Looking for an easy meal for your family? Make Coney Dogs! Learn how to make this simple, flavorful meat sauce for your favorite hot dogs.
Coney dogs have been around since the early 1900’s, in one version or another. There has always been some disagreement regarding how Coney dogs became popular in the United States.
Years ago I found this recipe in one of my old cooking magazines, and knew I had to try it out. My husband wasn’t sure he would like it, but he (and I) ended up loving this sauce and our Coney dogs!
Coney Dog History
I grew up thinking Coney dogs got their name because originated in Coney Island, New York, but according to historians, that may not actually be the case. I
f you are interested in the history of this classic hot dog and sauce, check out this article from the Smithsonian magazine here. It is quite fascinating to read about its origins, and is a quick, easy read!
Coney Dogs Flavor Profile
If you enjoy traditional chili dogs, then you will most likely enjoy Coney dogs, as they share some similarities, but have a slightly different flavor profile (slightly sweet).
The sauce for Coney dogs is incredibly EASY to prepare, using ground beef, onions, celery, brown sugar, tomato sauce and spices, etc.
When this sauce is used to top your favorite hot dogs, I’m confident you’ll enjoy them! Here’s how simple it is to prepare Coney dogs!
Scroll Down For A Printable Recipe Card At The Bottom Of The Page
Cook The Ground Beef
Cook ground beef, chopped onions and celery in a large skillet on Medium heat. Break the beef up until it is in small pieces.
Stir often, and continue cooking the beef until fully cooked through. Once the meat is done cooking, drain off any accumulated grease in the skillet and discard.
Let’s Make The Sauce For The Coney Dogs!
Now it’s time to make the Coney sauce for the hot dogs. Add tomato sauce, brown sugar, lemon juice, Worcestershire sauce, chili powder, yellow mustard and salt to the ground beef mixture.
Bring the sauce to a boil on MEDIUM heat. Once it begins to boil, reduce the heat to LOW. Let the sauce simmer UNCOVERED on LOW heat for 15 minutes, stirring it occasionally while it cooks.
While the sauce is simmering, cook the hot dogs according to the instructions on the package or by using your favorite method (boil, grill, oven broil, air fryer, etc.).
Plan your time so that the hot dogs will be ready when the sauce is finished cooking!
Once done, the Coney dog sauce will have thickened considerably, and most of the liquid will have been absorbed.
Once this occurs, and the meat is fully heated through, the sauce is ready to serve as a topper for the hot dogs!
Who’s Ready For Some Coney Dogs?
Place the cooked hot dogs into hot dog buns, and then spoon some of the sauce onto each hot dog. A lot of folks enjoy eating Coney dogs just like this (only adding the sauce), but add your favorite condiments, as well.
My favorite way to enjoy a Coney dog is to add diced fresh onion and yellow mustard on top of the sauce. My husband enjoys adding chopped onions and shredded cheddar cheese to his.
Serve the Coney dogs hot, and enjoy their wonderful flavor! This recipe makes enough sauce to top 8 hot dogs.
Any leftover Coney sauce can be frozen for later use when sealed in an airtight freezer bag or container.
I hope you enjoy this simple meal. We really do, because it is so simple to prepare, and is a nice change from plain hot dogs or traditional chili cheese dogs!
Thank you for stopping by and I hope you will come back for more family friend recipes again soon. Take care, and have a great day!
Looking For More EASY LUNCH or DINNER Recipes?
You can find ALL of my recipes in the Recipe Index, which is located at the top of the page. I have some yummy lunch recipes you can check out, including:
- Chili & Cheese Stuffed Spud
- Grilled “Thai” PB and J Sandwich
- Easy Stovetop Macaroni and Cheese
- Homemade Corn Dogs
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Original recipe source: “Taste of Home” magazine, June/July 2005 edition, page 54, published by Reiman Publications
↓↓ PRINTABLE RECIPE BELOW ↓↓
Looking for an easy meal for your family? Make Coney Dogs! Learn how to make this simple, flavorful meat sauce for your favorite hot dogs.
- ½ pound ground beef
- ¼ cup chopped yellow onions
- 2 Tablespoons chopped celery
- 8 ounces canned tomato sauce
- 2 Tablespoons brown sugar light or dark
- 1 Tablespoon lemon juice
- 2¼ teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
- ¾ teaspoon chili powder
- ½ teaspoon prepared yellow mustard
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 8 hot dogs/weiners
- 8 hot dog buns
Cook beef, onions and celery in a large skillet on Medium heat. Break beef up until it's in small pieces. Stir often; continue cooking beef until fully cooked through. Drain off any accumulated grease in skillet and discard.
Add tomato sauce, brown sugar, lemon juice, Worcestershire sauce, chili powder, mustard and salt to ground beef mixture. Bring sauce to a boil on MEDIUM heat. Once it begins to boil, reduce heat to LOW. Let sauce simmer UNCOVERED on LOW heat for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally while it cooks. NOTE: While sauce is simmering, cook hot dogs according to pkg. instructions or use your favorite method (boil, grill, oven broil, air fryer, etc.). Plan ahead so hot dogs will be ready when sauce is finished cooking!
When done, the sauce will have thickened considerably, and most liquid will have been absorbed. The sauce is now ready to serve as a topper for the hot dogs!
Place cooked hot dogs into warm hot dog buns. Top each one with sauce. Enjoy the hot dogs with just the added coney sauce OR add additional condiments like cheese, yellow mustard, chopped onions, or other condiments you enjoy.
NOTE: This recipe makes enough sauce to top 8 hot dogs. Any leftover meat sauce can be frozen for later use when sealed in an airtight freezer bag or container.
NOTE: Hot dogs and buns were not included in caloric calculation, as varieties/brands/calories of hot dogs and buns will vary greatly. Caloric calculation is for the coney sauce (1/8th portion of total sauce).
Here’s one more to pin on your Pinterest boards!