Other Coney Styles
| Making a Detroit syle coney sauce isn’t something I’ve done … yet. However, when I finally do, knowing the sauce has beef heart in it and that it’s juicy as though a roux is used, I’ll start with something like this Detroit coney sauce recipe from the Great Lakes, Better Food blog. Why? Because it seems legit. |
 Jackson-style: Todoroff’s Jackson Coney Sauce
While you’ve probably heard of both Flint and Detroit Coneys, the disputes about which one is best, and the decades-long dispute between the Lafayette Coney Island and American Coney Island over which one is the best Detroit coney, you probably have never heard of the third contender in the state of Michigan: The Jackson Coney. Developed by George Todoroff, the Jackson coney has been sold at Todoroff’s Original Coney Island at 1200 West Parnall Road in Jackson, Michigan, since 1914. |
 Detroit-style: National Coney Island Hot Dog Chili Sauce
Meijer stores in the midwest are now carrying Hot Dog Chili Sauce from National Coney Island of Roseville, Michigan. Since a lot of what I do is all about Michigan-based foods, and of course hot dogs and coneys are high on that list, I had to head to the nearest Meijer to grab a couple of the bricks of sauce. Besides, both our oldest boys worked at the southeast Michigan Meijer distribution center and we have to help keep those kinds of folks employed … |
 Earlier Thoughts on Various Coney Sauce Recipes
I wrote this page in January of 2009. The Detroit Chili Sauce shown is made by American Coney Island in downtown Detroit, as described in this interview with owner Grace Keros. And when I actually did attempt the recipe at the bottom of the page, it was probably one of the worst things I ever put in my mouth. The info is included here just for historical context. |
 Detroit-style?? Winter’s Sausage Chili Con Carne
This one just didn’t come out right at all. Meijer stores are carrying this near the hot dogs. The ingredient list on the even reads like a good coney sauce: “Ingredients: Beef, beef heart meat, water, wheat flour, spices, salt, sodium lactate, paprika, onions, garlic, sodium diacetate.” But when I followed the directions, adding a pint of water to the contents of the one-pound chubb, I ended up with a seriously thin chili, not anything that could successfully be spooned onto a weiner. Tasting the chili I found it to be closer to the Hungarian sauce at Tony Packo’s Café in Toledo, Ohio. Adding less water, or maybe no water at all, this probably almost exactly duplicates Packo’s sauce. But this isn’t a Detroit coney sauce. |
 The Michigan Dog, upstate New York: Michigan Hot Dog at Johnnie’s Dog House
As a native Michigander with a regular hankerin’ for Flint Coneys I’ve often been curious about what people call a “Michigan Hot Dog”. I first heard mention of these New York versions, also apparently called a “Michigan Red Hot”, in June 2008 when it was mentioned as part of a Regional Hot Dog Style post on Serious Eats. It was also mentioned in passing on Serious Eats one October in a post on Detroit Coneys. There’s even an online history of the Michigan Hot Dog, complete with sample recipes for the sauce used on these dogs. Apparently, the sauce is a recreated version of the Jackson coney sauce from Todoroff’s … |
I’m a long-time fan of your research and recipes. I still strive for the “right” one. I write to let you know (if you don’t already), that the folks at America’s Test Kitchen have recently published a “Detroit-Style Coney Island Hot Dog” recipe. I think it has real promise. Method includes a raw beef and water slurry (no browning, a la Marty Embry) and crumbled Saltine crackers. It’s a pleasing result if nothing else. https://www.americastestkitchen.com/recipes/15790-detroit-style-coney-island-hot-dogs
One item that is highly overlooked in my opinion are the onions. As a long time customer of Angelo’s Coney Island (Flint, MI.) in the 1960’s through the 90’s, I realized just how important onions are to the finished product. Angelo’s had a specific way of dicing and mincing the onion and it was consistently placed in a velvet like fashion over the coney sauce. They were tiny pieces and so many places just simply “chop” their onions and toss them on.