Hot Dog Sauce recipe from Texas Lunch

When I was growing up in Port Jervis, NY there was a place called Texas Lunch, which is still there, that had the most wonderful sauce that you put on hot dogs. I can not locate what the sauce is or how it was made, but it was the best ever. Does anyone know what this recipe is?

Poughkeepsie and Kingston both have places called Texas Lunch (actually the Kingston place is now called the Kings Valley Diner) and they both served the same sauce and it was and is very good.

As to recipes, I've tried several given to me by friends (every one guaranteed to be the Greek's own secret sauce) and I've tried recipes offered here on Roadfood, but none have ever worked for me. The best thing is to go to the restaurant and buy a quart of the sauce to take home - it freezes very well.

Cheers, John

Unfortunately, I live in Kansas City now and never get back east so I can't just buy a quart and freeze it.

quote:

Originally posted by seafarer john

Poughkeepsie and Kingston both have places called Texas Lunch (actually the Kingston place is now called the Kings Valley Diner) and they both served the same sauce and it was and is very good.

As to recipes, I've tried several given to me by friends (every one guaranteed to be the Greek's own secret sauce) and I've tried recipes offered here on Roadfood, but none have ever worked for me. The best thing is to go to the restaurant and buy a quart of the sauce to take home - it freezes very well.

Cheers, John

Well, I guess you'll just have to console yourself with some Kansas City BBQ - and that cant be a tough consolation prize.

Cheers, John

Welcome Lady!

There are some good posts here about making that kind of sauce. Sorry but I don't know how to do the link. You may have to do what I have done with some chili's I wanted to duplicate. I just had to keep experimenting. I'm still working on Shanghai Jimmy's chili. I'm getting close though.
Joe

Hello there ,

Another Orange County NY native . Excellent !!
Give me a few days and lets see what we can come up with for you .

Benzee from Monroe

Try this:
Onion Sauce that came from a Pittsburgh hotdog vendor.
INGREDIENTS:
· 3 cups thinly sliced onions
· 2 tablespoon butter
· 1 tablespoon olive oil
· 2 tablespoons cornstarch
· 1 can condensed beef broth, undiluted
· 1/4 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
· 1 tablespoon Parmesan cheese
PREPARATION:
In a large saucepan or deep skillet over medium heat, cook sliced onions in butter and olive oil. Cook, stirring occasionally, until onions are lightly browned, about 20 minutes. Stir in cornstarch. Add beef broth and Worcestershire sauce.
Cook, stirring constantly, until mixture is thick and bubbly. Stir in Parmesan cheese and heat through. Makes about 2 cups of onion sauce or topping.

Dr BBQ: That's an interesting sauce recipe, but it has no resemblence to a :"Texas Hot Wiener" sauce as served in New Jersey and the Hudson Valley of New York. (Port Jervis is actually in the Delaware Valley)

Our sauce is tomato based, with bits of ground hamburger meat, lots of spices
(nutmeg is frequently dominant) , and the onion is diced and served raw on top of the sauce.

Cheers, John

Hi,
Interseting sauce Dr. , I will try that! Always looking for a good onion sauce. Last one I tried was pretty watered down and lame. It ended up down the garbage disposal with alot of my other concoctions. Your's definately sounds promising. I'll let you know.
Myway

P.S. I love stinking up the house with onion sauces, it drives my wife crazy.

Ingredients:
1 pound lean ground beef
6 ounces can tomato paste
6 beef bouillon cubes which have been dissolved in 3 cups hot water
1 fresh onion, chopped
or
1 tablespoon dehydrated onion
1/2 tablespoon black pepper
1 tablespoon chili powder
1 tablespoon paprika
1 tablespoon dried oregano
1/2 tablespoon dried thyme
1/2 tablespoon dried marjoram
1 clove garlic, minced
2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce


Directions:

Brown beef in large skillet. Stir in tomato paste and water-bouillon mixture. Add remaining ingredients; cover and simmer for one hour. Serve on hot dogs with mustard and chopped onion. Sauce may be frozen.

I like to make it ahead of time and put it through the food processor

Hi, I just found this forum, this thread is pretty old, hope it's not dead. It is so funny I found this forum. I'm getting ready to make a batch of real "Texas hot wiener sauce". I lived in Kingston, NY
for 13 years, my wife was born there. We live in Texas now, and no one here has ever heard of Texas hot wiener sauce. It seems like an upstate NY thing. I used to eat at Texas Lunch in Kingston all the time, I worked for IBM right next door. My favorite hot wiener joint was Dallas Hot Wieners in uptown Kingston, I would order five of those things and eat every one of them. One of my best friends family once owned a deli there, they had a top secret recipe for hot wiener sauce, he would never give it to me. He did let me in on the main secret ingredient, ground hotdogs. I was visiting Kingston several years ago and was able to get my hands on a jar of sauce one of the local families sold at Adam's market. The ingredients were listed on the jar. I simply "reverse engineered" it using the ground hotdogs as the key ingredient. After years of tweaking I have the sauce we all know and love. My wife begs me to make this from time to time, so I make up a batch and freeze cups of it, then vacuum seal them. They freeze well. I'm searching for my hand written cookbook right now. If there is any interest in the recipe I'll post it here. It is so good I almost started selling the recipe on ebay for $1, after doing some research I came to the conclusion, not to many people even know what this sauce is.

Post away! I collect chili dog sauce recipes.. Always happy to add another one to my vast collection..

Welcome Tex ,

I lice in Monroe , fire away with the recipe it will be much appreciated by all on here .
We had a Hudson Valley Hot Dog Tour last spring and included
Coney Island Rear , Middletown
Petes Hot Dogs and Newburgh Lunch in Newburgh
among others .

Our 2008 tour hopes to include one or more of the Kingston locations

Benzee

Thanks for the welcome. No hotdog tour of the Mid-Hudson Valley would be complete without a stop at Dallas Hot Wieners on North Front street in Kingston. I'm not even sure if it's still open, haven't been up there in a while. I found my recipe book and started making the sauce this afternoon. I decided to video tape some of it, if it looks good I'll post some footage up on youtube.com, that way folks can see what the sauce should look like, and post comments.

Originally posted by Three x a lady

When I was growing up in Port Jervis, NY there was a place called Texas Lunch, which is still there, that had the most wonderful sauce that you put on hot dogs. I can not locate what the sauce is or how it was made, but it was the best ever. Does anyone know what this recipe is?

Try anyone of these receipes and see if they fit the bill.I have tried several with different meats,chopped chunks or ground beef and I have never tasted anything like them. They make any hot dog explode with flavor and the sauce itself is not too hot.I did make sure that I had all ingredients in advance.These receipes sound like the type you may be looking for.
http://www.recipezaar.com/recipes.php?q=Ospidillo+%232

Buddy

Sorry, none of these recipes are even close. Believe me I have been searching the web for years and have not found anything that is close to the real "Texas Hot Wiener Sauce" that folks here are talking about. The first misconception is that this is a "chili dog" recipe, it is not. The sauce is red-ish brown, with a hint of cinnamon, it is also thin. I've been making this sauce today, and video taping it. I'll post a video of what this sauce should look like, just wish I could post the taste ;-)

tdj... Thought u where going to post the recipe??? All I see is alot of run around about everyone else's version..

Take it easy man, I had to feed the family. My wife came home and smelled the sauce, and was very happy. I was editing some video of the making, to be posted later. Here is the recipe.

Texas Hot Wiener Sauce
by Tom Jones 2007

8 cups water
8 oz ground hotdogs (I prefer all beef)
1/2 cup cornstarch (dissolved in a little cold water)
1 tbls paprika
1 tbls chili powder
1/4 cup white vinegar
1 tsp sea or kosher salt
1/2 tsp onion powder
1/4 tsp white pepper
1/2 tsp oregano
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
a few grinds of fresh black pepper

Bring everything to a boil, except the cornstarch.
Let simmer for 30 minutes, then slowly add the cornstarch mixture, stirring constantly. Bring back to a boil, and keep stirring.
Taste along the way, adjusting the salt or pepper as you like it.
Serve on your favorite hotdog, with brown mustard, diced onion, in a steamed hotdog bun. This sauce will be thin, it is supposed to be, it is not a "chili dog" recipe. The sauce will thicken as it cools. It freezes well.

Thanks TDJ! (Tom Jones??)
Recipe reminds me of the stuff the Indianapolis Zoo used to serve as Chili (by the bowl). Budget (cheap) minded chef used all the hot dog leftovers from the day before, ground them up and served it up... Hot dogs there where bad enough, but to convert the leftovers... Well, this is a family based forum...
Also, 64 ounces of water, to 10 or so ounces of ingredients.. Dont think I'll be trying this mush out anytime soon..

Thanks, Tom, for the recipe. We'll give it a try.

BTW: THW in Newburgh closed years ago. But, the fmily opened a new shop in Walkill last Spring and I enjoyed a few THWs there. When we drove thry Walkill last monday the place was dark, maybe they were taking a holiday off, or maybe they're closed. It's a shame that "The World's Best Hotdog" did not make it in Middlehope- not only a very good hotdog, but also an excellent hamburger.

Cheers, John

quote:

Originally posted by tdj_tx

Take it easy man, I had to feed the family. My wife came home and smelled the sauce, and was very happy. I was editing some video of the making, to be posted later. Here is the recipe.

Texas Hot Wiener Sauce
by Tom Jones 2007

8 cups water
8 oz ground hotdogs (I prefer all beef)
1/2 cup cornstarch (dissolved in a little cold water)
1 tbls paprika
1 tbls chili powder
1/4 cup white vinegar
1 tsp sea or kosher salt
1/2 tsp onion powder
1/4 tsp white pepper
1/2 tsp oregano
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
a few grinds of fresh black pepper

Bring everything to a boil, except the cornstarch.
Let simmer for 30 minutes, then slowly add the cornstarch mixture, stirring constantly. Bring back to a boil, and keep stirring.
Taste along the way, adjusting the salt or pepper as you like it.
Serve on your favorite hotdog, with brown mustard, diced onion, in a steamed hotdog bun. This sauce will be thin, it is supposed to be, it is not a "chili dog" recipe. The sauce will thicken as it cools. It freezes well.

I though this was a tomatoe sauce based recipe. Was the tomatoe sauce left out?

Sorry for any confusion. I only replied to this forum because of the Texas Hot Wiener sauce reference. If you've never had a Texas hot wiener from the Kingston NY area you will not know what they are. You can't just look at the recipe and say, "Don't think I'll be trying this mush out anytime soon". I have also mentioned, this is not a "chili dog" recipe, there is no tomato sauce, puree, or paste.

Ok, video is done and uploaded to youtube.com
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LlLpxHzJg-4

Thanks for clearing up the issue of this recipe being "tomatoe" (sauce or paste) based. All references that I had read about this hot dog sauce indicated it had a tomatoe sauce base.

As for this not being a "Chile" sauce, that could be debatable. The old style “chuck wagon” chile was simply made by cooking (boiling) dried chile pods and adding the meat and other seasonings (no tomatoes or paste). Much the same as you have done.

My first dog at Dallas Hot Weiners on North Front street was about 50 years ago, my last was this past May. That looks like the same thing, will give it a try. Thanks for the recipe.

TDJ.. That video did your recipe justice! Ok, so now I'm gonna have to try it out.. Looked darn tasty there! My apologies for calling it a mush... My favorite sauce is of the thinner variety, but looking over your recipe, I felt it was WAY too thin.. Just curious, does this sauce have a bite to it, or just a flavor burst?

I have'nt had time to try TDJs sauce yet, but that type of sauce can be as hot as you want it to be - just add more red pepper flakes. When Macho was inbusiness here he made his sauce much hotter than the Greeks in Kingston do, and he told me he had learned the sauce from Uncle George in Kingston. But most of the sauces I've had in the Hudson Valley, North Jersey, and Southern Conecticut have been quite mild in terms of hot pepper flavor.

Cheers, John

quote:

Originally posted by UncleVic

TDJ.. That video did your recipe justice! Ok, so now I'm gonna have to try it out.. Looked darn tasty there! My apologies for calling it a mush... My favorite sauce is of the thinner variety, but looking over your recipe, I felt it was WAY too thin.. Just curious, does this sauce have a bite to it, or just a flavor burst?

Thanks Uncle, I had wanted to video this sauce for sometime, this was a good opportunity. You are right, just looking at the recipe you'd think this is nothing but hotdog water. It doesn't really have a bite, you can add as much crushed red pepper flakes as you want. My wife doesn't really like hot sauces, she loves this one, so it's not to hot. It does have a good flavor burst, and a good after taste. Like I said in the video, the sauce is just a component to the whole "Texas Hot Wiener" experience.

It seems to me if you reduce the water and cornstarch you could have the same product with more flavor concentration and maybe a little less messy. I think I'll give it a try.

quote:

Originally posted by John A

My first dog at Dallas Hot Weiners on North Front street was about 50 years ago, my last was this past May. That looks like the same thing, will give it a try. Thanks for the recipe.

Wow, I'm glad to hear Dallas is still open. I haven't been up there in years, that's why I've been trying to perfect a sauce. I've even had to find a recipe for "Black and White" cookies. I make them at Christmas time as gifts for the neighbors.

quote:

Originally posted by seafarer john

I have'nt had time to try TDJs sauce yet, but that type of sauce can be as hot as you want it to be - just add more red pepper flakes. When Macho was inbusiness here he made his sauce much hotter than the Greeks in Kingston do, and he told me he had learned the sauce from Uncle George in Kingston. But most of the sauces I've had in the Hudson Valley, North Jersey, and Southern Conecticut have been quite mild in terms of hot pepper flavor.

Cheers, John

OMG Uncle George's Hot Wieners! I haven't heard that name in years.
I agree most sauces are pretty mild, they go for flavor not really heat.

quote:

Originally posted by BR

It seems to me if you reduce the water and cornstarch you could have the same product with more flavor concentration and maybe a little less messy. I think I'll give it a try.

Go for it BR, this is another reason I decided to share the recipe, kind of "open sourcing" if you will. Others can try different ideas, like reducing the water/cornstarch. My wife and I love the way it turns out so I haven't made any changes to that combination.

tdj_tx

"Bring everything to a boil, except the cornstarch.
Let simmer for 30 minutes, then slowly add the cornstarch mixture, stirring constantly. Bring back to a boil, and keep stirring."

How long do you let it boil while stirring after simmering?

Thank You

quote:

Originally posted by John A

tdj_tx

"Bring everything to a boil, except the cornstarch.
Let simmer for 30 minutes, then slowly add the cornstarch mixture, stirring constantly. Bring back to a boil, and keep stirring."

How long do you let it boil while stirring after simmering?

Thank You

I don't have a set time, I just eyeball it, if the sauce has the thickness I'm looking for it's ready. I'd say maybe 10 minutes or so if I had to put a time on it. Take a look at the video, you'll be able to see the thickness of the finished sauce.

Ok TDJ... Now you have to fill us in on that Hot Dog Bun steamer in the video... Make, Model, price, etc... Is it really a worthy device??

quote:

Originally posted by UncleVic

Ok TDJ... Now you have to fill us in on that Hot Dog Bun steamer in the video... Make, Model, price, etc... Is it really a worthy device??

Hey Uncle, it's not really a Hot Dog Bun steamer, but does a good job.
It's only large enough to steam 6 buns at a time. Check it out on amazon, which is where I got it. I also have a much larger on that I use to steam White Castle frozen hamburgers, mmmmm White Castle.

http://www.amazon.com/Black-Decker-297046-Food-Steamer/dp/B00005OTZ6/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=home-garden&qid=1195687234&sr=8-1

John, between you and tdj, you have my gut growling this morning... Man that looks good!

Yum!

quote:

Originally posted by UncleVic

John, between you and tdj, you have my gut growling this morning... Man that looks good!

They were very good Uncle Vic. As noted, I used less water and one more hotdog. Next time I'm going to use a couple more dogs. After freezing the sauce required a little added water while warming.

I am confused, not being familiar with this kind of Texas Dog.
Is this, a condiment on a hot dog, or a bath for a weenie?
Looks kind of thin for a condiment. If it is! wouldn't the bun be soggy?

Yes, the bun gets soggy, but not till the last bite or two, Believe me it's delicious at Dallas Hot Wieners in Kingston - a half dozen other places within about 50 miles.

Cheers, John

Great pics John A... Thanks!

Thanks.
When I posted the above, I never seen John A's pictures.
I sometimes forget there are other pages.

Great shots, man! I could eat them for breakfast.
I will give that recipe a go....with less liquid.

quote:

Originally posted by John A

tdj_tx,

Tried your hot dog sauce recipe with a couple of modifications. I used four cups of water and five two ounce hot dogs in place of four. I normally like to fry the dogs and lightly toast the buns. This time I boiled the dogs and steamed the buns in order to see how close the finished product would be to those at Dallas Hot Weiners in Kingston, NY. Some spicey brown mustard, chopped onions, your sauce, and I thought I was in Kingston. Very good recipe, thank you.

Glad you liked it John A! Great pics too, looks just like the ones I used to get in Kingston. I also loved how the waitresses would holler the orders to the cooks, and the cook would line the buns up his arm. I'm going to have to thaw some sauce out and have me some hot wieners tonight.

quote:

Originally posted by John A

quote:

Originally posted by UncleVic

John, between you and tdj, you have my gut growling this morning... Man that looks good!

They were very good Uncle Vic. As noted, I used less water and one more hotdog. Next time I'm going to use a couple more dogs. After freezing the sauce required a little added water while warming.

I am so glad that I found this forum, it's been very lonely all by myself in this Texas Hot Wienerless world :-) Next time I make a batch I'll adjust the water and add more dogs. This is just what I was looking for, a larger audience to experiment with this recipe. I'll also update my recipe book with these recommendations. You are right about having to add a little water after it's been frozen, it's something with the cornstarch. Maybe someone could suggest a better thickening agent.

quote:

Originally posted by UncleVic

Thanks TDJ! (Tom Jones??)
Recipe reminds me of the stuff the Indianapolis Zoo used to serve as Chili (by the bowl). Budget (cheap) minded chef used all the hot dog leftovers from the day before, ground them up and served it up... Hot dogs there where bad enough, but to convert the leftovers... Well, this is a family based forum...
Also, 64 ounces of water, to 10 or so ounces of ingredients.. Dont think I'll be trying this mush out anytime soon..

Sorry, should have replied sooner. Yea, TDJ = Thomas Dwight Jones or Tom Jones for short.

quote:

Originally posted by tdj_tx

quote:

Originally posted by John A

tdj_tx,

Tried your hot dog sauce recipe with a couple of modifications. I used four cups of water and five two ounce hot dogs in place of four. I normally like to fry the dogs and lightly toast the buns. This time I boiled the dogs and steamed the buns in order to see how close the finished product would be to those at Dallas Hot Weiners in Kingston, NY. Some spicey brown mustard, chopped onions, your sauce, and I thought I was in Kingston. Very good recipe, thank you.

Glad you liked it John A! Great pics too, looks just like the ones I used to get in Kingston. I also loved how the waitresses would holler the orders to the cooks, and the cook would line the buns up his arm. I'm going to have to thaw some sauce out and have me some hot wieners tonight.

Hi all, I'm sure a few of you folks will get a kick out of these pics.
I was IMing last night with a friend that lives in Kingston. I sent him a link to this forum. He loved the forum. The wise a** said "I don't need to make the sauce, I live within 2 minutes of DHW". So what did he do? He went over to DHW, ordered up some dogs, and took pictures! Thanks Bill.

Driving up to storefront


watching dog being made


bringing dog home in wrapping


openning up wrappin


and finnally consumption....thats the pic of me!!!

Yep, have to make the sauce a little thicker next time.

quote:

Originally posted by tdj_tx

Maybe someone could suggest a better thickening agent.

Maybe try experimenting with arrowroot...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arrowroot
http://www.culinarycafe.com/Spices_Herbs/Arrowroot.html

Relative to flour and cornstarch, arrowroot is expensive, so I doubt the Greeks selling hot dogs are thickening their sauce with that product. Although, i do think it might work pretty well as a hot dog sauce thickener.

cheers, John

Great sauce TDJ. It looks like you've come very close to cracking one of the areas best kept secrets!

I would stick with the cornstarch and use less water. Simmering longer will also reduce the water.

As for the recipe, I have heard that other Texas Weiner shops also use left over hot dogs. The original recipe calls for beef hearts though.
DHW in Kingston and Saugerties are all owned by the same family. The one on Front Street is the original and the one in Saugerties is the only one open on Sundays. They use yellow mustard and very finely chopped onions.

Texas Lunch in Wallkill, NY uses Tobins hot dogs with a similar sauce but with larger 1/4" sized chopped onions.

I think the best onions I have had so far were at Libby's Lunch in Paterson, NY (Texas Weiners), they looked like shaved ice, almost like snow!

HDK

Thanks King, some might use left over dogs, I would think fresh ones would yield a better sauce.
As for onions, you just made me think of something. I wonder if using a mandoline would be good for "shaved ice" like onions http://www.amazon.com/MIU-Stainless-Steel-Professional-Mandoline-Slicer/dp/B0006ABVJS/ref=pd_bbs_sr_2?ie=UTF8&s=home-garden&qid=1197331145&sr=8-2

quote:

Originally posted by seafarer john

Relative to flour and cornstarch, arrowroot is expensive, so I doubt the Greeks selling hot dogs are thickening their sauce with that product. Although, i do think it might work pretty well as a hot dog sauce thickener.

cheers, John

I've never used arrowroot so I don't really know how much it costs. Personally if it works for my home use, i.e. thicker sauce, good freezing/thawing, I'd use it. Next batch I'll give it a try.

quote:

Originally posted by tdj_tx

Thanks King, some might use left over dogs, I would think fresh ones would yield a better sauce.
As for onions, you just made me think of something. I wonder if using a mandoline would be good for "shaved ice" like onions http://www.amazon.com/MIU-Stainless-Steel-Professional-Mandoline-Slicer/dp/B0006ABVJS/ref=pd_bbs_sr_2?ie=UTF8&s=home-garden&qid=1197331145&sr=8-2

THis is a lot cheaper

http://www.amazon.com/b?ie=UTF8&node=289759

I believe all of the above mentioned tools would work well. Personally the larger chunks of onion over power the other condiments, smaller onions blend in better! Two of my favorites, although different types of dogs, DHW and Coney Island Restaurant in NY both have the perfect combination of hot dog, mustard, onions and sauce.

Left over grilled dogs or fresh dogs that have been grilled would add more flavor due to the carmelized fat. Just my opinion though... Food For Thought!

Matt

TDJ, thanks for all the info...in the video, did you put ketchup on that dog?

Anyway, I've been trying for years to find the recipe I desire, but it's always
been more chili instead of a sauce like this...I think I just figured it out.
Thanks!

Hey Cap, I would never put ketchup on a hotdog, only little kids that don't know better do that :-)
In my opinion ketchup only belongs on french fries. Make the sauce, experiment, post back your results.

Tried your Recipe tdj_tx, but I reduced the recipe by 50%, so as not to make too big a batch.
Just in case.
I was surprised, that it thickened up as well as it did, considering the amount of water.

Of course, I have never had a Texas Hot before, so not sure what to expect. I followed the recipe to a T, accept the reduction in batch size.It turned out very well.

It was surprisingly, very tasty.

Here is a pot of ready to eat, Texas Hot Sauce.



I even diced the onions, very small, and used regular yellow mustard.
The recipe is a keeper but I believe it can be improved on to give it a little more flavor and body.
Have you tried beef stock or chicken stock in place of water?

Finished product.
Mmmm! Gotta go eat.

Looks great....hope it tastes that way too

Looks good to me, nice job Big_g.

tdj,
I too am a displaced kingston native. We have sauce delivered to us when relatives visit and enjoy are once a year trip back to kingston. Our kids became hooked on the sauce even though they have never set foot in any of the dinners. Your recipe is dead on...in fact we made it the center piece of our new years meal. Thanks for your efforts to duplicate the sauce!