Here are some photos from a recent 545 mile round trip from Kentucky to Memphis to eat some great bbq at Jim Neely’s Interstate Barbecue in Memphis TN
West Virginia Hot Dogs
New York and Chicago are know for their hot dogs. No doubt they are good. However………… Have you ever had a West Virginia Hot Dog? West Virginians are passionate about their hot dogs and rightfully so. They are simple but out of this world. They don’t have peppers or sauerkraut or relish but they have a taste that leaves you wanting more and more. In fact most people who eat a West Virginia hot dog usually wind up hurting themselves by eating way to many. I have seen people sit down and order a dozen at a time. My personal best is 7 at one sitting. What is the secret ingrediant? It is a beanless chili sauce. Don’t ask for a recipe because most people don’t have one. There are a lot of variations of this sauce but at the same time they have a taste that is the same. Does that make sense. Recipes have been handed down from generation to generation and most West Virginians hold tight to that secret. God forbid an outsider gets hold of a recipe and tries to mass produce it and screw it up.
The basic makeup of a West Virginia hotdog is the same. As I said it is the slight variations of the chile sauce that sets them apart and keeps them the same at the same time.
First you put your hotdog in the bun then a thin line of mustard. Next comes a generous helping of chili sauce followed by finely chopped onions. Thats it. Nothing more. Purists like just chile sauce by itself (thats me).
There are numerous websites dedicated to the West Virginia Hot Dog and some are listed here:
My mother is 74 and makes great West Virginia Hot Dogs…….here is a photo of one I had the other day with a big bite out of it. She still won’t give me her recipe. She says she doesn’t have one. She says she learned from her mother when she was a little girl. Maybe some day I will get it. For now I have to expirement on my own and I have not been successful. However I have a friend from around Beckly West Virginia who has…. he calls his sauce Woofies. More on that later.
Foodzie.com For Gourmet Foods
I came across this website today and l believe we are going to become good friends. Foodzie.com is a specialty gourmet online food store that offers some top notch products from small producers. There are 8 categories on the front page including:
- Breads, Cereals & Grains
- Cheese
- Chocolate & Confections
- Coffee & Tea
- Meat & Seafood
- Oil, Vinegar & Pantry
- Preserves, Honey & Syrups
- Snacks
Unlike a lot of e-commerce sites, the shopping cart system at Foodzie.com is easy to understand and easy to use. Like I said before, Foodzie.com and I are going to become well acquainted with one another.
