{{Short description|Hot dog with chili}} {{Infobox food | name = Chili dog | image = Chili dog with fries.jpg | image_size = 250px | caption = A chili-cheese dog served with a side of fries | alternate_name = | country = United States | region = | course = | type = Hot dog | served = | main_ingredient = Hot dog bun, hot dog, chili con carne; often cheese, onions, mustard | variations = Michigan dog, half-smoke | calories = | other = }} A '''chili dog''' is a hot dog served in a bun and topped with a meat sauce, usually chili con carne. Additional toppings may include cheese, onions, and mustard. The style has multiple regional variations in the United States, many calling for specific and unique sauce ingredients, types of hot dogs, or types of buns, and referred to regionally under region-specific names. It is commonly served as a casual food in settings such as diners, fast-food establishments, and sporting events.
==Regional variations==
===Texas wiener=== {{see also|Texas Tommy (hot dog)}} [[File:Two chili cheese hot dogs from Rutt's Hut in Clifton, New Jersey.jpg|alt=Two chili cheese hot dogs from Rutt's Hut in Clifton, New Jersey|thumb|Two chili–cheese hot dogs from Rutt's Hut in Clifton, New Jersey]] {{Anchor|Texas hot dog}}In New Jersey and Pennsylvania, the "Texas hot dog," "Texas chili dog," "Texas hot," or "Texas wiener," is a hot dog with chili or hot sauce; it is served in variations with assorted condiments. The Texas wiener was created in Paterson, New Jersey, before 1920<ref>{{cite book|last=Stern|first=Jane and Michael|title=Roadfood|year=2002|publisher=Broadway Books|isbn=0-7679-0809-0|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=roCHEntpvMMC&q=Roadfood&pg=PA98|page=98|access-date=2020-11-25|archive-date=2021-08-10|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210810191206/https://books.google.com/books?id=roCHEntpvMMC&q=Roadfood&pg=PA98|url-status=live}}</ref> and in Altoona, Pennsylvania, by Peter "George" Koufougeorgas in 1918<ref>{{cite web|last=Mincin|first=Jimmy|title=Hot doggin' it|url=http://www.altoonamirror.com/page/content.detail/id/515838.html?showlayout=0|work=Altoona Mirror|date=February 5, 2009|access-date=February 15, 2014|archive-date=February 23, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140223101817/http://www.altoonamirror.com/page/content.detail/id/515838.html?showlayout=0|url-status=dead}}</ref> and originally called Texas Hot Wieners. The "Texas" reference is to the chili sauce used on the dogs. It is considered a unique regional hot dog style, partly because in addition to the chili or hot sauce, the hot dog itself is always deep-fried.<ref>{{Cite web |date=November 7, 2022 |title=The Hot Texas Wiener and Its Preparation |url=https://www.loc.gov/collections/working-in-paterson/articles-and-essays/patersons-hot-texas-wiener-tradition/the-hot-texas-wiener-and-its-preparation/ |access-date=November 7, 2022 |website=Library of College Digital Collections}}</ref> From its origins, the invention spread to the Pennsylvania cities of Scranton and Philadelphia.<ref>{{cite web|last=Krall|first=Hawk|title=Hot Dog Of The Week: Texas Wieners|url=http://www.seriouseats.com/2009/07/hot-dog-of-the-week-texas-weiner.html|publisher=Serious Eats|date=July 17, 2009|access-date=February 15, 2014|archive-date=February 22, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140222204757/http://www.seriouseats.com/2009/07/hot-dog-of-the-week-texas-weiner.html|url-status=live}}</ref> By the 1920s, it had reached Western New York, where numerous long-standing hot dog stands continue to exist, including a stand run by the Rigas family (dating to 1921)<ref>{{cite web|first=Mike|last=Randall|url=https://www.wkbw.com/news/texas-hot-a-wellsville-tradition-for-96-years|title=Texas hot: a Wellsville tradition for 96 years|work=WKBW-TV|date=October 4, 2018|access-date=October 4, 2018|archive-date=October 5, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181005071751/https://www.wkbw.com/news/texas-hot-a-wellsville-tradition-for-96-years|url-status=live}}</ref> and Ted's Hot Dogs (which opened in 1927).
===Coney Island hot dog=== [[File:Flint coney island.jpg|thumb|A Flint-style Coney Island hot dog with a raw onion topping]] {{expand section|date=January 2024}} {{Main|Coney Island hot dog}} In southeastern Michigan, a Coney Island hot dog is a European-style ''Frankfurter Würstel'' (Vienna sausage) of German origin with a natural lamb or sheep casing, topped with a beef heart-based sauce, which was developed by Macedonian and Greek immigrants in the area. It has several local variations, including Detroit-style, Flint-style, and Jackson-style.{{Citation needed|date=December 2025}}
===Hot wiener=== {{Main|Hot wiener}} In Rhode Island, the hot wiener or New York System wiener is a staple of the food culture and is served at "New York System" restaurants. The traditional wiener is made with a small, thin hot dog made of veal and pork, giving it a different taste from a traditional beef hot dog, served in a steamed bun, and topped with celery salt, yellow mustard, chopped onions, and a seasoned meat sauce.
===Michigan hot dog=== {{Main|Michigan hot dog}}
In the North Country of New York State, a Michigan hot dog, or "Michigan", is a steamed hot dog on a steamed bun topped with a meaty sauce, generally referred to as "Michigan sauce."
===Cheese coney=== {{Main|Cincinnati chili}} [[File:Skyline Chili Coneys.jpg|right|thumb|Cheese coneys]] In Greater Cincinnati, as well as parts of northern Oklahoma, such as in Tulsa and Stillwater, Oklahoma, cheese coneys or Coney Islands (without the cheese) are hot dogs in buns topped with Cincinnati chili (a Greek-inspired meat sauce), onions, mustard, and cheese.
===Carolina-style=== {{Main|Carolina style}} In North Carolina, hot dogs topped with chili, onions, and either mustard or slaw are referred to as "Carolina-style", which is also used to refer to hamburgers with similar toppings.
===Half-smoke=== {{Main|Half-smoke}}[[File:Chili half smoke Bens.jpg|thumb|left|A half-smoke]] In Washington, D.C., the half-smoke is similar to a hot dog, but usually larger, spicier, and with more coarsely-ground meat. The sausage is often half-pork and half-beef, smoked, and served with herbs, onion, and chili sauce.{{Clear}}<br />
==See also== {{portal|Food}} * Chili burger * Hot dog variations * List of hot dogs * List of sausage dishes * Sonic the Hedgehog
==References== {{reflist}}
==Further reading== *[http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/collections/paterson/essay6c.html A Brief History of the Hot Texas Wiener] (Library of Congress / American Memory)
==External links== *{{Commonscat-inline|Chili dogs}} *[https://www.nytimes.com/1997/01/12/nyregion/geography-quiz-where-s-the-texas-in-the-texas-wiener.html Geography Quiz: Where's the Texas in the Texas Wiener?] (''The New York Times'')
{{Hot dog variations}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Chili Dog}} Category:Hot dogs Category:Chili con carne Category:American meat dishes