Vienna Sport Peppers and Chicago Style Relish

Vienna Sport Peppers and Chicago Style Relish

I have no love for Chicago style pizza – the Windy City’s take on hot dogs is another story. Two of the most elusive ingredients required to make an authentic Chicago dog are sport peppers and the neon green relish. I have never seen either of these in any grocery store in Columbus, OH.

I used to get my quarterly fix at Sonic’s, but unfortunately they discontinued the Chicago dog a few years back. Specialty hot dog shops usually sell them, but the closest one is almost 40 miles from where I live.

Vienna is like the Heinz of ketchup when it comes to hot dogs and hot dog condiments. Regular relish and other types of peppers just don’t cut it. I would compare it to eating a hot dog rolled up in a piece of white bread instead of a hot dog bun.

The peppers were surprisingly crunchy — this is coming from a pepper enthusiast who grows several varieties commercially as a market gardener.

These 12-ounce jars will last you awhile if you’re a casual consumer. Here is a link for a 4-pack of the same sport peppers and a 4-pack of the neon green relish. These are about half the price of buying the combo relish/pepper pack. This is the way to go if you make this style of hot dogs regularly and don’t mind storing them in your food preps, as the jars will keep unopened for several years.

Click here to see my write-up for how to make the perfect Chicago style hot dog.