Maxwell Street Polish
One of the street foods that are synonymous with Chicago, the Maxwell Street Polish sandwich is said to have been created in 1943 by a Macedonian immigrant Jimmy Stefanovic who operated a hot dog stand – now called Jim’s Original – back then located in Chicago’s old Maxwell Street market district.
Served on a bun, the grilled or fried Polish sausage is topped with grilled onions, yellow mustard and optional pickled green sport peppers. Soon after its invention, Maxwell Street Polish grew to be one of the Windy City’s most popular local fare, and remains a staple of its hot dog stands until this day.
Authentic Maxwell Street Polish Recipe
Introduction & history
To prepare the authentic Maxwell Street Polish sandwich, you will need to purchase the original Polish sausage called kiełbasa, a blend of ground pork and seasoning such as red paprika, garlic powder, salt, and pepper. The ingredients and their ratios for the sausages used in Jim’s Original are a well-kept secret, and they are custom-made for this eatery. The preparation starts with grilling the sausages on an iron plate drizzled with oil. The next step is taking a warm, regular hot dog bun cut lengthwise, smearing it with mustard, and placing the sausage in the center. Fresh onions are cut into thin slices and grilled until caramelized, then added to the sandwich in abundant amounts. The final step is to add some pickled green sport peppers and serve the Maxwell Street Polish with a portion of French fries and some grape pop.
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Main ingredients
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Hot Dog Bun
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Kielbasa
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Onion
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Mustard
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Salt
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Black Pepper
Cooking tips
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sausages
Grill the sausages on a hot iron plate or a lightly oiled pan. They must not be pierced with a fork to keep all the juices inside: to turn them over, use kitchen tongs instead. Some recipes suggest boiling the sausages briefly and drying them before placing them on a grill, which will decrease the time of preparation. -
buns
Regular hot dog buns made out of wheat flour have a sweetish taste which goes well with spicy main ingredients. Cut them lengthwise and keep warm before serving. -
onions
Cut the large yellow onions into extra-thin slices and caramelize them on a hot grill or the same pan you used to grill the sausage, which will add some extra taste. In order to avoid tearing while cutting the onions, place the onions in a freezer 15 minutes before preparation, use a very sharp knife, breathe through your mouth instead of your nose, and try chewing on a piece of bread.
Maxwell Street Polish Sausage Sandwiches
PREP 35min
COOK 15min
RESTING 5min
READY IN 55min
This recipe relies on the very same ingredients used in Jim’s Original eatery. However, unlike the case with the original, the sausage and the onions are prepared in a pan instead of on a grill, and instead of an ordinary hot dog bun, the one with poppy seeds on top is suggested.
Ingredients
4 Servings
Maxwell Street Polish Sausage Sandwiches
1 tbsp vegetable oil
4 links Polish kielbasa (about 1 ½ lbs/675g), patted dry with a paper towel
1 large onion, thinly sliced
kosher salt
freshly ground pepper
4 poppy seed hot dog buns
yellow mustard, for topping
8 to 12 pickled sport peppers or other pickled peppers
Preparation
1
Maxwell Street Polish Sausage Sandwiches
Step 1/4Preheat the oven to 200°F/93°C.
Step 2/4In a skillet, heat the vegetable oil over medium heat, and cook the kielbasa for about 5 minutes on each side, until golden brown. Place in an oven to keep warm.
Step 3/4Add the onion to the skillet you used for preparing the kielbasa. Combine with the remaining oil. Season with salt and pepper. Cook on medium-low heat for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally. When the onion becomes soft and golden, set aside.
Step 4/4To build the sandwich, place a sausage on a bun, add yellow mustard, and top with caramelized onion and 2-3 pickled peppers. Wrap the sandwich in deli paper, parchment paper, or foil and leave for 5 minutes to get steamed up.
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