I can vividly remember getting the urge for NY System at all hours of the day, especially after midnight on a cold and snowy night in Olneyville. My brother in-law and I would fearlessly trudge through the snow drifts, and slushed sidewalks until we reached the red glowing neon sign, New York Stystem Hot Weiners.

The windows were steamed on the inside, so you could barely see in, but as soon as we opened the door, the smell of the weiners came wafting through the air. Back then, weinees were only 10 cents each, so it was common to order them by the "armfull", up to the armpit! We would order them "all the way", which meant onions, celery salt, mustard, and that special sauce which tops the redish small weiner, nestled in a steamed bun. (gasp! the hunger pains are kicking in as I am writing this!)

Our server would start lining his arm with the weiners inside the buns. He would slather on the yellow mustard on each one, using a wooden stick. Next came that special sauce of finely ground meat and spices, followed by finely diced raw onions. To top it off, celery salt was sprinkled over all. He would then wrap about 3 at a time in this tissue paper, and place them in a brown paper bag. The grease would soon penetrate the bag. We would race back home to devour our catch.

The next morning, you could still taste them from the onions and sauce doing their thing in your digestive system. This was an added bonus!

New York System Weiner Recipe

• 1 lb. hamburger
• 3 Tbs. margarine
• 1 small onion, chopped
• 1 Tbs. garlic powder
• 1 1/2 Tbs. chili powder
• 1 1/2 Tbs. allspice
• 1 Tbs. salt
• 1 pinch black pepper
• 1 Cup water

Lightly brown half of the chopped onion in butter. Add hamburger and stir until the hamburger loosens into small pieces. Add rest of spices. Simmer on very low heat for at least 2 hours.

Now it's time to build the weiner. The sequence is important!

1. Put cooked weiner in bun.
2. Put mustard on weiner.
3. Put sauce on mustard.
4. Put raw chopped onions on mustard.
5. Sprinkle celery salt on top of onions.

For More NY System Sauce Recipes, go to: www.pagesintime.com/ri/nys-recipes.html

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