The Ingredients That Make North Carolina-Style Hot Dogs Unique

You may be familiar with the simple boiled New York-style dog with mustard, sauerkraut, and relish, or the elaborate authentic Chicago-style hot dog with its poppy seed bun and a veritable salad of garnishes. However, the North Carolina-style hot dog is a unique and delicious handheld that you might not know.

The North Carolina-style dog is defined by both the weiner itself as well as a hearty combination of toppings. The hot dog itself is a beef-and-pork frank dyed bright red to stand out from the other hot dog styles. The bright red hot dog is placed in a plain bun and topped with a line of mustard, beef chili, diced onions, and coleslaw. A major step up from the veggie garnishes in New York and Chicago dogs, the North Carolina-style dogs essentially make a well-rounded meal out of their toppings. Furthermore, both the chili and the slaw have their own distinct recipes.

Unlike the extravagant bean and beef chilis of Texas with highly complex seasoning blends, the chili for North Carolina hot dogs is more like a ground beef meat sauce seasoned with ketchup, mustard, vinegar, and chili powder. The coleslaw is equally simple, consisting of green cabbage, mayonnaise, sugar, vinegar, salt, and pepper. The tangy, creamy, cooling taste of the coleslaw, spicy umami of the beef chili, and sharp aromatic crunch of the onions are a winning combination and proudly sold, served, and enjoyed at restaurants and backyard cookouts all around the Carolinas.

While the history of the Carolina-style hot dog isn't attributed to a specific year or inventor, the popularity of the North Carolina-style, or slaw dog, surged during the '50s and '60s. Many surmise that the toppings piled on this hot dog variety honor the older regional North Carolina BBQ tradition, which often features pulled pork sandwiches or plates served with onions and slaw. Apparently, the chili, slaw, and onion combination also extends to North Carolina-style burgers.

Perhaps the origin of the slaw dog coincides with the advent of those bright red hot dogs, first manufactured in the early 1940s by the Bright Leaf company under the larger Carolina Packers meat manufacturer. Bright Leaf remains the quintessential Carolina hot dog brand selling these scarlet-hued tube steaks. They also make a proprietary chili to smother over the dog before topping it with onions and coleslaw. If you're not in the Carolinas, you can find red-dyed hot dogs from companies like Maine Red Snapper. Meanwhile, Castleberry's canned chili best approximates the flavors and ingredients in North Carolinian varieties.

The Carolina-style dog is linked to North and South Carolina, specifically the coastal and Piedmont regions. Hot dog stands and restaurants often cook these hot dogs on a flat top or deep fryer instead of boiling or grilling them, but home recipes encompass all manner of cooking techniques.