Vegan Chicago Hot Dog
This version of the Chicago Hot Dog is truly “Dragged Through the Garden” as we are using a plant-based hot dog instead of meat!
I haven’t been to Chicago in years, so it’s been a while since I’ve had an authentic Chicago Hot Dog, but luckily every ingredient except the actual Hot Dog is vegan! So making it vegan is as simple as swapping out the beef dog for a plant dog!
What’s the best VEgan Hot Dog?
I did a VIDEO on this years ago and since then the hot dog that was my favorite (Field Roast Stadium Dogs) changed their recipe. And some of those brands don’t exist anymore.
Currently, my favorite brand of Vegan Hot Dogs is Better Balance, Oscar Meyer and Impossible. But obviously, use your favorite vegan hot dog as well!
ingredients for Vegan Chicago Hot Dog
Besides the hot dog, there’s a bunch of other ingredients that make this dog unique!
The first is the Poppy Seed Bun. I can’t really find these in my area, so I had to order them. I’d say if you can get them go for it, or make some homemade Hot Dog Buns and sprinkle some poppy seeds on them. Otherwise, just use a regular hot dog bun.
Like a lot of hot dogs, this one has yellow mustard, diced onions and relish. However the relish is a neon green variety! That said, it’s just a sweet relish that’s had green food coloring added, so you can always just use some easy to find sweet relish.
Ketchup is forbidden on a Chicago Hot Dog, but slices of tomatoes will add some sweetness.
For a little kick, this dog employs Sport Peppers. I can find these at my local Italian market, but if you can’t get your hands on them, you can use something like Pepperoncinis instead!
We’ll also be using an entire dill pickle spear. I will sometimes cut mine in half if it’s too big, I don’t need it to overwhelm the hot dog!
Last but not least is some Celery Salt. If you can’t find the Vienna brand, don’t fret, there’s other brands that should be widely available. You can also try using some salt and ground celery seed instead.
how to make a Vegan Chicago Hot Dog
Traditionally Chicago Hot Dogs are boiled or steamed and not grilled. Obviously, grill them if you like, but I opted to boil mine. I also saw somebody boil the dogs in beer so I tried it out.
Honestly, I didn’t think it added much and would’ve preferred to just drink the beer with my dog instead. So next time I’ll just use water. But bring that to a medium boil, add the dogs and let them boil for about 2 – 3 minutes.
Add a wire rack to the top of the pot and then place your buns so they can steam for the last minute or so.
Then to build our dog, add the tomato slices, mustard, relish, onions, dill pickle, sport peppers, and lastly a dusting of celery salt.
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Vegan Chicago Hot Dog
Ingredients
- 1 Hot Dog Bun (Poppy Seed if possible)
- 1 Vegan Hot Dog (your favorite one)
- 1 – 2 slices Tomato (cut into half moons)
- Yellow Mustard (to taste)
- Sweet Relish (to taste)
- Diced Onion (to taste)
- 1 Dill Pickle Spear
- 3 – 4 Sport Peppers (or Pepperoncinis)
- Few Dashes Celery Salt
Instructions
- Traditionally Chicago Hot Dogs are boiled or steamed and not grilled. Obviously, grill them if you like, but I opted to boil mine.
- You can use beer or water, but fill a pot up enough to cover the hot dogs. Bring that to a medium boil over medium heat, add the dogs and let them boil for about 2 – 3 minutes.
- After a minute, add a wire rack to the top of the pot and then gently split the buns open and place your buns upside down so they can steam for the last minute or so. I’ve also seen folks use chopsticks laid across the top instead of a wire rack if you have those instead of a wire rack.
- Once dogs are cooked and buns are steamed, remove from the pot and wire rack.
- Add the tomato slices, mustard, relish, onions, dill pickle, sport peppers, and lastly a dusting of celery salt and enjoy!
