The Maxwell Street Polish is one of the most iconic street foods of Chicago. First sold at the city’s Maxwell Street Market, the grilled or fried Polish sausage sandwich was invented by Macedonian-American immigrant Jimmy Stefanovic, who took over a family hot dog stand in 1939. The other contender for the bragging rights to the Maxwell Street Polish is The Express Grill, which was once located next door to Jimmy’s stand, with an undifferentiated storefront and just a few feet between them. The hot dogs traditionally used in this Chicago dish are a local variant of heavily seasoned beef and pork kielbasa, served topped with grilled onions, yellow mustard, and optional pickled whole green sport peppers.
Recipe Servings: 4
Ingredients
- 1 Tbsp vegetable oil
- 4 links polish kielbasa, patted dry with a paper towel
- 1 large onion, thinly sliced
- Kosher salt, to taste
- Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
- 4 poppy seed hot dog buns
- Yellow mustard, for topping
- 8–12 pickled sport peppers or other pickled peppers
Directions
- Preheat the oven to 200°F.
- Heat the oil over medium heat in a heavy-bottomed skillet. Add the kielbasa and cook for about 10 minutes, flipping halfway through, until golden brown on all sides. Remove the kielbasa and keep warm on a platter in the oven.
- In the same skillet, add the onion and stir. Season with salt and pepper and cook over medium-low heat, stirring occasionally, for 30 minutes, until the onion is golden and soft.
- Place sausages in the buns. Slather with mustard and generously top with the caramelized onions and 2–3 of the pickled peppers.
- To serve, wrap in deli paper, parchment paper, or aluminum foil, and let steam for at least 5 minutes prior to eating.
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