Detroit Coney Dog

Ingredients

• 6 natural-casing beef hot dogs
• 6 hot dog buns
• 1 lb ground beef, 80/20
• 1/2 lb beef heart or additional ground beef, finely ground
• 1 small yellow onion, grated
• 2 tbsp chili powder
• 1 tbsp paprika
• 1 tsp ground cumin
• 1/2 tsp ground allspice
• 1 tbsp yellow mustard
• 2 tbsp tomato paste
• 1 1/2 cups beef broth
• 1 1/2 tsp kosher salt
• 1 medium white onion, finely diced, for topping
• Yellow mustard, for serving

Before you cook

• Grate the small yellow onion on the large holes of a box grater into a bowl, juice and all.
• Dice the white onion very fine and set it aside in a bowl for topping.
• Measure the chili powder, paprika, cumin, and allspice into a small dish together.

Steps

1. Put the ground beef in a saucepan over medium heat and mash it with a potato masher while it cooks, breaking it down to a fine, almost pasty texture with no lumps, about 6 minutes.
2. Stir in the grated onion and its juice and cook for 3 minutes.
3. Add the spice mixture and stir for 1 minute until it smells toasted.
4. Stir in the tomato paste, the tablespoon of yellow mustard, the beef broth, and the salt.
5. Lower the heat and simmer the sauce uncovered for 35 minutes, stirring occasionally, until it is thick enough to mound on a spoon but still loose and glossy.
6. Bring an inch of water to a simmer in a skillet and add the hot dogs, then cook them for 5 minutes, rolling once, until the casings tighten and squeak.
7. Hold the buns over the simmering water in a steamer basket or wrap them in a damp towel and warm them for 2 minutes until soft and floppy.
8. Set a hot dog in each steamed bun.
9. Draw a line of yellow mustard down the length of the frank.
10. Ladle a heavy spoonful of the chili sauce over the top, covering the dog end to end.
11. Cover the whole thing with a generous handful of diced white onion and serve immediately, with a fork.