Happy Fourth of July Weekend! Welcome to Kelly’s Kitchen. As we wrap up the holiday weekend, I’d like to share one of the most iconic American dishes: the classic Chicago-style Hot Dog. I love a Chicago Dog for many reasons, so many flavors mingling together to create a handheld meal of perfect bites. Beefy hot dog flavor with a soft poppyseed bun, spiked with juicy tomato slices, sweet relish, sharp dill pickle, spicy sport peppers, crunchy white onion, classic yellow mustard, and of course, celery salt for a vegetal finish. But it’s not just the flavors that make a classic Chicago Dog so special; it’s also the look of it! So let’s get to it!
Classic Chicago-Style Hot Dog Ingredients
Chicago Dogs are super simple to make, but they do require a few special ingredients to make them a true Chicago Dog. Number one is the neon green sweet relish. Number two is the sport peppers. Four is the celery salt. And number five is the poppy seed bun. You have to have an all-beef hot dog, too. And yellow mustard. NEVER KETCHUP.
Diced onions, tomato slices, and dill pickle spears are easy pantry staples. All-beef dogs are easy to find, but I did have some trouble finding poppy-seed buns. I got lucky at my third grocery store stop with “everything” buns. Maybe not traditional, but it’ll work in a pinch. You can buy the Sport Peppers and the Neon Green Relish on Amazon, like I did.
- Poppyseed Hot Dog Buns (or regular hot dog buns)
- All Beef Hot Dogs, like Hebrew National
- Ripe Tomato Slices, halved
- Dill Pickle Spears, halved lengthwise
- Classic Yellow Mustard
- Neon Green Sweet Pickle Relish, like Vienna (or regular sweet pickle relish)
- Diced White Onion
- Celery Salt
- Sport Peppers, like Marconi (or pepperoncini peppers)
How to Prepare a Classic Chicago-Style Hot Dog
Step 1
Traditionally, Chicago-style hot dogs are boiled, not grilled. But if you’re grilling out, go ahead and throw them on the grill! Boil the dogs for about 4-5 minutes just until they’re heated through. I like to use tongs to pull them out of the hot dog water and set them on a paper towel to dry off. Let’s build our dogs!
Step 2
Lay a dog in a bun and then, on one side, place a halved slice of tomato. On the other side of the dog, lay the pickle spear, cut side down. I halved one pickle spear so it’s not too thick.
Step 3
Drizzle a zigzag of mustard, then add the neon green relish on the tomato side of the hot dog. Sprinkle on the diced onions.
Step 4
Now we’re ready for the celery salt; sprinkle a pinch of celery salt over the whole top of the dog and toppings. Lastly, lay two sport peppers over the top. Now that’s a Classic Chicago Dog!
The look of this hot dog is part of what makes it iconic – the neon green relish and the sport peppers are what set it apart. But let’s say you want to make a Chicago Dog today, and you don’t live in the greater Chicago area, where sport peppers and neon green relish are readily available at the grocery store. Let’s talk about substitutions.
For the Neon Green Relish, just use regular sweet pickle relish. For the Sport Peppers, use pepperoncini peppers with the stems sliced off. Can’t find a poppy seed bun, just use a regular hot dog bun. Don’t forget that celery salt, though! It’s usually available in the spice section at most supermarkets.
And that’s a Classic Chicago-style Hot Dog! This is a once-a-year treat for us, since we try to avoid ultra-processed foods. That said, this is one of the most popular recipes on Djalali Cooks, and worth the rare indulgence! So I hope you give it a try! For another classic American dish, try my Main Dish Cobb Salad. Take care, and be well. xo Kelly
Key Ingredients
Classic Chicago Dog
Ingredients:
- Poppyseed Hot Dog Buns or regular hot dog buns
- All Beef Hot Dogs like Hebrew National
- Ripe Tomato Slices halved
- Dill Pickle Spears halved lengthwise
- Classic Yellow Mustard
- Neon Green Sweet Pickle Relish like Vienna (or regular sweet pickle relish)
- Diced White Onion
- Celery Salt
- Sport Peppers like Marconi (or pepperoncini peppers)
Instructions:
- Boil the dogs for about 4-5 minutes just until they’re heated through. Use tongs to pull them out of the hot dog water and set them on a paper towel to dry off.
- Lay a dog in a bun and then, on one side, place a halved slice of tomato.
- On the other side of the dog, lay the pickle spear, cut side down.
- Drizzle a zigzag of mustard, then add the neon green relish on the tomato side of the hot dog.
- Sprinkle on the diced onions.
- Sprinkle a pinch of celery salt over the whole top of the dog and toppings.
- Lastly, lay two sport peppers over the top.
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