In Chicago, it’s mustard only on hotdogs. But why?
A proper Chicago hotdog has tomatoes, pickles, peppers, relish, onions and mustard. It does not have ketchup.
“Ketchup, there’s always been an argument: do you put ketchup on the hotdog? And honestly, you don’t,” Chicago Chef Steve Chiappetti told NBC Chicago.
Chiappetti is the executive chef at State and Lake Tavern in the city’s Loop — he’s also a lifelong Chicagoan.
Born and raised on the South Side, Chiappetti comes from a family of butchers who did business in the old stockyards decades ago.
“During the depression, going back to Upton Sinclair and the old Chicago stockyards, actually when it was made, some of the meats weren’t always good,” Chiappetti said. “So they actually used ketchup on it to cover up, the flavor of bad meat. So it used to be prideful, that we don’t serve ketchup. Meaning our hotdogs were better than everyone else’s.”
That’s why Chicago is so passionate about a mustard hotdog.
“It’s all about quality, it’s all about taste,” Chiappetti added.
His restaurant in the Loop often attracts tourists, and many, who request ketchup on their Chicago dog.
“Of course we have to say no!” Chiappetti said. “We say ages 8 and under, you can have ketchup, but we try not to serve it.”
So maybe ask for ketchup, only if it’s for the kids. Otherwise, respect the reason that here in Chicago we skip the sweet red sauce.
“People didn’t want to cover it up and mask the true flavors. And how great is that? What a great premise to eating. Give me the natural, the best, don’t cover things up in sugar. I think the hotdog story is a lot of what the culinary story is in Chicago,” Chiappetti said.
