My first hot dog pizza recipe was for a Knockwurst “Hot Dog” Pizza. This chili dog pizza, just like the knockwurst one got polarized responses when I posted it on Facebook. It got raves on my personal Facebook timeline, but when I posted in the more-serious-about-pizza Facebook Pizza Groups, it was booed and laughed out of the room.
As I said before, I DO take pizza seriously. I make my dough from scratch, and ferment it for 3-5 days. I also like to have fun with things, and this is a pizza that all of my taste-testers LOVED.
There are chili dogs that use chili that has beans, like the one at Engine No.9 in St. Petersburg, FL where I live. It’s a great chili dog.
However, the Coney Island Chili Dog does not have beans, and uses chili with a different spice and taste profile. According to Wikipedia, regarding the Coney Island Chili Dog, “It is largely a phenomenon related to immigration from Greece and the region of Macedonia to the United States in the early 20th century.”
The Coney Island Chili Dog has origins spread from, New York to Ohio, Michigan and more. The chili is more like Cincinnati chili, with the meat being finely minced and with more exotic spices.
If you want to make your own chili, there are plenty of recipes out there. I decided to use a canned chili, and tested three different brands – Skyline, Hormel, and Castleberry’s.
The Castleberry’s had no flavor and no beef in the ingredients. Only beef fat. I wouldn’t feed this to a stray dog. Ironically, it’s the only one where the label actually reads, “Hot Dog Chili Sauce”.
The Hormel had ok flavor, but it is too chunky for a Coney Dog.
The Skyline is the most authentic in flavor and fine texture for a Coney Dog. However, it is also the most watery, which is not good for a pizza. So, I strained it before using it on the pizza. It was about 50% water as it reduced by half. One can of reduced Skyline still gives you enough for one pizza.
This recipe is for a 14″ pizza, with some measurements also given for a 12″ pizza. See my NY-style Pizza Dough Recipe here, and see my How-To on Forming the Pizza Base here. (If you’re really good at pizza stretching, and fast – this dough stretches quite quickly – you can get this one out to 16″.)
I baked this in a conventional home oven. I have a pizza stone on the bottom rack, and a pizza steel on the top rack. The oven gets preheated to 525º F, and then holds for one hour before baking the pizza. (If your oven will go to 550º, do that.)
I went for 7 minutes on the stone on the bottom, and then switched to high broil, and moved the pizza to the steel on the top rack for 1.5 minutes. (Keep an eye on it though. It may need more or less time on broil, and you may want to turn it halfway through.)
If you only have a stone, just keep it on the bottom rack the whole time. If you only have a steel, keep it on the top rack, and just switch to broil at the end.
The prep time does not include making and fermenting the dough, which is linked in a separate recipe. You can substitute a store-bought dough if you want, but making your own and fermenting it isn’t hard, and yields phenomenal results.
Coney Island Chili Dog Pizza
Equipment
- 1 Pizza Peel (Wooden)
- 1 Pizza Stone or Pizza Steel (I use both on the same cook, switching from stone to steel at the end.)
Ingredients
Pizza Dough
- 14 oz Pizza Dough for 14" pie (See dough recipe link in instructions below.) 12 oz for 12" pie) (See dough recipe link in instructions below.)
Pizza Toppings
- 1 cup Sargento Shredded Cheddar Cheese Mild, or Medium. Sharp might overwhelm the other flavors.
- 1 can Skyline Original Chili 15 oz can strained and reduced to about half
- 1 Hebrew National Kosher Beef Frank Sliced thin
- ½ White Onion Diced small
- 1 squeeze bottle French's Yellow Mustard For drizzling after baking. You don't use the entire bottle. About 1/4 cup.
Instructions
Preheat Conventional Home Oven
- I baked this in a conventional home oven. I have a pizza stone on the bottom rack, and a pizza steel on the top rack. The oven gets preheated to 525º F, and then holds for one hour before baking the pizza. (If your oven will go to 550º, do that.)
Pizza Dough Base
- See my Pizza Dough Recipe: https://pizzaismylife.com/pizza-dough-recipes/easy-ny-style-pizza-dough-recipe/
- See my How-To on Shaping the Dough: https://pizzaismylife.com/pizza-dough-recipes/how-to-form-the-pizza-round/
Topping the Pizza
- Spread the cheddar cheese to evenly cover the pizza dough.
- Dollop beef chili randomly all over to about half cover the pizza.
- Place the hot dog slices around to mostly cover the pizza.
- Save the onion and mustard for after the bake.
Baking the Pizza
- Bake at 525° F 8-9 minutes for 14", or 7-8 minutes for a 12" pizza.
- Scatter the diced white onion, then drizzle the yellow mustard before slicing and serving.
