In the Adirondaks, Michigan Hotdogs are a thing. They are sweet chili dog made with ground beef chili, served over a boiled hotdog with or without onions on a New England Style bun. At our house, we are constantly thinking about how we can make meals with venison. So, now in our kitchen, Venison Michigan Hotdogs are a thing.
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Michigan Sauce
Michigan Sauce is pretty easy to make. The trick is to boil the meat rather than brown it. Start with a pound of ground venison and a cup of warm tap water in which you squish the meat. Yuck, but it is what makes them Michigans. To this meat mixture, you add ketchup and chili powder and simmer until the liquid cooks down. That’s it.
My husband swears that the other trick to a perfect Venison Michigan Hotdog, or any Michigan Hotdog really, is that it is a “dirty water dog.” Apparently, hotdog carts in New York City make them this way. While our water is not “dirty” (meaning it’s been used all day), we usually boil the hotdogs rather than grill them. We love to make them using hotdogs from Wilson’s Beef Farms. If your local to the Finger Lakes/Western New York area, we highly recommend their hotdogs and other meat products. (This is not an affiliate link, just good locavore living).
Serving Michigan Hotdogs
When you order a Michigan at a roadside stand, it’s with or without. Chopped onions are the “with.” We prefer ours with. At home, we served our venison version with a side of Summer’s Best Coleslaw.
The Michigan Sauce is a great weekend make ahead for a quick weeknight meal. Hotdogs are perfect for sandwich night and easily fit into our meal planning for the week. It’s super easy to double the recipe for a crowd or to freeze meal-sized portions for a quick meal at a later date. Happy days, we have some in the freezer right now!
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- 1 pound ground venison
- 1 cup warm water from the tap
- 3/4 cup ketchup
- 1 tablespoon + 1 teaspoon chili powder
Ingredients
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- In a large sauce pan with a lid, squish the ground meat up into the warm water.
- Add the ketchup and chili powder. Simmer on medium heat with the top on until most of the liquid has cooked out.
