Recipes » Nontraditional hot dog sauce

For one reason or another, I added bacon to a basic hot dog sauce I’d been making. Then some red wine. And weird spices I never thought went in any kind of hot dog sauce. Typical effects of the 2020 lockdown. But damn was it good.

Author: Seth Price
Category: Condiment
Date published: 21 April 2019

Prep time: 10 minutes
Cook time: 1 hour
Yield: Enough for 10–20 hot dogs

Ingredients

  • 500g (1lb) ground lean beef
  • 50g (2oz) bacon, coarsely diced
  • 1 large onion, finely minced
  • Splash of dry red wine
  • 2T chili powder
  • Dash garlic powder
  • Large pinch sodium citrate (optional emulsifier)
  • Pinch cumin
  • Pinch cayenne pepper
  • Pinch ground allspice
  • Small pinch ground cinnamon
  • Small pinch ground cardamom
  • Small pinch ground oregano
  • Small pinch grated nutmeg
  • Very small pinch ground cloves
  • ½ #2 can crushed tomatoes
  • 2T dijon mustard
  • Small squidge molasses
  • Dash Worcestershire sauce
  • 2 cloves garlic, finely minced
  • Zest of half an orange
  • Salt to taste

Directions

  1. Place bacon bits in a pan in a cold oven. Turn to 200°C (400°F, gas mark 6) and bake till nice and crispy, shuffling around occasionally. Set aside.
  2. Fry meat over moderately high flame in a sufficiently sized heavy-bottom pot, breaking down to a fine texture with a wooden spoon, till expelled juices have evaporated and meat is well-brown. Drain fat. (Be careful not to burn the fond after this point.)
  3. Add bacon, bacon fat and onions. Cook till onion sweats. Add spices and mix thoroughly, slightly toasting them. Deglaze with a splash of wine. Reduce flame.
  4. Add tomatoes. Stir in mustard and Worcestershire sauce. Add molasses and stir till definitely homogenous.
  5. Bring to a boil, cover, and reduce flame to low to let simmer for about one hour or as long as desired, stirring occasionally to avoid burning. Leave partially uncovered to reduce if texture is too thin, or add water or near the end to thicken if desired.
  6. Add zest and garlic right before serving.