Beef Coney Sauce Recipes

KEN'S FAMOUS CONEY SAUCE

Steps:

• Over medium heat combine the tomato puree, sugar and one-half of the chili powder.
• Brown the hamburger in a large skillet, crumbling it with a spatula while cooking.
• Once the hamburger is browned evenly, reduce the heat to medium low.
• Now comes the first of two critical steps in making a great coney sauce. The hamburger needs to be crumbled into extremely fine particles; the finer the better.
• Pampered Chef makes a tool for chopping hamburger into fine particles that I use. It requires a lot of effort and time but I cannot overstress the importance of getting the hamburger particles as small as you can.
• I have been tempted to put the cooked hamburger into a food processor but I am not sure if a food processor is appropriate for use on meat. I usually move small amounts of hamburger to the center of the skillet and take out my frustrations on it with my Pampered Chef tool adding the hamburger to the sauce as I go.
• While I am cooking the hamburger, I slowly add the rest of the chili sauce a little at a time. This is the second of two critical steps. It is important to get a balance between the sweetness of the sugar and the tang of the chili sauce.
• For a sauce to be truly good you should be able to taste both the sweet and tangy at the same time with neither overpowering the other. You should have a lingering taste of chili with just a hint of sweetness. It is important to frequently taste the sauce, as balance is critical.
• After making it for many years you will be able to pretty much tell how far along the sauce is by the color; the sauce will start to take on a rich dark red color from the dark chili powder when you are nearing completion.
• All this sounds like a lot of work, and it is. But the outcome is worth it. Rest assured that if you follow my directions you will be treated with a sauce that some day will come to be known as Sam's, Jane's or maybe if your name happens to be Richard - Dick's Famous Coney Sauce.

FLINT'S ORIGINAL CONEY ISLAND

Steps:

• Mix all ingredients in a heavy pan and cook over med to low heat until mixture cooks and becomes dry and crumbly.
• If it seems too wet or greasy, add a few crumbled saltine crackers.
• Best if made a day ahead and reheated in a frying pan.
• Freezes well.
• Note: I grind my hot dogs up in a blender with a little water.
• I also chop the onions using my blender with water.

PORT HURON-STYLE CONEY SAUCE

Steps:

• Combine the ground chuck, chili powder, cinnamon, paprika, pepper, onion powder, garlic powder, cumin, cayenne pepper, allspice, mustard, beef base, and 1 cup water in a large saucepan over medium-high heat; use a potato masher to break up the beef and mix the rest of the ingredients through the beef; bring to a simmer; reduce heat to medium-low and continue to simmer 2 to 3 hours, adding water occasionally to keep the mixture moist. Once the mixture is softened, stir in the crushed crackers to thicken.

GORDY'S CONEY RECIPE

Steps:

• For the coney sauce: In a large pan, brown the ground beef, then discard excess grease. Add beef to a stockpot or crockpot and set to low heat. Add chili powder, salt, pepper, garlic and onion powders, paprika, cayenne and 1 cup water to the pot and mix together. Cook on low, stirring occasionally and stirring in more water 1/4 cup at a time as necessary, until you achieve your desired consistency, 4 to 6 hours.
• For the coney: Heat the oil in a deep-fryer to 375 degrees F or heat a grill to 425 degrees F. Cook the wiener until the natural casing gives you a nice "snap."
• Apply yellow mustard to the inside of the hot dog bun. Add wiener to the bun. Add coney sauce and top with onions.

CHILI STYLE CONEY SAUCE

Steps:

• Stir lean ground beef, water, tomato sauce, chili seasoning mix, yellow mustard, onion powder, and garlic powder together in a large saucepan; bring to a boil, stirring often. Cover, reduce heat to low, and simmer until ground beef is no longer pink, about 10 minutes.
• Remove lid and simmer sauce until thickened, about 20 more minutes.

OLD-FASHIONED CONEY HOT DOG SAUCE

Steps:

• Prepare campfire or grill for medium-high heat. In a Dutch oven, cook beef over campfire 8-10 minutes or until no longer pink, breaking into crumbles. Stir in remaining ingredients; bring to a boil. Move Dutch oven to indirect heat. Cook, uncovered, 20-25 minutes or until thickened, stirring occasionally. Freeze option: Freeze cooled meat mixture in freezer containers. To use, partially thaw in refrigerator overnight. Heat through in a saucepan, stirring occasionally and adding a little water if necessary.

COPYCAT LAFAYETTE CONEY ISLAND HOT DOG CHILI SAUCE DETROIT STYLE

Steps:

• In a large preheated pot, add lard (shortening), ground round, and cow heart (hotdogs), and simmer on medium heat until it seperates and browns. This mixture must be stirred regularly and mashed with a potato masher during process to create a kind of rough paste. Drain, but reserve the rendered fat and set aside for next step (yes, authentic Detroit style is kinda greasy).
• In a cast iron skillet on medium-high heat, add the rendered fat. Slowly, add cracker crumbs 1 spoonful at a time, stirring contstantly to make a roux. It should be a paste consistency but still able to flow, so add additional fat (butter or shortening) or more crackers, if needed, and continue stirring until it turns a nice woody brown.
• Add the roux to the meat pot along with chicken stock and simmer for 20 minutes at a slight boil, then add all remaining ingredients, and stir until mixed. Cover the pot and simmer for at least 3-hours (longer the better) stirring occassionally so it doesn't burn on bottom, adding water as necessary for proper consistency.
• Take out 1/3 of the mixture and put it in a blender and puree until smooth, then pour it back into the pot. Continue simmering, uncovered, for another hour, stirring occassionally so it doesn't burn on bottom, adding water if too thick or more roux if too thin, as necessary for proper consistency.
• When putting the sauce on your hot dog, the dogs must be grilled on a griddle or a cast iron skillet on medium low with a small amount of butter and vegetable oil. Constant turning of dogs is a must and they must never split open. You will be looking for a consistant light brown color with a darker line of brown on 2 sides. If dogs are straight they can be rolled back and forth regularily to insure even cooking with a large hamburger flipper. If curved use kitchen tongs and adjust next to the other dogs. NEVER BOIL A HOTDOG!
• Steaming buns is the best way in a home enviorment a chinese steamer basket works well or you can wrap them in paper towells and microwave 3 at a time on high for about 20 seconds. Open bun place dog spread slightly thinned yellow mustard over dog. Cover with Coney sauce then top with onions. Additional mustard may be added, however, cheese or KETCHUP is never allowed; lets leave that to the people in ohio, ok?

AWESOME CONEY SAUCE

Steps:

• 1. Chef's Note: There are two secrets to the traditional sauce: a minimum of ingredients, and the cut of the ground beef. As one vendor I talked to on Coney Island said to me: If you want to add extra onions, mustard, beans, whatever... Go for it, but the sauce is the sauce, pure and simple (a man of few words). In truth, keeping the ingredients to a minimum makes this an ideal sauce for a variety of things: For example, it's an excellent sauce for a chili/cheese burger.
• 2. Start by finely chopping the onions. Chef's Tip: The easiest way to do this is to use the large holes on a box grater. In addition, when you grate an onion, it will release a lot of moisture from the ruptured cell walls, and I usually pick up some of that excess liquid by laying the grated onion on a few sheets of paper towels.
• 3. Have your other ingredients close at hand.
• 4. Add the cold water (or stock) to a skillet, and then add the grated onions, and the ground beef. Chef's Note: This ground sirloin is not your typical grind... it's called a triple grind by your butcher. What I usually do is take regular grind and put it into my food processer for a couple of spins. The result is a very finely ground beef, and that is one of the secrets of this sauce.
• 5. Chef's Historical Note: According to the historical record, the recipe used ground beef heart, which is then ground to a consistency of fine-ground beef... not ground sirloin.
• 6. Simmer the onion and beef over medium-to-medium-high heat until thoroughly cooked, and the onions are soft, about15 minutes.
• 7. Add the remaining ingredients, and slow simmer, uncovered, until it thickens, about 2 to 3 hours. Chef's Tip: I like Maxine's chili powder, but it's hot, so I usually use only 4 tablespoons. Actually, the chili powder will really make this sauce... Chef's Note: If it begins drying out, add a bit of water, or broth.
• 8. Chef's Tip: If you are using beef stock, as opposed to plain water, then you might want to leave out the additional salt.
• 9. Well, that's about it... get yourself a dog or two, and have at it. What are you waiting for...
• 10. One more thing: If you are a purest, and you want the "real" experience, then you need the right hotdog, and that's from the Koegel Meat Company in Flint, Michigan. Keep the faith, and keep cooking...