Grandpa's hot dog sauce

A meaty and hearty chili sauce is a delicious way to top your summer hot dogs. This recipe is a family favorite and one we look forward to each year.

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Summer means an increase in hot dog consumption, right? Ketchup, mustard, chopped onions, pickle spears, and relish are all terrific toppings for those summertime hot dogs, but sometimes we want something a little heartier and special.

This recipe comes from a piece scrap paper we found in an old cookbook that belonged to my husband's grandparents. We found this "hot dog sauce" recipe with incomplete directions and almost zero ingredient quantities, but I told my husband I'd try to recreate it. We remembered eating it, so we knew what it should taste like and look like when it was finished.

After some playing around, we came up with a pretty solid recreation and everyone who has tried it agrees that it is like Grandpa's recipe. 

Now, this isn't really a "sauce" as you can see from the photos; it's definitely more like a chili. But, sauce is what it has always been called so that's what we will continue to call it.

There are loads of regional sauces and chilis for topping hot dogs, each with their own characteristics and flavors. This chili sauce is not meant to be a restaurant copycat recipe of any kind. It is simply a recipe handed down through our family from the Buffalo, NY area of the U.S. 

This is also why we have Sahlen's hot dogs in the photos. These are the most famous and well-loved hot dog of our region. Hot dog types can be very regional.

The sauce is sweet, tangy, and slightly spiced. We ate ours with an extra addition of chopped onion and extra mustard as well. A bit of shredded sharp cheddar cheese is also a tasty addition as well as some dill pickle spears. It's very customizable.

Serve it on top of your favorite hot dogs and hot dog rolls this summer. You can freeze and reheat leftovers to enjoy another day as well as this makes enough for several hot dogs.

Yield: about 10 servings

Grandpa's Hot Dog Sauce

ingredients:

• 2 teaspoons olive oil
• 1 lb. ground beef
• 1 small sweet onion, finely chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/2 teaspoon chili powder
• 1-1/2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
• 1 tablespoon yellow mustard
• 1/3 cup ketchup
• 1/3 to 1/2 cup water
• salt and pepper, to taste

instructions:

How to cook Grandpa's Hot Dog Sauce

1. In a pot or large saucepan, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Stir in the ground beef, breaking it apart with a wooden spoon. Stir in the onion and a good pinch of salt. Let the beef brown and the onion sweat out, stirring occasionally. When the beef is cooked though, drain the fat, and return the mixture to your pot.
2. Stir in the garlic and cook for about 1 minute. Stir in the remaining ingredients. Let the mixture come to a bubble, and then reduce the heat to a simmer. Continue to cook, stirring occasionally, until the mixture is thickened and all the flavors have had time to come together, about 15-20 minutes. If it starts to stick, add a touch more water.
3. Serve hot on top of you favorite hots dogs and rolls. Feel free to top the sauce with extra mustard, chopped onion, shredded cheddar cheese, dill pickles, and/or a bit of your favorite hot sauce.

Created using The Recipes Generator

I hope your family enjoys this hot dog topping as much as we do! Let me know in the comments below.

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This post was originally published in 2015 and has been updated with a recipe card, new text and more most recently in 2022 to improve reader experience.

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