Hot Wiener
intro
Iconic Rhode Island street food: snappy natural-casing beef wieners in soft steamed buns, topped with spiced meat sauce, mustard, onion, and celery salt.
Ingredients
Steps
Prepare spiced meat sauce
Heat 5ml (1 teaspoon) neutral canola oil in a small 1L saucepan over medium heat (175°C/350°F). Add 225g 80/20 lean ground beef, break it into extremely fine 2mm crumbles with a wooden spoon as it cooks for 3 minutes, until no pink remains. Stir in 30g (2 tablespoons) tomato paste, 3g (1 teaspoon) chili powder, 2g (1 teaspoon) sweet paprika, 1g (1/2 teaspoon) ground cumin, 1.5g (1/2 teaspoon) garlic powder, and 120ml (1/2 cup) water for the sauce. Bring to a gentle simmer, reduce heat to low, and cook uncovered for 12 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the sauce is thin and evenly spiced with no large meat clumps. Set aside and keep warm at 60°C/140°F.
Prep toppings and buns
Measure 60ml (1/4 cup) yellow prepared mustard into a small ceramic ramekin. Finely dice 150g (1 medium) yellow onion into uniform 3mm pieces, and place in a separate small glass serving bowl. Separate the 8 New England split-top hot dog buns, taking care not to tear the connected back hinge on each bun, and set them within arm’s reach of your stovetop.
Simmer the beef wieners
Fill a medium 3L saucepan with 5cm of cold water, bring to a gentle rolling boil over medium-high heat (190°C/375°F). Add all 8 natural-casing all-beef wieners to the water, reduce heat to medium-low to maintain a light, bubbling simmer, and cook for 7 minutes. Do not boil rapidly, as high heat will split the natural casings and make the wieners tough. Remove wieners from water with metal tongs, set on a clean plate.
Steam the soft buns
Place a perforated metal steamer basket over the same pot of hot wiener cooking water, keeping heat on low to maintain a steady flow of gentle steam. Working in batches of 2, place buns in the steamer basket, cover tightly, and steam for 45 seconds per batch until buns are soft, warm, and slightly pliable. Remove steamed buns immediately and arrange in a single layer on a serving platter; do not stack them, as trapped moisture will cause sogginess.
Assemble base layers
Place one cooked wiener snugly inside each steamed split bun. Squeeze an even 5ml (1 teaspoon) line of yellow mustard down the full length of each wiener, running from one end of the bun to the other; reserve the remaining 20ml of mustard for guests who prefer extra tang. Spoon 30g (2 tablespoons) of the warm spiced meat sauce over the mustard, covering the entire length of the wiener for even flavor in every bite.
Add finishing toppings
Sprinkle 15g (1.5 tablespoons) of finely diced yellow onion evenly over the meat sauce on each wiener, reserving the remaining 30g of onion for guests who prefer extra topping. Finish every hot wiener with a light, even dusting of 0.75g (1/4 teaspoon) celery salt across the top of the onions. Serve immediately while the wieners and buns are still hot.
Tips
2.Natural-casing wieners are non-negotiable for the signature 'snap' when you bite in; skinless beef franks will have a soft, mushy texture that does not match the classic preparation.
3.Do not over-steam the buns: 45 seconds is enough to warm and soften them, and longer steaming will make them soggy and unable to hold toppings without falling apart.
OMG, I grew up eating these at Olneyville New York System every Friday night with my dad and I was so scared no recipe would hit the same! This is PERFECT. The meat sauce has that exact savory, slightly spiced kick I remember, and the celery salt on top? *Chef’s kiss* Made these for my partner last night who’d never had a RI hot wiener and he’s already begging me to make them again for our game night this weekend.
Total game changer for weeknight dinners! I was stuck in the same hot dog rut where my kids would complain they were bored of regular grilled dogs, so I tried this on a whim. Cook time was exactly 30 minutes like the recipe said, no fancy steps, and ALL three of my kids cleared their plates, even my super picky 7 year old who turns his nose up at anything with sauce! I brought the leftover meat sauce to my neighborhood potluck yesterday and people were hounding me for the recipe. Only note: I used regular yellow mustard instead of the spicy brown because that’s what I had in the fridge, still worked great.
Tried these out for my backyard cookout on Saturday and they were the first thing to get wiped off the table! I was a little skeptical at first about the meat sauce topping, I usually do chili dogs, but the flavor is so much more unique — that hint of paprika and allspice? Unreal. I did add a tiny extra dash of hot sauce to the sauce for a little more heat, which my crew loved. Only reason I’m not giving 5 stars is I wish the recipe noted how many wieners this makes! I ended up running out halfway through the cookout because I only bought 1 pack, oops.
SO good! I prepped all the components on Sunday — cooked the meat sauce, chopped the onions, got the buns ready — and these came together in 2 minutes flat for lunches all week. Way better than the sad takeout I usually grab on my lunch break, and my coworkers kept stopping by my desk asking what smelled so good. Will absolutely be adding this to my regular meal prep rotation.
Super easy recipe even for someone who burns toast half the time! I live in a tiny dorm with just a hot plate and a microwave, and I was able to pull this off no problem for me and my roommate. We didn’t have celery salt so we used regular salt and a little celery seed, and it still slapped. 10/10, would make again instead of spending $12 on food truck hot dogs after class.
I’ve been chasing a good RI hot wiener ever since I took a road trip through New England back in the 90s, and this is the closest I’ve ever gotten to the ones I had at that little roadside stand outside Providence. The recipe is straightforward, no weird hard-to-find ingredients, which I really appreciate as someone who doesn’t like running all over town for specialty groceries. I served these with a side of salt and vinegar chips, just like I did on that trip, and it felt like being 25 again.
Really solid base recipe! I upped the chili powder and added a pinch of cayenne to the meat sauce because I love my food with a kick, and it came out incredible. I also steamed the buns instead of toasting them because that’s how I remember having them when I visited family in RI as a kid. Only tiny gripe is I wish the recipe had a note about traditional steamed vs toasted buns, but that’s a super minor thing! Will be making these for my birthday cookout next month!
Brought these to my church potluck last Sunday and I got so many compliments I lost count! Several people asked for the recipe before they even finished their first wiener, I told them to look it up here. The meat sauce is so flavorful without being heavy, and the little sprinkle of chopped onion adds the perfect crunch. 10/10, will be making these for every potluck from now on.
Just moved to Seattle from Providence 6 months ago and I was having major homesickness for real RI hot wieners. All the hot dog spots out here do cream cheese and caramelized onions which are fine, but they’re not the same. This recipe was so easy to follow and tasted exactly like home, I almost cried when I took the first bite. Thank you so much for sharing this!
Pretty good! I think I overcooked the meat sauce a little so it was drier than I expected, but the flavor was spot on. Next time I’ll keep the heat a little lower and stir it more often so it stays nice and saucy. My husband loved them so much he had three, so I’d call that a win even with my little mistake.