While this is not how Abbott’s made their sauce, it was definitely a fun experiment.
For years now I’ve been making my own version of the Flint-style coney sauce. During the summer of 2008 over a period of three months the kids and I sold hot dogs with this sauce, making 72 five-quart batches of my own version of the recipe. But while we all enjoy this sauce, both then and now, I’ve always had the urge to create my own version of the original sauce as served at Angelo’s in Flint.
One morning, we finally got the chance.
The results? The boys loved it. Caleb, who ran the beachhouse with me in 2008, said it was better than what we’d made there. Adam just called it “excellent”. Briahna liked it … but said it was still “creepy” because of the organ meats. Mary said it was good but not as good as the beachhouse version. She also said we probably shouldn’t tell people what’s in it until after they try it.
Authentic Flint Coney Sauce in Angelo's Style
Ingredients
- 1/2 lb Beef Heart
- 1/2 lb Beef kidney
- 2 lb 80/20 ground chuck
- 4 Tbsp Shortening or lard
- 4 Tbsp Butter not margarine
- 2 tsp Garlic, minced
- 2 Tbsp Mustard, ground
- 3 - 5 Tbsp Cumin, ground to taste
- 5 Tbsp Chili powder, mild
- Kosher salt
- Pepper, black, ground
Instructions
- Freeze the beef heart, kidney, and ground beef (or thaw, if they're already frozen) to about 32°F, but to no cooler than that.
- Trim the harder fat from the frozen beef heart.
- Cut the frozen heart into 1” slices.
- Grind the beef heart, kidney, and ground beef together, before they thaw too much.
- Put the ground meats into a freezer bag and distribute in the bag to an even thickness.
- Refreeze the ground meats, again to about 32°F.
- Grind the refrozen meats a second time.
- Set the pot over low heat and melt the lard and butter in the saucepan. When the fats are melted, add the ground heart, kidney, chuck, the garlic and ground mustard and stir well.
- Let the sauce simmer for 45 minutes, stirring occasionally. Don’t allow the meat to dry out; add a tablespoon each of butter and lard if necessary and lower the heat when necessary. At the end of the 45 minutes, add the chili powder, and add the ground cumin to taste. Also add salt and pepper to taste, then simmer the sauce another 5 minutes before serving.
- For best results, serve on grilled Koegel Viennas that have been cooked over low heat (250F) so the natural casing snaps when bitten.