Michigan Sauce

“Michigan” sauce is put on hot dogs

Compiled by Scott Smith

Ingredients:

3 lb / Ground Beef – do NOT brown
2-15 oz cans / Tomato Sauce
8 Tsp / Chili Powder
¾ Tsp / Garlic Powder
2 Tsp / Onion – finely minced
1/8 Tsp /

Cayenne Pepper

2 Tsp / Ground Cumin
¼ Tsp / Ground Black Pepper

Directions:

1.  Put all ingredients in a pot

2.  Bring up to a boil

3.  Reduce heat and cover

4.  Simmer 1 hour

Mr. George Todoroff in Jackson, Michigan, created the original Michigan sauce. The sauce was originally created to be used as chili sauce. In 1914, Mr. Todoroff took his recipe to Coney Island in Brooklyn New York and opened his first restaurant. However, the hot dog hadn’t arrived on the scene when he first opened his restaurant, so he had to wait until 1916 to make his first famous "Jackson Coney Island" hot dog. Todoroff's restaurant in Jackson remains in business to this day. The name of the Michigan hotdog originally came from Plattsburgh, New York. However, how and when the Michigan Sauce arrived there is somewhat of a mystery.

There are also two commonly told stories about how the sauce made its way to Plattsburgh. The first story is of a Canadian, possibly a salesman, who traveled between Montreal and New York City. On his way home, he would stop in Plattsburgh and spend the night at the Witherill Hotel. Apparently, he would bring back several of Todoroff’s "Jackson Island Conies" and get the cook at the hotel to warm them. The cook liked the flavor so well that he created a similar sauce with similar taste and it caught on and spread in several of the local restaurants. Soon thereafter, everyone in Plattsburgh began referring to them as, "Michigan hot dogs".

According to the second, and more likely story, a couple (Mr. Jack Rabin and his wife) from Plattsburgh went to Coney Island on vacation. They, like everyone else at Coney Island, ate a Jackson Coney Island Hot Dog and fell in love with it. When they came home to Plattsburgh, they recreated the sauce and decided to put it to work. They opened a "Michigan Hot Dog" stand, named Nitzi’s, on Route 9 just outside the city. The name came about because they couldn’t call their sandwich a Jackson Coney Island so they gave it the name of the state from where it was born.

When Nitzi (Rabin) sold his stand many years later, the buyer didn't want to pay Nitzi's price for his now-famous Michigan Sauce Recipe. While there are many places in the North Country to get Michigans, it is believed that Michigans Plus--located in the former iHOP building on Route 3--currently has Nitzi's recipe.