What is the ‘Holy Grail’ Recipe of Connecticut?
After my dad passed away, I found something valuable in his dresser, and I've never shared it with anyone, until now, in a sense. I found his copy of the recipe for Blackie's Hot Dogs of Waterbury's famous relish. It made me think, what is the 'Holy Grail' recipe of Connecticut?
Blackie's Hot Dogs is a true Legend, they're been in business on the Waterbury/Cheshire town line for almost a century (1928). Blackie's hasn't changed much of anything over the decades, known for their simple menu (Burgers, Hot Dogs, Utz Potato Chips, Ice Cream, Drinks) and their secret-recipe hot pepper relish. For whatever reason, my dad had a copy of the handwritten recipe for Blackie's famous relish. That's a photo that I had to edit down of the copy above. I would never publish it, but damn, I want to try to make it one of these days.
Chefs and cooks love to share their trade secrets, there must be quite a few of you that hold similar 'Secret' recipes to some of the great culinary creations of Connecticut. What are some of the Legends that you would most like to recreate at home?
Do you think you could do justice to the dough recipe from Pepe's, Modern, or Sally's? The spice mix for the sausages that come out of Rosol's in New Britain? The coating for the fried clams at Sea Swirl in Mystc? The Croissant recipe from Woodbury's Ovens of France? The rub mix for J. Timothy's Dirt Wings? Start searching your dad's kitchen, you never know.