Easy Detroit Style Coney Dog Sauce in 20 Minutes

This recipe for Easy Detroit Style Coney Dog Sauce in 20 Minutes delivers authentic Detroit Style coney sauce flavor using ingredients you can find in any major grocery store. If you grew up in Michigan and have memories of pulling up a seat at the counter of your local Coney Island to enjoy a chili dog with mustard and onions or a side of chili cheese fries, this recipe is for you.

Read on, then gather your ingredients and bring a little taste of the “D” home any time you have a craving for a Detroit Style Coney Dog.

The Magic of the Michigan Coney Island and the Detroit Style Coney Dog

It’s a regional thing. If you’ve ever had a Detroit Style Coney, you know the texture of the meat is fine and loose, the flavor is a unique blend of spices, there are absolutely no beans and no tomato-based products in the sauce. If someone tries to tell you otherwise, you can simply smile a polite smile and disregard.

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Just as Michigan is home to the olive burger, we also have a love-affair with the coney dog. If you’re not familiar with this regional treasure, you’re missing out. For me, when I hear the words, “coney dog”, a very specific list of ingredients comes to mind; a Koegel Vienna, a brioche bun, Detroit style coney sauce, yellow mustard and sweet Spanish onions. A good coney dog was always served at a Coney Island restaurant. The Michigan coney dog culture has its regional differences as well, but for me, I’m a Detroit style coney gal through and through.

If you grew up in Michigan, perhaps you have a memory of Saturday morning breakfasts, tabletop games and the stress of choosing between syrup-drenched pancakes or a coney dog. As a kid, it was never of question of whether or not to get breakfast. I wanted the coney dog every time. For me, the bigger question was if I could get a coney at 10:30 AM.

The magic of the local Coney Island was that the answer was always yes – no matter the question. Breakfast was served any time of the day and Coney Dogs were available at 7:30 AM if you wanted one. Heck, add a side of chili cheese fries while at it. It was the start of the weekend after all.

When I was a kid, Saturday mornings were dedicated to piano lessons at a local music store in downtown Brighton, MI. Around the corner and across the street was a Coney Island diner. I loved everything about that place – the bar stools at the counter, the feel of sliding into a booth – and for whatever reason, whenever my parents took me for either breakfast before or lunch after my lessons it felt like a special treat. I’m sure my piano teacher wished I had ordered the pancakes, because even as a kid I was team mustard and onions on my coney dogs. I must have had the worst onion breath for that hour.

Easy Detroit Style Coney Dog Sauce in 20 Minutes: AKA My White Whale

I’d been working on this recipe on and off for nearly three years and was beginning to think I would never be able to break it down. Developing an easy coney sauce recipe had become a bit of a white whale for me. I was never much of an early American literature fan, and being a Lit major in college made me even less of a fan because it was a required genre. After working on this recipe, I have a little more empathy for Melville’s Captain Ahab. When it comes to this sauce recipe, I can relate to pursuing something to the point of obsession.

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My first attempt at making coney sauce was probably 20 years ago. My brother, who was living abroad at the time, had asked if anyone in the family had a recipe for coney sauce. Thinking it would be a fun challenge to work out a coney sauce recipe, I set to it. It wasn’t particularly good. In fact, it was an epic fail. Honestly, I had no idea what I was doing. Disappointed and dejected, I forgot about the experience, or more likely, I blocked it out.

From that first attempt, all that remains in my memory is the feeling of utter disappointment and so, deep in my memory the details of that effort remained buried. That is, until I decided to give it another go. And then another. Another, and yet another……more accurately 10 more times since the beginning of 2024 to the time of this post.

This coney sauce recipe is the culmination of a lot of research, many small-batch variations, and a plethora of curses as I added chili beans to the pot for many makeshift chili dinners – all of which my husband graciously ate with a side of cornbread and without uttering a single word. Wise man. If chili was on the menu, he knew I had been working on coney sauce again and that it didn’t turn out quite right.

Like Captain Ahab, I sometimes have a hard time letting go of something once it gets into my head. Such is the tale of this sauce. Over the years, I’ve done a fair amount of research on Detroit coney sauce recipes, but they all called for offal of various sorts or made enough to serve a battalion of coney dog lovers. They all contained an unfathomable amount of fat, and usually in the form of beef suet or lard. Although I have a great deal of respect for any chef or home cook committed to zero waste cooking, I know using, much less finding certain ingredients at the store can be challenging.

Preserving the Flavor of a Classic While Making it More Accessible to Today’s Home Cooks

Unless you’re cooking for a Coney Island restaurant, you probably don’t need a 5-lb. bucket of coney sauce. I paused after writing this sentence because I really love coney dogs, but the truth is, I can’t envision a time when I would ever need a 5-lb. bucket of sauce either. While developing this recipe, I was focused on using everyday ingredients, lightening it up a bit without losing that silky mouth feel, and of course, it had to taste like a real Detroit coney.

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For example, instead of using beef organ meat as a component of the meat mixture called for in several traditional variations I found, this version calls for using one hot dog to get a similar flavor. The hot dog is ground up in a food processor until it resembles a paste, and it is this texture that helps lend body to the sauce as well.

Lowering the fat content while preserving the silky feel of the sauce was another consideration during the development stage. Some recipes I encountered contained as much as 50 percent fat. This made for a luscious sauce when warm, but if the sauce became too hot, the fat would break out into an oily mess. Too cold, and the sauce felt like a spoonful of lard on the tongue. Reducing the fat content without compromising flavor or texture was something I tested and rested over and over again.

Getting the sauce to the right consistency was also a challenge. In early, fat-forward versions, I relied on the fat content to serve as the thickener for the sauce, but for the same reasons mentioned earlier, I abandoned this approach. In my research, some recipes called for building a traditional roux of flour and either butter or rendered fat to thicken the sauce. I found the flour versions to be stodgy and I didn’t like the flavor butter imparted. One recipe I found used crushed bread crumbs to thicken the sauce.

In this recipe for Easy Detroit Style Coney Dog Sauce, I call for grinding saltine crackers into a fine crumb. I find they have the most neutral flavor of the thickeners I tested.

The cracker dust is then combined with 1/3 cup of rendered fat and the spices to create a thick paste. After the paste has cooked for 2 minutes and the spices have bloomed, hot chicken stock is added to the mixture and whisked until a silky sauce emerges. The meat is added back into the mixture to simmer for another minute. The sauce is ready to serve immediately, but the flavor is really best when served the next day after it has had a chance to marry and mellow.

I’ll also add here that the freshness of your spices matter. If your spices are more than 1 year old, they won’t deliver the same flavor as fresh. If they’ve turned rancid, they will ruin a good sauce. Go ahead and give your spice cupboard a refresh. Also, don’t be tempted to leave out the cloves. It’s a small amount, but the difference is note worthy.

The Details Are In the Steps

There are three distinct steps to this Detroit Coney Sauce Recipe:

1. Cooking the meat. The hamburger and ground hot dog are cooked in one cup of water and 1 Tbsp. of original Crisco. This technique produces the signature loose crumb of a good coney sauce.
2. Blooming the spices and creating a roux. Into the rendered fat that was created in Step. 1, the crushed saltines and spices are added to create the roux that thickens the sauce. This step also allows the spices to bloom and become more flavorful.
3. Finishing the sauce. The third and final stage of this recipe calls for first adding the stock to the roux, followed by the meat. Finish with a touch of yellow mustard and salt and you’re ready to serve.

The Best Combination of Fixings for the Perfect Dog

Details matter. The best coney sauce recipe is only as good as the ingredients used and the combination of fixings served with it.

First, find a good brioche bun. The sweetness of the dough is a nice compliment to the spices in the sauce. Second, build your base with a good hot dog. Koegel brand Vienna’s are a Michigan-based company that uses natural casings. They’re also my favorite. If you can’t find Koegel hot dogs in your area, ask your grocer to recommend a local brand that’s comparable.

The third supporting character that makes this Easy Detroit Style Coney Dog Sauce shine is good old-fashioned yellow mustard. Save the fancy stuff for something else. A coney dog needs yellow mustard. The fourth and final topping for the ultimate coney dog is a generous portion of diced sweet Spanish onions. Other onions are too sharp and will overpower the sauce. Sweet Spanish onions work with, not against this sauce.

When and Where to Serve This Michigan Classic

This small batch recipe yields 1 1/2 cups of sauce – enough to generously top 8 hot dogs. However, if you need to serve a larger group, this recipe can be easily doubled. Stored in an airtight container, the sauce will keep for up to two months in the freezer.

Because this recipe comes together so quickly and can be made a day in advance, it’s a great addition to any summer backyard BBQ, game day tailgate or homegate party. If you’re a Michigander who now lives somewhere else and you’re feeling a bit nostalgic, it’s a good recipe to make anytime you want a taste of home.

Me? You’ll find me making these Detroit style dogs in the fall when football season is in full swing again. GO LIONS!

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Blessings & enjoy!

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Easy Detroit Style Coney Dog Sauce in 20 Minutes

Recipe by Maria Ostrander Course: SidesCuisine: AmericanDifficulty: Easy

Servings

8

servings

Prep time

20

minutes

Cooking time

13

minutes

Bring a little taste of the “D” home any time you have a taste for a Detroit Style Coney Dog.

Ingredients

• For the meat mixture

• 1/2 lb. ground hamburger 85/15, not a leaner blend.

• 1 beef hotdog, ground into a paste (I recommend Koegel Viennas)

• 1 cup cold water

• 1 Tbsp. Crisco

• For the spice blend

• 1/2 tsp. chili powder

• 1 1/2 tsp. Hungarian paprika

• 1/2 tsp. ground turmeric

• 1/4 tsp. ground cumin

• 1/2 tsp. garlic powder

• 1/2 tsp. onion powder

• 1/4 tsp. ground black pepper

• 1/16 tsp. ground cloves

• For finishing the sauce

• 5 saltine crackers crushed into a powder

• 1 cup regular chicken stock, hot (not broth)

• 1 1/2 tsp. yellow mustard

• salt to taste

Directions

• Prepare the meat mixture
• In a 5-quart sauce pan, combine 1 cup of water, 1 Tbsp. of Crisco, the ground hamburger and pureed hotdog.
• Bring to a gentle boil over medium heat. Using a spoon, break up the hamburger and stir to incorporate the hotdog paste with the hamburger meat. Continue to cook for 7-10 minutes, stirring occasionally until the water has completely cooked off and only the rendered fat remains.
• Remove the meat mixture from the heat. Strain the meat and reserve 1/3 cup of the rendered fat. If you are shy of 1/3 cup, add a little Crisco to make up the difference.
• Set aside the meat mixture.
• Bloom the spices and create a roux
• Using the same pot the meat was cooked in, combine the spices, crushed crackers and the reserved 1/3 cup of rendered fat. Over medium-low heat, stir the ingredients until a thick paste forms. Cook for approximately 2 minutes.
• Finish the sauce
• Gradually stir in 1 cup of hot chicken stock to the roux. Use a whisk to break up any clumps.
• Increase the heat to medium and add the meat and mustard to the sauce. Continue to cook for 2 minutes more.
• Season with salt to taste (approximately 1/16 – 1/8 tsp. depending on the size of the granule and freshness of your salt).
• Serve and enjoy!

Notes

• Can I use a leaner meat and skip the Crisco? No. The rendered fat yields approximately 1/3 cup liquid, which is used to build the roux that thickens the sauce in step 2. In addition to building the roux, the fat gives this recipes the familiar textural feel of a traditional coney dog.
• I need this coney sauce for a larger group. Can this recipe be doubled? Frozen? Absolutely! Stored in an airtight container, this sauce will keep for up to two months in the freezer.
• IMPORTANT NOTE. Make sure your spices are fresh. If your spices are more than 1 year old, they won’t deliver the same flavor as fresh, and they can even go rancid and ruin a good sauce. Go ahead and give your spice cupboard a refresh.