Written by: Roscoe |  Print this post and share it with your buddies!

Ingredients:

3 lbs ground beef (80/20 seems best here)
1 can tomatoes or tomato sauce (or puree)
1 medium red onion, diced fine
1 red bell pepper (or other sweet bell pepper) diced fine
1 cubanel pepper, diced fine
2 Jalepeno peppers, diced fine
1 fiery red peppers, diced fine (optional)
Olive oil, Worcestershire, Cholula
garlic 4-5 cloves (minced or chopped fine)
Wine (a couple glugs)
chili powder (to taste)
paprika (to taste)
cumin (a few good shakes)
cayenne (at your own risk)
salt and pepper

tangy mustard (the secret ingredient)

The Road to Detroit is Paved With Chili Dogs

Coney Dogs. A staple in Detroit for years and years. Lafayette. American. National. People love ‘em. No one hates ‘em except Roscoe. Yes, you read right, Roscoe hates Coney dogs. But how can that be? We’ve all read Roscoe’s recipes for Chili Cheese Dogs and know how good they are.

That’s The Problem

Roscoe only dislikes bad Coney Dogs. The ones with mediocre hot dogs and greasy chili. So when The Handyman suggested we do Coney Dogs for the final remote broadcast at Ace Hardware this year, Roscoe decided to do it right.

This Ain’t No National Coney Island Chili

Yes, it would be easy to get a frozen brick of that greasy stuff and heat it up and serve it to the masses, and they’d probably like it.

Not On Roscoe’s Watch

No way. So Roscoe decided to come up with a special chili meat sauce that will compliment the dogs and the buns and ACTUALLY TASTE GOOD!

Keep It Simple

Chili can be a complicated process, and every chili chef believes he or she has the secret. And you know what? They all do. But Roscoe wanted to keep this a simple meat sauce to go on a hot dog, so it’s real easy.

Here’s What You Do…

Sautee’ the meat in a pot, adding salt, pepper, Worcestershire, Cholula, paprika and chili powder, some cayenne if you want it hotter. When it’s just done (no need to overcook this, it’s still got a ways to go), DRAIN IT. That’s right, get any and all grease out of the meat. Let it sit while you…

Sautee’ The Veggies

Red onion, red pepper, cubanels, Jalepenos, and a couple of fiery reds, all cooked up in Roscoe’s Trinity: Olive oil, Worcestershire, and Cholula. Season it up with the same stuff you used on the meat, along with some wine (red or white, it doesn’t matter). When this is wilted together and smelling really good, take your hand blender and blend it into a paste.

Add In the Meat

Stir it up, add the tomatoes, keep stirring until it’s all mixed, then take the hand blender again and smooth it out, eliminating any big chunks of anything. When you’ve got the consistency you want, let it simmer and start tasting.

Here’s the Secret Ingredient

Tangy mustard! Not just the yellow kind (although that’s good, too), but find something special, with some sweet tang to it. Stir in a few good dollops (Yes, dollop is an authentic culinary measurement term).

You Won’t Be Able to Stop

Feel free to re-season as you taste, it might need more chili powder and/or paprika. If it seems a little too thick, add some beer (you might even have one in your hand, staving off dehydration). When you’ve got it the way you want it, slather it over your hot dog (mustard if you like) and remember…

Life’s Good, When You’re Cookin’ With Roscoe