Hot Dog chili…

With all the chili talk, I figured I would add this to the mix.

I’ve loved chili dogs since I was little, and there were several pool rooms in my area which had some great ones.

I’m disappointed when I order a chili dawg, and the sauce is like something that should be served in a bowl. I like it when it is almost entirely meat… crumbly with just enough liquid to hold it together.

When I started trying to figure out a recipe to duplicate what I remembered, I began with one of the copycat recipes from the famous Aiken SC Pool Room. They are pretty easy to find online. Most have ketchup, and I didn’t care for how sweet the chili ended up being.

So I’ve tweaked it for years and this is pretty much what I’ve settled on. Using Cento Double Concentrated Tomato Paste in the tube was a game changer.

You could always add some cayenne pepper for more heat and adjust the seasonings to your taste. This just helps with ratios and method to get the right consistency.

1 lb ground beef
VERY finely chopped white onion (about 1/4 cup or less/more per taste)
1 tablespoon chili powder
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
4 whole garlic cloves
Squirt of anchovy paste or fish sauce
1 tablespoon of yellow mustard
2 skinny tablespoons of Cento Double Concentrated tomato paste
1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
Splash of beer
Few shakes of hot sauce.
Salt to taste

Brown one pound of ground beef. Break up the meat into fine pieces. Try to break it up to almost BB size. If there is a lot of rendered fat, remove some, but not all of it.

Add VERY finely chopped white onions and the whole garlic. Slice the onion dices so small that they almost dissolve when simmering.

Add Splash of beer if you happen to be drinking one. Add a little water and cook at heavy simmer for 5-10 minutes to break up the meat even more. Keep chopping down on the beef with a spatula to break it up.

Only add enough water to allow for a simmer. Keep adding small amounts of water as needed rather than adding too much at the beginning.

Add rest of ingredients and simmer for at least 30 minutes. Add water as needed to get the consistency you want.

Like many dishes, it’s better after a day or two in the fridge. If reheating, you might need to add small amounts of water to loosen it up. I just try to do that sparingly.