Chicago-Style Carrot Hot Dogs Recipe

Hot dogs might be second only to pizza in terms of beloved regional variations. Throughout the U.S. you'll find an almost endless variety of ways to serve up these sausage sandwiches, with every element open to customization, from the bun to the condiments to the toppings. You can order up hot dogs topped with cheese, french fries, chili, coleslaw, sauerkraut, and more. And the dogs themselves come in a few varieties, from beef to pork to caribou. Foodie recipe developer Kate Shungu offers you a fun new option that will satisfy vegetarians and meat lovers alike: carrots. She imbues them with plenty of savory smoky flavor by cooking them in a broth seasoned with paprika, soy sauce, vinegar, ketchup, and onion and garlic powder, and she finishes them off on the grill for extra smoky flavor and those iconic char marks. 

A Chicago-style hot dog is often described as "dragged through the garden," because of the surprising number of vegetables crammed into a poppyseed bun. Shungu's Chicago-style carrot hot dog recipe is faithful to the original concept. "I bet you won't even miss the hot dog in these Chicago-style dogs! The fresh flavors from the tomatoes, onion, relish, pickle, and peppers perfectly complement the carrot, which is tender with just a little 'snap' to it," she describes. Whether you're looking for ways to upgrade boring hot dogs or catering to vegetarian palates, this tasty recipe is sure to get people talking.

For this recipe, you'll need medium carrots, vegetable broth, soy sauce, apple cider vinegar, ketchup, paprika, garlic powder, and onion powder. To assemble the hot dogs, get poppy seed hot dog buns, yellow mustard, relish, Roma tomatoes (sliced ¼ inch thick), pickle spears, chopped onion, sport peppers, and celery salt.

Peel the carrots and trim to the length of the hot dog buns. You can use your peeler to trim them into the shape of a hot dog, if desired.

Place the broth, soy sauce, apple cider vinegar, ketchup, paprika, garlic powder, and onion powder in a medium skillet. Bring to a boil.

Place the carrots in the broth mixture and turn to coat.

Cover, reduce the heat to a simmer, and let it cook for 15 minutes. Let the carrots sit in the cooking liquid for 10 minutes after.

Preheat a grill or grill pan to medium heat.

Remove the carrots from the cooking liquid and pat dry.

Grill for 1–2 minutes per side, or until grill marks appear.

Place the carrots in each of the hot dog buns.

Top with a squeeze of mustard and then add the relish down one side.

Place the tomato slices and pickle spear on the other side.

Top with the chopped onion and sport peppers, followed by the celery salt.

Serve right away.

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Though the savory-sweet tender snap of the carrot dog pairs beautifully with tangy pickles and spicy peppers, there's no reason to confine your carrot dog experience to Chicago style. You can easily use the seasoned and simmered carrots as a foundation for other hot dog variations. For example, Shungu suggests, "Instead of Chicago-style, try a classic chili dog: Top it with bean-only chili and plenty of shredded cheddar (use dairy-free cheese to make it vegan if you'd like)." As a bonus, you'll be adding protein to the vegetarian dish thanks to the beans. 

Meanwhile, you can focus on toppings with a version of a New York-style dog by adding mustard, sauerkraut, and cooked onions. "Or try a Reuben dog with Swiss cheese, sauerkraut, and Thousand Island dressing," Shungu adds. The sky's the limit, and any of the well-known regional hot dogs can serve as inspiration. And of course, if you want to keep it simple, Shungu points out, "Purists can just add ketchup, of course!" 

Shungu's method for cooking the carrots to replicate hot dogs entails boiling and simmering them in broth till tender and flavorful, then grilling them for color and a bit of smoky char. However, you have other options for cooking your carrot dogs. For the boiling step, Shungu notes, "For hungry-right-now hot dog enthusiasts, you can use an Instant Pot." You'll only need to cook the carrots for a couple of minutes before patting them dry and placing them on the grill. 

"If you don't have a grill, you can use an indoor grill pan for the grill marks, or just skip the grill marks altogether," she says. In any case, she points out that "The carrots will be cooked through after boiling anyway." You can always give them a quick fry in a cast-iron pan or skillet if you want to give them a little more color. If you want to infuse the carrot dogs with smoky aromas, Shungu recommends, "you can substitute smoked paprika for the regular paprika, or add a teaspoon of liquid smoke to the boiling liquid to get that classic smoky flavor of hot dogs."

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