Hot dogs are one of the best foods since you can top them with almost anything, and many Americans do just that.
According to Martin’s Famous Potato Rolls, many different toppings can transform the common hot dog into a special treat. They include jalapenos, coleslaw, avocado, and even potato chips.
For this, getting an alligator-style bun is important, which can be achieved by tucking additional items inside the bun. Even if you don’t think you’ve heard of the word, if you frequently sample different kinds of hot dogs, you have a strong chance you’ve already tried one.
So, what’s an Alligator style hot dog?
It’s a lot more simple than you may expect! When a wiener is served “alligator style,” a pickle spear is placed next to it within the bun, either by itself or with the other toppings. This request is more typical in Ohio, where dogs are frequently topped with Cincinnati chili, claims Food & Wine.
Yet that isn’t a particularly novel idea when it comes to popular hot dogs.
As The New Yorker highlighted, a pickle spear is also a component of the charm of the perennially well-liked Chicago-style hot dog. The ubiquitous pickle binds the wiener in a Chicago dog in a manner similar to the alligator style. To satisfy your craving, slip a long slice of pickle onto the bread next to the meat to make any hot dog alligator-style.
Let’s take a look at the Cincinnati chili…
One of the most well-known producers of what would become known as Cincinnati chili is Skyline Chili, which Nicholas Lambrinides started in 1949.
According to WXVU, this chili recipe has Greek and Macedonian origins and may have been inspired by either the dish pastitsio or the meat sauce saltsa kima.
A lasagna-like baked dish resembling pastitsio is made by layering tubed pasta, bechamel sauce, and meat sauce.
Adding warm spices in the bolognese-like sauce, including cloves, cinnamon, and allspice, gives Cincinnati chili its reputation as being sweet in many people’s minds.
The history of the chili dog is one of American blending. The hot dog hotdog itself is a German-style sausage that has been industrialized.
As a reaction to the perceived “foreign” quality of the artisan sausages preferred by other Eastern European immigrants, the mass-produced meat tubes gained in popularity.
Due to the hot dog’s low cost and quick preparation, it became popular at street food carts for late-night snacks and for hungry workers on lunch breaks.
Regarding the garnish, two chili lineages developed almost concurrently in various regions of the nation. By the early 1900s, a Mexican chile con carne-inspired chili had evolved into a purified version for American palates, while a Greek and Macedonian-inspired chili had acquired popularity in the northeast and elsewhere.
How do alligator-style hot dogs and Cinncati chili relate?
The first coney dog, a hot dog topped with chili, onions, and yellow mustard, is said to have been served at a number of establishments in Michigan and Indiana. Although hot dogs have been served at Coney Island in New York City for a very long time, the name was changed by customers in the Midwest.
These Coney Islands restaurants, which were frequently Greek eateries, are where hot dogs first started getting regular chili toppings (via Smithsonian Magazine).
Two of the most well-known are located in Detroit, called Lafayette Coney Island and American Coney Island. At their stall in Cincinnati, Ohio, Thomas and John Kiradjieff assert that they were the first to serve the coney dog wrapped in cheese and topped with Cincinnati chili.
At about the same time in 1929, a distinct narrative began to take shape in Chicago, Illinois. According to Block Club Chicago, Fluky is credited with creating the first Chicago-style hot dog, which was first known as a Depression Sandwich. Simple dogs could be made into meals by piling on inexpensive toppings. Relish, mustard, tomato, onions, sports peppers, celery salt, and a dill pickle spear are typical garnishes.
In Ohio, you’ll get the pickle spear on your chili cheese dog even if you order a hot dog “alligator-style” in Chicago (via Food & Wine). Getting a dill pickle on a Cincinnati coney is unquestionably a snapshot of two iconic moments in American history; however, how exactly it came to be done is unknown.
Are you a fan of alligator-style hot dogs?
A lot of people think that alligator-style hot dogs are weird and exotic hot dogs they will have never tried before. However, they’re a lot more familiar than a lot of people initially realize.
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