I come from a hot-dog family. Coney Island hot dogs, to be precise. Not that we wolfed them down en masse at Fourth of July parties, birthdays, or picnics on the beaches of Massachusetts. I mean, my family owned several Coney Island hot dog shops.

As a kid, I remember stopping by after school with my mom and getting two with the works: slowly cooked hot dogs in slightly sweet steamed buns, topped with Coney Island chili meat sauce, diced onions, and a squiggle of mustard. It was the sauce that made the dogs. It was so good, sometimes I'd get a cup of it and pass on the rest. 

But in time, my supply of C.I.H.D. stopped. My uncles sold their shops…and their recipes.

Forty years later, I found myself still jonesing for their hot dogs with sauce, so I tried to recreate it. Legions of fans of the shops claimed to have the "original recipe," but none came close to what I remember.

Working from a barebones list of ingredients, Jamie Aragonez, of World Spice, and I went back and forth countless times to come up with what I think is a dead ringer for the sauce. It's gently spiced and super meaty with a balance of heat, sweet, and punch. After four long decades, I took my first bite of a dog with the works and was hurtled back to childhood. 

But we found it doesn't stop there. The sauce is excellent stirred into creamy mac and cheese, poured over nachos, spooned over cheeseburgers, and served with all types of eggs. We're still discovering ways of using it. And we'd love to know what you come up with, too! 

Here's a gift from my family to yours.

Chow,

David Leite

Each pouch makes 3 pounds of meat sauce, yielding approximately 9-10 cups. If you use 3 tablespoons of sauce per hot dog, one pouch is enough for 48 hot dogs.