Authentic Michigan-Style Coney Dog Sauce
Serve over hot dogs with chopped sweet onions. Just like I always ate growing up in Eastern Michigan (north of Detroit).
Serve over hot dogs with chopped sweet onions. Just like I always ate growing up in Eastern Michigan (north of Detroit).
- 1/2 cup water
- 1/4 cup ketchup
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 tablespoon chili powder
- 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
- 1 teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1 tablespoon paprika
- 2 lbs. ground beef lean
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cayenne pepper
- 1 tablespoon yellow mustard
- 1 tablespoon beef bullion powder or a cube
- 1/4 cup ritz crackers or similar (approximate)
- dash salt to taste
- Carbohydrate 8.21372787321453 g
- Cholesterol 77.1557029 mg
- Fat 19.0035156001957 g
- Fiber 1.19386917461134 g
- Protein 22.1516497955095 g
- Saturated Fat 7.10329058749126 g
- Serving Size 1 1 Serving (148g)
- Sodium 343.347146349222 mg
- Sugar 7.01985869860319 g
- Trans Fat 2.52420945108994 g
- Calories 295 calories
Step-by-step
- In a large sauce pan brown the ground beef over medium heat, then drain the grease.
- While the beef is browning mix all the spices together in a small bowl.
- Put the ritz crackers in the food processor (approximately 6-8 crackers) and pulverize.
- Set aside.
- Then add the drained ground beef to the food processor and pulse it a few times.
- You want the meat to be very finely diced and smooth.
- Return the meat to the pan, add the spice mix to the drained ground beef.
- Heat on medium stirring for about 2 minutes until you can smell the fragrant spices.
- Then add mustard, ketchup, beef bullion, and water.
- Reduce heat to low and simmer slowly, covered for about 2 hours.
- Stir occasionally and add water to keep the mixture moist.
- Stir in the crushed crackers to thicken the mixture about half an hour before serving.
- Serve over hot dogs (in buns) with finely chopped sweet onions.
Operating under a two-hour simmer constraint requires precise liquid management, particularly when altering batch sizes. Doubling the two pounds of lean ground beef demands more than a simple multiplication of the water and ketchup, because evaporation rates change in wider cookware. Pulverizing cooked beef in a food processor yields the characteristic smooth, paste-like texture unique to this regional style, but overloading the processor motor creates uneven chunks instead of the necessary fine granules. Combining the ground spices prior to meat contact ensures the cinnamon and allspice distribute evenly through dense proteins without forming bitter pockets. Crushed Ritz crackers function as a starch thickener introduced thirty minutes before serving, absorbing excess rendering fats while maintaining the savory profile established by the beef bouillon powder. Swapping crackers for standard breadcrumbs changes the moisture absorption rate and yields a denser, less velvety consistency. Substituting the beef bouillon with liquid stock dilutes the intense reduction needed over that 120-minute cook time, altering the final salt concentration and sauce viscosity.
