Milwaukee, Detroit or Chicago: Which city has the best encased meats?

Jen Greenwood loves a good encased meat.

“I joke that I’m a half hot dog. I am not a vegetarian,” she said.

Greenwood grew up in Evanston, Illinois, spent summers in Michigan and attended college in Milwaukee. She’s eaten more than her fair share of hot dogs and recognizes each region’s unique take on encased meats.

In Chicago, it’s the Chicago dog; in Milwaukee, the brat; in Detroit, the Coney dog.

Greenwood wondered: “Why are these hyper-specific encased meats associated so strongly with those three cities?”

The sausages share an origin story in Germany.

“Germans, when they came over here, brought their sausage culture with them, and there’s a very heavy German influx into the Americas in the 19th century,” said Bruce Kraig, professor emeritus of history at Roosevelt University and author of “Hot Dog: A Global History.”

From there, each city made the sausage its own.

So, who does it best? As much local pride as Chicagoans, Detroiters and Milwaukeeans boast, the answer depends on where you’re from. But Joe Grimm, co-author of “Coney Detroit,” says maybe it’s not about figuring out which is the best.

“Eating only Chicago dogs or Coneys would not be balanced,” he said. “If you mix it up … the Chicago, Milwaukee, Detroit way, it’s going to be a lot ‘healthier.’”

Check out each city’s unique encased meat and how its history led to these recipes.

Disclaimer: These signature sausages can be found all over each city. We only name a few eateries.

Chicago’s ‘garden on a bun’

Origins: Germans brought their pork sausage culture to Chicago in the 1840s and ’50s. Four decades later, Jewish immigrants entered the hot dog business, but they didn’t eat pork.

“The all-beef hot dog [comes] when Jews took up hot dog stands around Maxwell Street and Roosevelt Road, the epicenter of hot doggery,” Kraig said.

As more immigrants settled in Chicago, the list of ingredients got longer. For instance, the relish is an old English recipe, while the sport pepper came from Mexico. The “garden on a bun” definitively appeared after World War II, when Americans still recovering from Great Depression scarcity wanted bigger dishes with more fixings.

Ingredients and preparation: All-beef frankfurter with natural casing, boiled or steamed. Served in a steamed poppy-seed bun and topped with yellow mustard, bright green sweet pickle relish, chopped white onions, tomato wedges, a dill pickle spear, pickled sport peppers and a dash of celery salt.

Why it’s the best: The “seven holy condiments.” Not only are they fresh, refreshing and aesthetically pleasing, but they tell a unique story of immigration and culture in Chicago. “You’re looking at Polish, German, Austrian, Mexican, Italian and Greek,” said Chicago food journalist Steve Dolinsky, naming the communities where each ingredient originated.

Where to find it: The Wiener’s Circle, Superdawg and Fatso’s Last Stand are among the most popular spots. Portillo’s is also a go-to for many Chicagoans.

A Wisconsin staple

Origins: Just like beer, brats came to Wisconsin with the massive number of German immigrants in the 1800s. Milwaukee was at one time known as the “German Athens” because of its huge German population.

In the 1950s, Milwaukee County Stadium started selling brats at baseball games, and they became a staple ballpark food. The Milwaukee Brewers embraced the brat even more in the 1990s, when the Racing Sausages came off the scoreboard animation and took to the field as in-game entertainment.

Brats are ubiquitous at tailgates and can be found on backyard grills across Wisconsin.

Ingredients and preparation: There are lots of variations, but Fritz Usinger, president of Usinger’s Famous Sausage, says they usually sport a combination of ground pork, veal or beef in a natural casing. The meat is mixed with spices like pepper, sage, nutmeg and coriander.

Toppings vary depending on personal tastes. Lots of Wisconsinites parboil brats in beer and onions before cooking on the grill. Usinger prefers to put them directly on the grill, though beer is still involved.

“I have what’s called the two-beer method,” he said. “By the time you drink two beers, leisurely, your brat will be done [grilling].”

Why it’s the best: The sausage itself is the star, not the toppings. The flavor of the brat is what makes it special.

Where to find it: The Vanguard, Milwaukee Brat House and Von Trier are known for their brats. You can also buy fresh brats from a grocery store (Wisconsin brands include Usinger’s and Johnsonville) or specialty butcher and grill it yourself.

A Detroit delicacy

Origins: Local lore says Greek immigrants passing through New York’s Coney Island adopted the name for their dog.

“Greeks arrived from Greece, mostly at Ellis Island. And on the way, they went through Coney Island, already thinking, ‘How am I going to support myself here?’” Grimm said. “Seeing people eating — not coneys, but eating hot dogs — and [they] said, ‘Okay, these people eat hot dogs. I can do that.’”

In 1917, Gus Kero opened the famed American Coney Island in Downtown Detroit. Eventually, he brought his brother William to the city to open Lafayette Coney Island next door. Both have remained open ever since.

Ingredients and preparation:  Steamed bun with beef and pork dog in natural casing, topped with an all-meat beanless chili sauce, sprinkled with diced white onions and a drizzle of yellow mustard. The sauce is the key: It’s believed to be a variation of a similar sauce made in Greece, though the exact recipe is a mystery.

Why it’s the best: The bold flavor in the sauce, the snap of the dog and the brightness from the onion and mustard makes the meal most satisfying.

Where to find it: American and Lafayette remain the most widely known locations for the coney dog. The rivalry between the two restaurants is mostly a debate for tourists, though. Ask a native Detroiter and they’ll point you to a number of Coney Island establishments around the city, like L. George’s, Zorba’s and Nicky D’s.

Curious Midwest is a limited series collaboration with Curious City, Bubbler Talk at WUWM in Milwaukee and CuriosiD at WDET in Detroit. It answers listener questions about the connections between the three cities.