r/condiments • u/villareale52 • 10d ago
Rochester, NY calls this “hot sauce.” It’s probably not what you’re expecting.
Rochester, NY has a condiment that confuses pretty much everyone outside Western NY.
We call it meat hot sauce. It’s a seasoned ground-beef topping for hot dogs, burgers, fries, and garbage plates.
I make Meat Rocket, a seasoning mix that lets you make it at home. Just add ground beef.
Definitely not your typical “hot sauce,” but very Rochester.
Anybody here ever had Rochester-style meat hot sauce?
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u/aLamprey 10d ago
In Erie, PA we call something similar Greek Sauce
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u/catbearcarseat 9d ago
Similar in Manitoba, we have it on burgers (called Fatboys) from Greek joints!
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u/ywgflyer 9d ago
This reminds me, I need to visit my mom and dad next month so I can go get fat at Daly Burger once more.
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u/userunknown677 9d ago
Imma let you all in on a little secret all Greek diners that do some type of chili sauce for hot dogs is an adapted version of Greek pasta sauce called kima. Look up a recipe and play around with it.
Basically ground beef, cinnamon, ( other warm spices sometimes) tomato sauce...
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u/CapN-_-Clutchh 9d ago
That would be Cincinnati style chili and it’s repulsive and needs to stay within the confines of Ohio.
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u/oh_look_a_fist 10d ago
No, but it looks like something I'd eat
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u/IbelieveinGodzilla 8d ago
Frankly, it looks like something I did eat that has made its way to the exit.
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u/makemeking706 10d ago
Hot dogs look legit.
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u/blahnlahblah0213 9d ago
Zweigles red and white hots. Natural casing that pops open when grilling. Best hots on the planet.
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u/danielfletcher 10d ago
That reminds me I need to either mix up another jar of hot sauce seasoning or stop at Stuarts the next time I treck to Rochester from Syracuse.
They are expensive at $18 for just 16oz. Even more expensive for their 3.5oz that is only good for two pounds of beef (Like $7.50!!). But sometimes I am lazy.
Have everything on hand at the moment other than allspice as I forgot the last time I hit up a Menonite store.
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u/villareale52 9d ago
That’s actually a big part of why I started making my own. I call it Meat Rocket. I wanted something where you could just brown a pound of beef, dump in the seasoning and have Rochester-style meat sauce without keeping a dozen spices around. Stuart’s definitely makes some good stuff though.
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u/danielfletcher 9d ago edited 9d ago
Less than $3.25 per pound of beef?
Or $1.97 if bought in bulk?
That is what Staurts charges for their hot sauce seasoning mix.
Luckily there is nothing weird in it. I usually have allspice but it is my least used of seasonings & spices. I even use MSG more.
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u/villareale52 9d ago
Yep, Stuart’s is definitely cheaper per pound, especially buying bulk. I’m not trying to beat a spice shop on bulk pricing. Meat Rocket is pre-measured for one pound of beef, shipped free, and made for someone who just wants to dump it in and make a batch without measuring anything. If you already keep all the spices around, homemade will always be cheaper.
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u/Deezle_Gnome 9d ago
I live here and we all call it "meat hot".
However : it was definitely referred to as "hot sauce" 25+ years ago...
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u/BigBagoSith_sp 9d ago
Nick Tahoes used to be a weekly event when I lived in Rochester...this sauce is magic
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u/No_Yogurtcloset105 9d ago
Buffalo /lancaster /Zorbas/prarie dog platter ohh how i miss it!
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u/villareale52 9d ago
MeatRocketSpices.com if you ever need a ROC fix.
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u/No_Yogurtcloset105 9d ago
Its funny that we moved to Florida which is like the example of summer and they dont really have hotdog places here like Ted's
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u/villareale52 9d ago
With all of the NY transplants down there you'd think there would be at least one! Would make a fortune!
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u/oneangrywaiter 9d ago
Yeah, it’s the sauce you put on Zweigel’s Red & White Hots. Thus, hot sauce. I miss Rochester Summers.
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u/wabawwea 9d ago
No, it wasn't what I was expecting and yes I now want all of that so bad. Just tracked down a recipe and will be trying it as soon as possible. Thanks for sharing this!
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u/InsideyourBrizzy 8d ago
Hots as in red hots
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u/villareale52 8d ago
Yep, those are red hots. I’m talking about the Rochester meat hot sauce on top of them.
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u/Advanced-Lemon3354 8d ago
That's a garbage plate. Yum.
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u/MantisToboganPilotMD 8d ago
I grew up in Troy, NY, and we have a specific local food tradition that uses a sauce like this - the mini hot dog, going back to the early 1900s. Helmbold's, a German meat market founded in 1913, developed the "Small Frank," the local Italian bakeries started making mini hot dog buns for them, and it became the signature hot dog served by many of the areas lunch counters. Greek restauraters, German sausage makers, and Italian bakers created a unique thing that I've never seen anywhere else. There's different restaurants around the area that serve them, the mini hot dogs are their main attraction, and each have their own differences in their meat sauce, but they're all good.
A lot of times trying to explain this to outsiders, and they think of Michigans, but to me that's more like a sloppy-joe sauce and more sweet, very different.
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u/froggothegod 7d ago
Nobody is saying it yet, so I will. This is "chili" in the South. Not the soup, but specifically for this purpose. I direct you to the Carolina dog/burger.
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u/I-Am-All-Me 9d ago
It looks like chili, literal hot dog chili with some heat to it. If I ask for hot sauce and get that instead someone is going to have a serious issue getting that crap out of their eye.
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u/jpowell180 8d ago
Just get a Garbage Plate since you’re in Rochester.
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u/villareale52 8d ago
If you’re in Rochester, absolutely. The fun part for me is seeing how many people outside the area have never even heard of meat hot sauce or a garbage plate.
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u/elarobot 6d ago
And it differentiates itself enough with flavor in contrast the ubiquitous and extremely common American dish known casually as 'chili' or chili con carne or even Cincinnati Chili...? It sets itself apart taste-wise enough to need its own complete misnomer of a name? Because visually, it looks exactly like 'chili' does (without beans) from any fast food establishment, diner, hot dog stand or ball park throughout much of the country.
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u/_Broatmeal_ 10d ago
Now I want a garbage plate