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Making Hot Dog Relish

post #1 of 5
9/1/07 at 6:16am
Thread Starter 
Thus far I've not found any commercial pickle relish to eat with hot dogs that I like. They all tend to be too sweet. To be honest, there areen't too many brands around here that I've seen.

So, two things: first, are there any brands of relish that you like. Second, and and of greater interest, does anyone have a recipe or some suggestions for making a good pickle relish? I'm not interested in anything that contains mustard, although mustard seeds might be just fine. I'm looking more for a pickle type relish, not cucumber. I like a more sour taste.

I was thinking that something with cornichons might work, maybe with some red pepper as well, but beyond that I haven't a clue.

Thanks,

Shel
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post #2 of 5
9/1/07 at 7:07am
I always thought the only hot dog relish, as such, worth eating was the one Nedicks served.

Only thing that made their hot dogs edible, in fact.

Doesn't hot dog relish, by definition, have mustard? Most of them are plain yellow mustard with a green relish added in. I've tried several brands of that sort of thing, and haven't found one I like.
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post #3 of 5
9/1/07 at 7:18am
Thread Starter 
<LOL> I've been thinking of Nedick's recently. They had/have a lot of stands in NYC subway stations, and served that orange drink belly wash with their dogs. Really pretty poor food, looking back on it, but the stands were an oasis of sorts in the bleak underground of the NYC subway system.

I don't know if hot dog relish, "by definition," contains mustard :suprise:, Maybe it does, so I'll officially change my request to pickle relish :)

Shel
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post #4 of 5
9/1/07 at 6:33pm
I don't know about commercial versions, Shel, but I can give you several recipes for making such relishes from scratch---including one that everyone who tries agrees is the "best." Not my recipe, unfortunately. It goes back at least three generations.

Nedicks long ago went the way of the doo-doo. They were a great institution. Did you know they actually had locations not in subway stations? I was floored the first time I saw one. Something was really missing without the ambience of the F train rocketing past.

It always tickled me, too that the "no tipping" signs were, more times than not, hung upside down by the employees.
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post #5 of 5
9/2/07 at 12:46am
In boston, and maybe elsewhere? there was a kind of green tomato piccalilli that was incredible, though the name escapes me now - i think mrs. thompson's, or just Thompson's, not sure - it looks a dull olive green. I make a good approximation of it - it's more tart than sweet, despite the sugar. You might want to reduce the mustard, but these, in any case, don;t come out yellow, like the mustard relish you can buy.

start the day before
slice
4 pounds of green tomatoes
2 onions
2 bell peppers, red and/or green
couple of cloves of garlic crushed
toss the above with
1/4 cup salt

next day wash and drain the vegetables
Put your jars in a pot covered in water to boil while you go to the next step - i use old jars from jam and stuff, there is no risk of botulism because of the vinegar.

mix the following ingredients and bring to a boil
1 cup brown sugar
1 tsp pepper
1 1/2 tsp dry mustard
1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp allspice
1 1/4 tsp ground cloves
1/4 cup mustard seed
1 quart vinegar

add the vegetables and bring to a simmer - simmer 15 minutes.

Spoon into hot jars. cover and let them cool, and you'll hear the gratifying "pop" of the lids as the vacuum forms in them and the tops invert. That's it - they last without refrigeration till you open them.

try a quarter of the recipe if you're not sure, and just use them even without canning, in the frige. i believe it makes about four or five jars. That way you can also adapt it - more sugar, less mustard, however you like. These are tart, you won;t find it too sweet i think.
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