NEW YORK HOT DOG WITH CLASSIC SABRETT ONION SAUCE

Jackie Robinson broke the color-barrier when he began to play for the Brooklyn Dodgers in April 1957. This is a photograph from Look Magazine. It is now in the Library of Congress collection, LC Reproduction Number: LC-L9-54-3566-O, #7.

"A hot dog at the ballpark is better than a steak at the Ritz." Humphrey Bogart

Reproduction of a 1908 postcard picturing Surf Avenue, Coney Island, New York via Wikipedia.

"The true New Yorker secretly believes that anyone living anywhere else has got to be, in some sense, kidding." John Updike

For most people who came of age in Brooklyn of the 40s and 50s, there are probably three stand-out memories of New York hot dogs - hot dogs at the ballpark, hot dogs at Coney Island, and hot dogs from a Sabrett street cart.  Part of the memory is Sabrett's tangy, tantalizing and spicy orange-red sauce.

Sabrett products from their website.

Sabrett and Hebrew National hot dogs were and probably still are the most favored. Sabrett's, according to their website, is wheat-and-gluten free. I have found reference saying that Hebrew National hot dogs are as well. If you have celiac disease, be sure to do your own homework.
This homemade version of the onion sauce so beloved by New Yorkers is naturally wheat-and-gluten free.

New York Style (Sabrett's) Onion Sauce
This recipe
Will top about six hot dogs

• 1 1/2 teaspoons of olive oil, the light variety
• 1 medium yellow onion, chopped
• 1 cup water
• 1 teaspoons cornstarch
• 1 teaspoon corn syrup
• 1 tablespoon tomato paste
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
• 1/4 cup white vinegar

In a large pan over a low-to-medium heat, brown the onions in oil until they are tender and light golden, not brown. Lower the heat. Desolve the cornstarch in the water, whisking to blend well.  Add the cornstarch and water mixture to the onions, mixing well. Add the rest of the ingredients except the vinegar and mix gently. Bring the onion mixture to a boil, then lower the heat. Simmer for about twenty-five minutes to thickened and reduce the sauce. Add the vinegar and simmer for another ten minutes.

Actual product ingredients may differ from than that which is shown or suggested on this blog. Please remember that you should not rely solely on the information presented here or anywhere online and that you always read labels, warnings, and directions before purchasing and consuming a product.