees Fahrenheit (~77 degrees Celsius) before adding the toppings. They can also be grilled, though these are referred to as "chardogs" in Chicagoland. The natural casing of the hot dogs give them their distinctive "snap." The most common dog weighs 1/8 lb. and is made with Vienna Beef.

Chicago-style hot dogs with all the toppings are sometimes called "dragged through the garden" because of the unique combination of condiments. Chicagoans traditionally shun ketchup because of the belief that ketchup, unlike other condiments, overwhelms the flavor of the dog itself.

Some Chicago restaurants choose to associate their publicity solely with the hot dog, even though they serve many other items, including the Maxwell Street Polish, gyros, Italian beef, pork chop sandwiches. The Chicago-style hot dog is ubiquitous so publicity gimmicks are often needed to attract customers to a restaurant. One of these gimmicks is Superdawg's two giant hot dogs (Maurie and Flaurie) on the roof of their building.

[edit] In popular culture

On an episode ("Nighthawks") of the television show Dead Like Me, Rube, the character played by Mandy Patinkin, describes in detail a Chicago-style hot dog. He contrasts it with a New York-style hot dog in an effort to illustrate how death in Chicago is different than death in any other place.

In an episode ("Brennan") of the show Matlock, Ben is told how to make a Chicago-style hot dog, which he proclaims is the best hot dog he has ever eaten.