Grandpa's Classic Coney Sauce

This is CONEY sauce. Not chili! Ten stars! just upped the ketchup a bit.also try adding dry minced onion instead of fresh. gives it bolder onion flavor.i also reduced vinegar.if you put meat in food processor it makes it more of a classic coney consistency. then to make the flavor really cook together well, i slow cooked in the crock pot.

Excellent coney sauce. This not a chili dog recipe. There is a difference between a coney and a chili dog. If you want a chili dog, search for a chili dog recipe. I used one of those hand blenders (boat motors) to get the meat fine after I added the sauce.

This recipe was absolutely great!! The only things I modified were I added a little bit more ketchup and a little bit more Worcestershire sauce.(just a little) I am a true chili dog fan and at first, I thought this recipe would not compare to my traditional chili that I make for hot dogs. But now, this is my new recipe! Thanks Grandpa!

My family and my neighbors really enjoyed this recipe. Using one of those hand blenders I followed the suggestion from a previous review. And found that to be so helpful and handy....now I know how Taco Bell's taco meat is always this way. I will totally make this again and now use my hand blender in other uses like this. This gets my 5 star. I didn't change not one thing to this recipe. Everyone had more then one hot dog. Thanks

This was so good that my husband couldn't stop and ate 4 coneys! He said it was a little sweet, but really good. My son thought it was really good but different from the chili type sauce he is used to. Both of them have said they want this again. I thought this was almost like sweet tomatoey sloppy joes. I did add water to the beef in the skillet before I cooked it so it would break into fine pieces instead of being chunky when it browned. Thanks for posting this Sean, your Grandpa's sauce is a hit!

CHANGE NOTHING...ITS WORLD CLASS..

Love, love, love this recipe! I see by the reviews that many Americans don't know the difference between chili dogs and coney dogs. People this is not a chili dog recipe. No chili powder should ever come near this recipe and it should not taste like you opened a can of that foul chili stuff made by Armour. This is a sweet recipe that covered coney dogs at the root beer drive-in when I was a little girl (45-50 years ago). Grandpa you rock! This is the recipe I've been trying to find for the last three decades. I followed the recipe to the letter and tasted it and thought oh no this is disgusting. I went ahead and added the cooked hamburger/onion mixture and plugged the crockpot in on low. To my utter delight what I tasted two hours later was a trip down memory lane. This is the holy grail of coney dog recipes. My family ate every bite of this recipe and clamored for more. I will be making another batch for 4th of July festivities and I will be adding it to all summer holidays. I can't wait to feed it to guests and extended family members who can reach back to the days when coney dogs ruled the drive ins! Thank you so much.

Wonderful sauce for doggies! I added a wee bit more ketchup and put cooked ground beef and onion in my food processor after browning.....Delightful. I will make again and again!

Wonderful!! Just like I remember when I was a kid - just the right flavor!!!!! Will make again!!! Note: I used ground bison instead of ground beef. Also - ***** read some of the other reviews.....this really shouldn't be compared to sloppy joe mix - or chili dogs - this is from the 1950's and it is right on the mark!!

This was not great to me. I was very hopeful based on the reviews but my kids didn't care for it and neither did I. I will not be making this recipe again. I am not sure if it was the celery seed or the mustard but the flavors didn't mesh well for me. I agree with other reviewers in that it tasted very similar to sloppy joes but I just didn't care for this recipe. I made the recipe exactly as written. Thanks anyway, different strokes for different folks! :)

We really enjoy this coney sauce. I have nothing to compare it to, as in one sauce is better than the other, we just know that it's good. After making it a couple times now, I can substitute ground turkey without noticing, cut the sugar back just a touch, add in fresh garlic and I use Beau Monde instead of celery seed. If you do use Beau Monde (which is a snazzy name for celery salt and onion powder), remember to either cut back on the salt you add or eliminate it all together. When I make this, I like to double the ingredients so there's enough for me to freeze for a second or even third or fourth meal. Hot dogs are always on sale during the summer, so this is a good make ahead sauce to thaw for a quick dinner.

Made this tonight for dinner and it was really good. I didn't have time to let it slow cook but let it simmer on the stove while I steamed some turkey dogs. Cut the recipe in half and it still came out very good. Not too dry and not too soupy. Next time I will slow cook it and use the immersion blender to get it the right consistency. Really good recipe.

Really good, I will definitely make this again. Also if you don't want to get out your mixer or food processor can get the meat fine if you use a potato masher on it as you're cooking it.

This is a really good chili but not really a chili without chili powder so I added 2 tablespoons of chili powder. Also would add a little more catsup and worcestershire sauce as my chili seemed to need a little more liquid. Overall, this was a very good addition to my Saturday night hot dogs!!

First time I have ever made coney sauce to put on hot dogs, my family LOVED this and fought over the leftovers!

I halved the recipe and would be plenty for 6 dogs. I followed this recipe to a T but needs some tweaking. The sauce is too sweet for my taste. Going forward, I am going to eliminate the sugar all together. Instead of ketchup, I am going to use tomato sauce. It also needs some sort of spice component. Maybe red pepper flakes, chili powder, or paprika. I also added about 1/2 cup water to the meat while browning to get it fine.

Way too sweet. Followed recipe exactly but during taste testing I found it was not as good as I had hoped. While it was in slow cooker I added dried onion, garlic and some chili powder. Still too sweet!! I added one can undiluted tomato soup and that cut the sweetness nicely. I simmered in crock pot a bit longer and it was very good

This is THE sauce!! Made it as written and it came out wonderful. The whole family loved it!!

I admit, I am a hotdog fanatic. This recipe has been in my files waaay too long. I had not separated a 5 lb. package of ground beef and decided to hold onto 2 lbs and not put into the freezer so I could make this recipe last night to go on some grilled hotdogs tonight. Of course, the aroma made me crazy so I nuked a dawg, added this sauce and fell in love with your Grandpa!! This is totally TNT CONEY sauce. Delicious is sooo understated!!

I made this coney sauce per the recipe and I have to say I was kindof dissappointed. I understand that this is not a recipe for hot dog chili, but I still expected it to have some chili-like flavor. The flavor of this sauce was more like sloppy joe filling. This is not a flavor that I normally associate with hot dogs. I think I'm just going to keep looking for a more chili-like recipe.

Pretty good.... Although I generally have more time to cook on weekends, I didn't have the energy for anything but being a couch potato today (it's been a "too long" week). Because this took minimal time to throw together and happily cooked away in my slow cooker, I'm awarding 4 stars. Because I prefer a straight up traditional chili dog (this was a tad too tangy for me / my hubby's liking), I'd personally only award 3. I have never had the "real" thing before, and therefore have nothing to base my comparison on. Having said this, I do think Grandpa's secret recipe reminds me of sloppy joe mix. I'm sure this is 100% authentic, but for those of us who have not had the opportunity to taste the real deal, this is the closest thing to compare to (IMHO). NOTE: You MUST finely grind your beef to acheive a true "coney-style" consistency (thank you Internet!). You can use a food processor, standard blender or hand-held immersiion blender to do this (I used my fp). Just brown your beef / onion, drain and pulse slightly. Another way to get this fine texture is to boil your meat, (I've never tried this method, and therefore can't attest to whether it really works or not...). Served garnished with shredded cheddar and chopped red onion, these weren't bad at all. I'm just not sure they're worth making again. Thanks anyways, Sean! :-)

Great recipe! I upped the ketchup and decreased the mustard. Makes a great coney!

Fantastic CONEY SAUCE ! Please don't give this recipe a bad review because it isn't chili sauce - read the title first, the word "chili" does not appear in it. Being a kid of the late 50's and 60's, this is absolutely like the Coney Sauce that we loved on the footlongs from our little Mom and Pop diner/drive-in. Make sure you slow cook this for hours either in the crock pot or at low heat on the stove top or tightly coverd in a 250 degree oven. I cut the sugar to a tablespoon and a half since I used honey mustard. Thanks for a trip down Memory Lane!

This was GREAT, it made great CONEYS (which by the way are NOT Chili Dogs)!!! I followed the recipe except for 2 things. I used lean ground turkey instead of the beef (since we did NOT use turkey dogs, needed to cut fat somewhere!) and added 2 or 3 shakes of Lousianna Hot sauce too. Great recipe!

I have made this exact recipe before and it is to die for! I used to work at a drive-in here in Indiana a few years back and this tastes just like their coney sauce! People would pay big bucks to get their sauce premade in a bag to take home and cook. I am a very picky eater and this is the only recipe I will ever use. I will take the suggestion of another reviewer and use my food processor to cut the ground beef finer after it is browned. Thank you so much! This recipe I will hold on to for life. I think my boyfriend will stick around for good too because he LOVES this recipe lol

Perfection! As said in other postings, it is NOT meant to be a chili sauce. Throw some on a steamed natural casing hot dog, top with mustard, ketchup, and onions.

I followed this recipe as written and I found it to be a bit too sweet. Next time I will cut the sugar in half and add a touch more ketchup. Overall, it's an excellent sauce for hot dogs. Will definitely make again! Thank you!

Really great Coney Sauce. Didn't change anything. Almost a sweet and sour taste to it. Had some left over so I added it to some baked beans. That was great too. Thanks Sean!

I followed recipe exactly so good

The 2nd time I made this I used a little less sugar and alot more onion. AWESOME. Grew up in northern Michigan. Now live in South Texas and my friends from down here beg me to make this stuff... AWESOME. Thanks Grandpa...

a perfect topping for a hotdog! i added about a tablespoon and a half of sugar instead of two and left out the onions. nice balance of flavors!

Too sweet

Great Coney Sauce! Delicious, easy, no exotic ingredients, and great with hot dogs. It was a hit with our family!

PERFECT! I used turkey (allergic to beef) and used apple cider vinegar and soy sauce. The rest the same! Freeze leftovers!

I halved the recipe because we didn't need so much but it was very good. We all liked it and will make it again. I don't know if it tastes like a coney dog (never had one) but it tastes yummy none-the-less!

This is tasty but not what i'm looking for. To me the flavor of ketchup , vinegar and sugar is overwhelming. I'm looking for something not so rich, more of a spicy meaty flavor, but don't really have any suggestions to make it. It would be browner in color, not so red, and perhaps much drier. Guess I'm just too use to our local upstate NY hot dog sensation for several years from New Way Lunch or nicknamed, "Dirty John's Hot Dogs " or as the youner generation labeled it, "Dirt Dogs". They are great and people send for these all over the country.Try one if you ever are in our area.

My kids LOVED this! I used ground turkey as it was what I had on hand. I will definatly make again!

Not my idea of coney sauce. Was much more like sloppy joe sauce than the coney sauce I'm familiar with.

Love it, Love it, Love it! Hubby makes happy noises when I tell him I'm making it.

I thought this tasted like sloppy joe's and so did my kiddos they were not fond of it. Felt bad but I had to toss it.

I cannot give this five stars because it doesn't taste like any chili dog I've ever had, it's too sweet and not chili-like. But we did like it as sloppy joes, it has well-balanced spices.

Sorry Grandpa this was way to sweet for me:(

tasted like ketchuo

This Coney sauce is excellent!! Simple flavors combined very well into a sauce that is sure to be a favorite summer evening tradition.. Thanks for sharing..

I'm from the West Coast so I have never had a coney dog before. My dad always wanted to open a store but never did. In reading online it seems like it's just supposed to be heaven but I have to be honest, I'm living in Mexico and I really want to open a hot dog restaurant here with a sauce like coney sauce but in reading the reviews it seems like everyone likes this sauce but unfortunately it doesn't do it for me. I followed the recipe exact by the way.

Made this for a cookout/potluck - it was a HIT!!

DELICIOUS! I scaled the recipe back to use onlt 3/4 pound of meat b/c that's all I had and that was plenty for us. After cooking/draining the meat and onion mixture, I finely ground it in my food processor. I then proceeded w/ the recipe, only allowing it to simmer on the stove instead of the slow cooker, until I felt it was done. I would like to try it in the slow cooker sometime, I just didn't have time. I think while this did rival sloppy joe to an extent, it was just different enough, and we LOVED it on our hot dogs! NOTE: I actually made this last week when I had to use the meat and froze it until I needed it...worked perfectly! I will def make this again~YUM! Thanks for sharing. :)

it was good - but most said it was just like a "sloppy joe"...

We LOVE this on hot dogs! After browning my beef, I used my immersion blender to grind it fine. I used a bit less vinegar and sugar and a bit more catsup than called for (just because it looked like it need more "sauce"). This will definitely be my "go to" for hot dogs! Thanks!

Might have been the cut of meat.

This is not at all what I think a coney sauce should taste like. It is more like a sweet ketchup with beef. I had to triple the mustard and add chili powder just to more it closer to coney sauce. Big disappointment for the Super Bowl.

Maybe it's just that I am a California girl and haven't had a coney dog? To me this just tasted like a sweet sloppy joe on top of a hot dog

I wasn't sure what to expect with this recipe, but I was pleasantly surprised. I made this exactly as directed. I did find it to be a bit too sweet, so next time I will just leave out the sugar. Thanks!

pureed the meat with small amount of chicken soup stock, added chili powder and paprika to taste and small amount of parm cheese and a bay leaf. Cooked 3hrs.

Good Coney sauce. The celery seed definitely gives a different odd flavor. Definately too much ketchup though. No need to add salt because the add sauce all have salt in them.

This is good but it is not what we are used to having on our hotdogs. It is sweet, just so you will know. I followed the directions exactly and found the ground meat crumbled small enough that I did not think it needed to be emulsified as an earlier reviewer mentioned. Overall, I think this could be used as a different version of sloppy joes. There is not a lot of difference to me in sweetness or in texture though I do appreciate GPa sharing this recipe.

Now this is a coney island, I have similar recipe. There is only one flavor truly Coney Island, all the others are chili. Only criticism is I've always had them wtih the onions steamed on top and NOT cooked with the meat. American CLASSIC!! Don't put cheese on this work of art.

If you like sweet meat sauce then this is for you. I do not like the sweet flavor my self. Fl. Mike

Excellent. Tastes like sloppy Joe mix.

I've tried many recipes on this site and never found a bad one until today. I followed the recipe exactly and ended up with nothing that resembles Coney Sauce. Sorry, but I would not recommend this recipe.

Being a southern girl, it did not impress my palate.

EXACTLY!!!!!! what I was hoping for when i found this. Reminded me of the Drive-in in my hometown when I was growing up....second time i made it I did double the recipe and add just a little more ketchup and did not double the vinegar( personal preference) Thank you, Thank you, Thank you for posting this

TIP: If you want the meat to have a very fine texture, boil it in water. Place the ground beef in a saucepan, cover with water and slow boil until the meat is brown. You will know when it is done. Sounds very strange and looks very unappetizing, but this is how you get the right texture.

I have never had coney sauce so I have nothing to judge theis against. That being said it tasted almost exactly like the sloppy joe recipe that I use. It wasn't bad but a little sweet for a hot dog to me. Even after loading on the mustard it was still quite sweet.

two words : absolutely amazing! My fiance's favorite meal is hot dogs, which to me can get pretty boring but this coney sauce was exactly what I needed to spice things up! In fact, I never craved a hot dog until I made this. Thanks for posting!!

This recipe is better than most I've tried, but I still don't think it's it. I might give it one more try since I let it simmer on the stove rather than all day in the crockpot. Almost, but not quite.

I found this WAY too sweet. Not the coney sauce I am used to. I am used to Flint style coney sauce.

Thanks for sharing! Made the recipe exactly, it was great!!!! No need for modifications.

Love this!

Have never had a coney before, enjoyed very much. Followed the recipe measurements to a T and put in the crockpot for almost 7 hours (little longer than I intended, but we had a fun day at the zoo!). DBF said they tasted ok too, he grew up eating them in MI...DS was not a fan but he does not really like hot dogs. Crock potting for so long pretty much made the onions disappear and my burger was in pretty fine chunks so it was a nice smooth sauce. I had to add some Dijon to mine because otherwise it's not a hot dog to me. Yum, thanks for the recipe!

So yummy! Between me, my mom and my boyfriend 16 hotdogs were inhaled in two days. Thank you we love this sauce.

very nice....smooth, flavorful

Thank you for this great recipe! I did cut in half and I added 1/2 teaspoon of ground cumin. The cumin seem to give it that real "Coney Dog" taste. These were fantastic! I was going to A&W, but decided to make my own. It saved me a lot of money and tastes so much better! Bye Bye A&W!

Awesome. So, so good. I grew up in Southeast Michigan and am now living in Tennessee. Around here, when a place advertises "Coney-dogs", they are usually selling chili dogs, and I've missed my hometown favorites. This sauce took me home. We ate coney dogs for a week and I can't wait to make another batch. The only thing I did different was use a stick blender to smooth out the sauce. Thank you so much for posting this recipe.

Outstanding-and I didnt have to change a thing! I made this one night for dinner and my kids and hubby were hooked! Great recipe for parties or just for dinner.

I have never had the Coney sauce this is being compared to by reviewers, and I am not a hot dog fan. 1 or two a year has always been more than enough for me. I saw this recipe a while back and saved it to make for hubby. I saw the proportions and thought that would be just the right amount for him, and decided I would have leftovers, while he devoured hot dogs and fries. I put it all together just as the recipe stated, using the immersion blender in the crockpot, after adding the drained meat and onions, then the rest of the short list of ingredients, putting it on low, and walking away. I went by it and it smelled so good that I just had to taste it. It is SO good!! I would eat that on hotdogs once or twice a week. I would eat it on cheeseburgers. I would eat it out of a bowl with a spoon! Hubby loves it too, btw. I knew he would. Certainly add hot sauce or chili powder if you want it spicy, but don't be confused, this is nothing like chili, nor does it claim to be! If it's a sloppy joe or chi dog you want, there are great recipes for both on this site. This is really very good, and am so glad I tried it! Thanks :)

I fixed this for a pool party a week ago and it was the BOMB!!!!!!!. I did however add about 2 tablespoons of chili powder. People were eating it by itself. I will def, make it again.

This is exactly what I was looking for! I used cider vinegar instead of white, and kept everything else the same-- except cooked it pretty quick and it was still perfect! Reminds me of the coneys I had growing up. So much better than chili-dog sauce (which is about all there is where I live now).

WHO Boy, this stuff is good.

Made a few times already. Very good!!

This was okay, there was a little too much vinegar in the taste. My family has been using this recipe for years, except this is our recipe for sloppy joes! Tasted quite different on a hot dog...but it was okay.

This was o.k. , I am not sure if I will be making it again.

My family loves this so much! All I change is I add garlic.

This is NOT at all what I was expecting! It was way too sweet. It tasted like sweet sloppy joe sauce. I had to make adjustments once done to try and reduce the sweetness. Could be good sloppy joe recipe with some tweaks (less sugar less ketchup)

This is a very good coney dog recipe. I see some people are confusing it with chili dog recipe. I made it exactly to the recipe. And i thought it was very good. I used a leaner ground chuck, I would think I would increase the amount of meat if i used a fattier hamburger. But we all liked it and will make it again !!!!

I tripled this recipe for a crowd, but did not triple the sugar! It still tasted too sweet for my liking and I did not get any rave reviews from my guests

I've made this a few times. Put raw hamburger in crockpot and add all ingredients. It will come out perfect without using hand mixer or food processor. Same way i make actual chili. Fry 2 lbs and put in 2 pounds raw. Best of both worlds. Thanks Sean for a great tasting recipe

Would not fix again. Tasted like sweet sloppy joe.

Never had anything but chili on top of a hot dog before - this was phenomenal! I halved the recipe; only changes I made were I didn't have enough ketchup, so I made my own up with a can of tomato paste, some vinegar, water, a little sugar, and some onion powder to taste. It ended up being a little more "ketchup" than the receipe called for. I also mixed about 1/4 cup of barbecue sauce in, and put in an extra 1/4 tsp of worcerstershire sauce.

This coney sauce was just perfect, exactly what I was looking for. My family loved it and my daughter said that it was the best hot dog she had ever eaten! Thanks for the great recipe, this one will be added to my favorites! YUMM!

This was very tasty! Made according to recipe and it turned out perfect. I used my immersion blender to get it smoother. No, it does NOT taste like chili :)

I have nothing to compare this to, but a far off memory of the sauce our high school band boosters used during football games back in Ohio. I loved their sauce and I loved Grandpa's sauce, too. But let me pile on to what others have said before me. This is a sweet sauce with a little zing. If that sounds "gross" to you, don't make this recipe. This is NOT a chili dog sauce. Looking for a chili taste? Find a chili-based recipe. And don't ever trust one that has ketchup as an ingredient! LOL I think of this as a fancy high-grade, meat-infused, sweet ketchup hotdog sauce. I, too, made a half batch. Because my slow cooker was too big for 1 lb of meat, I put it in a small covered casserole and baked it for 4-5 hours on 200.

Great recipe !! A hit everytime, THANKS so much for sharing!

Very good. My husband and son loved the coney dogs.

Too sweet

Finally, a coney recipe everyone in the family liked. I used ground turkey because that is all I had & nobody noticed a difference. I used a bit less sugar. So much better then the stuff you buy in the tube.

Fantastic! Thanks for this recipe.

I did not care for this coney sauce and we couldn't eat it. It's too sweet and too ketchup-y. I have never had a coney sauce that tastes sweet. I guess we're going hungry tonight.

I cut the recipe in half and followed ingredients exactly. Simmered in covered cast iron skillet rather than crock pot. This was good, but for my tastes a bit sweet, guess I was looking for more of a chili flavor. So, I added some pepper sauce. If I make again I'll omit sugar and cut back ketchup and add hot sauce or taco sauce.