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A Chicago-style hot dog in a poppy-seed bun with mustard, relish, onion, tomato, pickle, and sport peppers.

Chicago-style hot dog

Prep 15 min Cook 10 min Total 25 min Servings 8

By Lukasz Jagiello

Published Oct 12, 2026 · Updated Oct 12, 2026

Photo: ZhengZhou, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

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About this recipe

I only post recipes that I have tried and verified and are good to my taste — all taste may vary.

A bare simmer keeps the casing intact, and a steamed poppy-seed bun is soft enough to hold the whole line of toppings. Ketchup is left off so the mustard and relish stay sharp.

Ingredients

Method

  1. 01

    Bring a wide pan of water to a bare simmer. Slide in the hot dogs and cook 5 minutes. Do not let the water boil hard, or the casings split.

  2. 02

    Steam the buns for about 1 minute over the same pan, or wrap them in a damp towel and warm them until soft.

  3. 03

    Set a dog in each bun. In this order: a line of yellow mustard, a line of relish, the diced onion, two tomato wedges, a pickle spear, two sport peppers, and a pinch of celery salt.

  4. 04

    Leave the ketchup off.

Notes & swaps

  • Sport peppers can be another small pickled hot pepper. The rest of the line stays the same.
  • A plain bun works if you cannot find poppy seeds. Steam it anyway.

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