New England Chili Dogs with Pepper Hash

Ingredients

• For the chili:
• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
• 1 medium onion, diced
• 2 medium cloves garlic, minced
• 1 teaspoon tomato paste
• 1 tablespoon paprika
• 1/2 tablespoon allspice
• 1/2 tablespoon cayenne
• 1/4 tablespoon coriander
• Dash nutmeg
• 1 pound ground beef
• 2 cups water
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
• For the pepper cabbage:
• 1/3 cup vinegar
• 3 tablespoon sugar
• 1 teaspoon celery seed
• Small head cabbage, finely shredded
• 2 red bell peppers, thinly sliced
• For the hot dogs:
• 1 pound natural casing Mackenzie franks
• 1 pack New England-style buns
• 2 tablespoons butter

Directions

1. Warm the vegetable oil in a large saucepan over high heat until it glints. Stir in the onions and garlic, then cook, mixing now and then, until they soften, about 5 minutes. Add the tomato paste, paprika, allspice, cayenne, coriander, and nutmeg, and stir constantly until the spices smell toasted, about 1 minute. Add the beef and water, using a whisk to crumble the meat into the liquid. Bring the mixture to a boil, lower the heat to a simmer, and cook, whisking and stirring occasionally, until the chili is thick and deeply flavored, about 15 minutes. Add salt and pepper to taste. Leave it aside to cool, then chill it until you need it, up to 1 week.
2. For the pepper cabbage, put the water, vinegar, sugar, celery seed, and 1 teaspoon salt in a saucepan. Bring it to a boil and cook until the sugar and salt have dissolved. Cool the brine to room temperature. Place the cabbage and peppers in a large bowl, pour the cooled brine over them, and let the mixture sit at least 2 hours and up to overnight.
3. For the hot dogs, fill a medium saucepan with water and bring it to a boil. Add the hot dogs and cook until warmed through, about 4 minutes. While they heat, melt 1 tablespoon butter in each of 2 large skillets over medium heat, waiting until the foaming settles. Put the buns in one skillet, cut sides down, to toast, and place the hot dogs in the other. Cook until both the buns and hot dogs are nicely browned. Tuck each hot dog into a bun, then add chili, drained pepper hash, and any condiments you like, except ketchup. Repeat with the remaining hot dogs.