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Thursday, August 12, 1999 By Arlene Burnett, Post-Gazette Staff Writer
If it weren't for a newspaper cartoonist, vendors at Pirates games might still be barking, "Get you red hot dachshund sausages!"
"Hot dogs" were still something of a novelty in 1906 America, and they went by a variety of names: frankfurters, franks, wieners, red hots and dachshund sausages. But during a New York Giants game that year, Hearst newspaper cartoonist Tad Dorgan was so inspired by a vendor yelling, "Get you red hot dachshund sausages," that he decided to sketch a dachshund smeared with mustard encased in a bun. It is believed Dorgan couldn't spell the word dachshund so he settled on dog -- the caption read "Come get your hot dogs!"
As you might have guessed, our focus today is hot dogs and hot dog sauce. A few months ago, a reader wrote to Kitchen Mailbox requesting the recipe for a special hot dog sauce sold at Jim's Drive-in in West Mifflin. This first request spawned a series of letters to Kitchen Mailbox requesting the recipe for the sauce. Here are excerpts from some of the letters:
So, off we went in search of Jim's Drive-in and his much talked-about hot dogs and special sauce. Our readers were right. It was worth the trip. We gobbled down our hot dogs with the special sauce within minutes.
We talked for a few minutes with the owner of Jim's Drive-In Inc., Al Damianos, who assured us that the recipe is still a secret. Jim's Drive-in has been in business for more than 50 years. Damianos' father created the hot dog sauce, but his recipe was perishable, so Damianos changed a few ingredients and that's what they serve and sell today.
Jim's Drive-in, located on Skyline Drive in West Mifflin, is open Mondays through Saturdays from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m., Sundays from 4 to 10 p.m. Jim's hot dog sauce is sold by the pint for $5.
Since we can't supply you with Jim's sauce, we thought you might be interested in trying this recipe for Coney Island Hot Dog Sauce submitted by Doris Brown of Jefferson Hills. The recipe calls for browning ground meat in 2 tablespoons of oil or shortening, but because ground meat has its own fat, we omitted the oil, and drained the ground meat.
2 tablespoons oil or shortening
Heat oil in saucepan. Brown meat and onion together, breaking meat up in fine pieces. Stir in tomato paste, water, vinegar, relish and salt. Simmer for 25 minutes. Blend in chili powder, mustard and peppers. Simmer for 5 minutes more. Makes 1 1/2 cups to 2 cups of sauce -- enough for about 12 hot dogs.
Clarence Gilbert of Oakland requested a recipe for the sauce used to make hot sausage. Here's Bridgeville reader Pat Roach's recipe.
After the sausage is precooked, mix the sauce ingredients. Heat sausage together with the sauce until hot. Serve on sausage roll. (We precooked the sausage by cooking it in boiling water for about 20 minutes, then drained it and set aside.)
1 pound can of tomato sauce for about 1 1/2 pounds of hot sausage
We placed the hot sausage in the tomato sauce and cooked on low for about 1 1/2 to 2 hours, until sauce thickened slightly.
Irene Sinclair requested a recipe for peanut butter sauce for ice cream. Here's one that caught our eye.
2 (1-ounce) squares semisweet chocolate
Melt chocolate. Beat melted chocolate into peanut butter.
Stir in milk and vanilla.
Serve hot or cold over ice cream. Makes 1 1/2 cups.
If sauce becomes too thick after storage in refrigerator, stir in a little milk.
Source: American Dairy Association and Dairy Council Mid East
Heidi M. Souza of Moon Township would like to have an old-fashioned recipe for Apple Pandowdy, her husband's favorite. It has a light and airy golden crust on top instead of crumb topping, and it's served with cream.
If you want to answer a recipe request from a reader or are looking for a recipe yourself, please write to Kitchen Mailbox, c/o Arlene Burnett, 34 Blvd. of the Allies, Pittsburgh 15222. Please include a name, neighborhood and a daytime phone number. All recipes are kitchen-tested by the Post-Gazette.
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"I grew up with the sandwiches from a hot dog shop called Jim's ... In 1976 we moved away, over 100 miles to the north. Any trip back home included at least one trip to Jim's. Trips soon stopped, and a relative would bring us the sauce every now and then, but that also has come to an end. I would appreciate it very much if any of your readers would be able to furnish me with the recipe for this sauce." Lucille McCafferty, Atlantic, Pa.