You're old if you remember The Flag Pole!

Grilling season is slowly winding down and it's kinda sad. So I'm going to pretend it's still summer and archive a seasonal recipe that I can't bear to lose!

When we were kids, one of our big summer treats was a family ride to Wooster-Hawkins Shopping Center so we could go to The Flag Pole for foot-long hot dogs with coney sauce and soft serve ice cream. I really LOVED their coney sauce so when the Flag Pole stopped being a "restaurant" (yes, those are Air Quotes), I hoped that I'd find that sauce again someday. And if you're from Akron and you don't know what I'm talking about, go ask your parents.

Then, one day (maybe in the late 1980s? the clipping has yellowed with age but has no date), I saw a tiny recipe in the food section of the Akron Beacon Journal -- Coney Island Hot Dog Sauce! Submitted by Patricia Carleton of Akron, it gave me hope that I could recreate the Flag Pole experience. Once I tried it, I felt I'd found something that equaled the Flag Pole coney sauce.

Amended a little over the years (I now use ground turkey instead of ground beef), this is now a family-favorite recipe. I always make tons more than I need for a cookout because the sauce freezes so well and I have to be sure that there's plenty of extra for Kirk to take home!

Coney Island Hot Dog Sauce
(amended from the original recipe printed in the Akron Beacon Journal)

✔ 1/2 lb. ground beef or turkey
✔ 1 6-oz. can tomato paste
✔ 1-1/2 cups water
✔ 1/4 cup relish
✔ 1 tablespoon instant minced onion
✔ 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
✔ 1 tablespoon chili powder (you may add up to 3 T. if you like it hotter)
✔ 1-1/2 teaspoon salt
✔ 1 teaspoon sugar

Brown meat, stirring to break up pieces. Add remaining ingredients and simmer 30 minutes, stirring occasionally. Makes about 2 cups, enough for 12 hot dogs. Be sure to have lots of fresh chopped onion to sprinkle on top.

Buon appetito!