The Official Unofficial Best Hot Dog Style Rankings
Hot dogs are a delicious delicacy if you can look past the whole idea of what they may or may not be made of. The hot dog may not be an American tradition, that started here, but they’re so important to our summer BBQs that they get their own day on the National Day Calendar. What you are about to read is the official unofficial best hot dog style rankings. Let’s be perfectly clear if you’re hot dog is not all beef, just stop reading now. All beef is king. You can put whatever you like on it, but it has to be an all-beef dog.
1. Plain Old Grilled All-Beef Hot Dog
You can’t go wrong with the best style of hot dog there is. Grill it up. Just the right amount of char around the outside. Take your bun (Martin’s potato buns are my go-to) and place it face-down on the grill for about a minute or so to give it a slight toast to the bun. Then put whatever you want on your hot dog. I’m not one for judgment on the condiments. I like to go with spicy mustard, ketchup (blasphemer!), and dill relish. I don’t like yellow mustard on anything, but if that’s what you like have at it.
2. Chicago Style Hot Dog
This hot dog is loaded with stuff. It’s an all-beef hot dog on a poppyseed bun, with onions, tomato slices, relish (a lot of times it’s neon green) a pickled pepper or 2, pickles, and a bit of celery salt. That sounds like a lot, but it is surprisingly delicious. The first time I had one of these was at either O’Hare or Midway airports in Chicago when I was a kid. I was definitely skeptical looking but there was so much flavor in this thing. If you can get your hands on a good one these dogs are worth a try.
3. Chili Dog
2 positives equal a positive right? Right. The Chili Dog may have an origin story that starts in New Jersey in 1920, or Altoona, PA in 1918. No definitive answer, but those are still 2 places that I didn’t expect to read as the birthplace of these delicious dogs.
100. New Jersey Style Hot Dog
If New Jersey did actually create the chili dog, then they really screwed the pooch when they created this abomination. To be honest this is a hot dog I’ve never seen or heard mentioned my entire life until today. The New Jersey Style Hot Dog is a hot dog with peppers, onions, and fried potato slices on it. if this a serious food offering? What the hell is wrong with you New Jersey?
There are some really good hot dog-style offerings throughout the country. The Seattle dog and the Kansas City dog are intriguing if you like Jalapeños or Sauerkraut. If this was a list of the best-named hot dog style out there, the Rhode Island Hot Weiner would take the top spot. In some places, you need to pay extra to get a thing like that.