Have you ever orchestrated a surprise for your spouse, a big surprise, and had it not work out exactly as you had fantasized?
I flew Suzen 3000 miles, rented a car, and drove her to a sacred place. Near my boyhood home was, and is, the greatest hot dog stand on the planet. Now known as Roakes, it was The Foot Long, when I grew up in Portland. Long dogs, onions, and the sauce from heaven.
We’d been married for a decade and I had talked and talked about this hot dog stand. Now we were there.
I bought her one, brought it to her, placed it respectfully in front of her, and waited.
Suzen picked it up, smelled it, sighted down the whole length like a rifle barrel, puckered her mouth, took a bite, and chewed. And chewed. And swallowed.
“It’s not Nathan’s,” came her verdict.
I do love her, and I have forgiven her. But I will never forget.
I’m now on a crusade to find a recipe for that sauce. The Foot Long, aka Roakes, won’t give it up. I’m researching on the web and finding lots and lots of recipes. You can search for “hot dog sauce” and “Coney sauce.” Of the ones I have found, this one is the best. I’ve modified it significantly to give the chili punch my memories say are needed. This sauce is delicious and I will use it, while I search for how to modify it to reach the Roakes pinnacle.
If you have a Roakes recipe, please share it. In the meantime, this sauce will make your dogs sensational. Made with all these spices, it is a deep, dark red and actually sticky because of all the spices. Its aromatic richness is the perfect adornment for a dog grilled until it is black and cracked.
Classic Coney Sauce
Yield: 2 quarts of sauce
Ingredients:
2 pounds ground beef
½ cup chopped onion
1 cup ketchup
¼ cup sugar
½ cup vinegar
¼ cup mustard [standard yellow]
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
1 teaspoon pepper
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cumin
1 tablespoon chili powder
Preparation:
Place the ground beef and onions in a large skillet. Cook over medium high heat until the meat is browned. Turn the meat and separate it with a wooden spoon while cooking.
Pour off any fat that has separated during the cooking process.
Add the remaining ingredients, stir to mix thoroughly, and cook over medium heat for 10-20 minutes. Taste test for doneness to please you and to adjust the seasonings.
Source: Brian O’Rourke
I’ve been eating Roake’s for over 30 yrs and am trying to figure out the recipe also.
I think you forgot a little cornmeal and a
dash of very hot spicy chili pepper.
I wish I could figure it out! I love Roake’s!!
I don’t think it has cumin or ketchup. I think
it might have some tomato paste and definitely has chili powder and garlic.
I made this 2 nights in a row for my family…and they all LOVE Roake’s…and I’m getting close!!!!
I would kill for the recipe. If anyone, anyone has further insights, let’s share.
Good luck, Cookie
I am 38 my grandparents went to Roakes on their first date. my family resides in Wa. now but all of our extended family lives in Or. I have been going to Roakes since age 4. This is the closest recipe I have ever found! If I could only figure out where to get the footlong dogs and buns I would be set!
I found this online by googleing Roakes.Sounds unusual. ROAKES HOT DOG SAUCE 4 Beef Garabaldi Tamales 2 cups shredded monterey jack cheese 2 cups water 1 tsp crushed red pepper flakes (w/o seeds) Follow directions on tamale wrapper. When done, scoop out tamales from wrappers and put in mixer bowl. Add cheese and mix until completely broken up. Add water, pepper flakes and mix. Refridgerate or place over steam to keep warm, (but for no longer than 2 hours.) Yield 10 cups of sauce This recipe is from the Oregonian newspaper c. 1995 (or thereabouts!)
Thank you for this contribution! I’ll try this weekend.
Brian
My family and I have lived in the Portland area for the past 10 years. My husband is a native oregonian. We finally visited to famous Roakes hot dog stand after our neighbor raved about how amazing their sauce was. I took a bite and my very first thought was MASA! There must be some added to it. My neighbors mother in-law has been trying to replicate this sauce. She owns a hot dog stand and Im guessing she would like to add the famous sauce to her menu. I mentioned the masa, they didnt know what masa was (masa is the flour used to make tamales) you can buy a 3lb bag of the maseca brand in almost all grocery stores. Also, the roakes sauce is a bit on the tomatoee side…we will see how ours turns out. Im thinking of adding the masa to the ground beef once you brown the meat with onions, maybe add some crused tomatoes to the mix and add your liquids. It will definately give it that lighter taste and not that heavy chilli recipe taste. Still trying to perfect the rest. Good luck with yours!
Interesting idea. I don’t know. This sauce is decades old. Could they have been using masa for all that time?
Lol u guys r too funny, I’m sittin in here with my grandparents, 78 & 80 yrs old. Grampa will drive into town just for his weekly footlongs and they’ve tried for yrs to figure it out. Hope we can crack it one day.
I used to work at a drive in restaurant that was owned by a friend of the Roakes. He used to make a coney sauce that was very similar to Roakes sauce if not the same thing. He would never make the sauce in the restaurant. That was the only recipe we did not have access to. When he made it he would always take a hand full of hot dogs over to the house with him. I think they were ground up in the sauce. I have not tried it yet.
Ah, what a shame that this recipe remains secret. Where is the CIA where we need them?
There’s a restaurant on TV highway in Beaverton that used to be a Roake’s back in the day. It’s called Annie’s and they too have a coney sauce that may be on par with the secret recipe.
Also, there’s a new product out of Canby, Oregon (about 10 miles south the original Roake’s restaurant on McLoughlin Blvd.) that is a premix packet for coney island sauce. Here’s the link:
greenwoodfoods.com
Just tried the Greenwood Coney Island sauce mix, and it hints of Roakes..something is missing, but overall, not bad.
Thank you. Will search for it and try. Nothing, nothing like Roakes.
Sigh. I too have been looking for a recipe. My husband says a 13 hour drive is too much for a hot dog. He dimply does not understand the sacred nature of the Roakes coney dog.
Brian,
I live in oklahoma now, but have benn craving roakes long dog, and roaker burger for years.
Annie’s I believe is same recipe. I think there was some sort of family dispute that caused two different names.
Anyway, if your till in Portland area, get a job at roakes for a few weeks then share results of your findings here .
Please
Brian,
I love Roakes hot dogs, and your story is similar to mine. I crave them like crack, I am 37 and grew up in Lake Oswego. My Dad, brother, and I went to the Jennings Lodge! Roakes at least 4 times a month growing up. More if we played Clackamas or Rex Putnam baseball teams. My wife is tolerant of them, especially since my only chance to get them is on our yearly roadtrip to see my parents! But, the good news-My kids LOVE them and that makes the vote 3-1.
My aunt worked at Roakes for a bit-but the recipe is guarded for sure. Here is what I know….
1. Throw the dogs in the deep fryer for 1 min, that gives even the worst replica dog the SNAP! that you need.
2. Cumin and Hot Cayenne Pepper are the hot spice you taste. I use them very liberally.
3. Masa was mentioned! You need that or a tamale to give it the texture and balance the spice. I puree the meat and add 2 hot dogs.
I use the other ingredients you mentioned.It’s nice to brown the beef with some mustard and spice too.
YUMMMM! You made me soo hungry 😉
Hey Brian,
would you update your recipe, if you have changed anything about it. I’m still trying to crack the code to this delicious sauce, Thanks
I lived in Milwaukie year ago and of course Roakes was a regular stop for me. I don’t believe there is anything tomatoeie in that sauce one thing I’m sure is there is well cooked and well blended pinto beans and onions. I knew a person who worked there and he didn’t know how to make it because they were not allowed to see the recipe. He is sure there is dried mustard in it because Roake always had a large supply of it in the storeroom. Does this help??? If you ever figure it out don’t lose my e-mail I would give just about anything to have that recipe. Keep me posted.
Good day Just an FYI Roakes was not always Roakes 50 years ago i went to school with the original founders son. of the hotdog stand it was called Dale&Eds his dad taught me how to make the sauce Roakes just purchased the hot dog stand and the sauce in the 80.s
Do you remember how to make it? I would love to make this. We are from West Linn and my parents went there when they were dating. Boy has that area changed.
No, I don’t know how to make it. I would love to. I lived a mile away for 14 years and consumed hundreds of those dogs. Now I’m living in Lower Manhattan and can’t find anything anywhere that is even close.
Hi Steve… read you EM from 2015 and thought I’d send you this email. I have been seeking the recipe, for myself & family, since the 70’s. Is it possible to talk with you via phone about Roake’s and their food??
— thanks for listening! — K.A.G.! –TB
Uh, there is no Steve here, but this is Brian. If you want to reach me, try [email protected]. If you have the recipe, we will talk! Last time I was there, a year ago, the sauce was different, dim and not vibrant.
I think it has really easy ingredients, and it drives me crazy to know what they are. My daughter thinks ballets chili blended up,I think it could possibly have tomato soup. The masa makes sense b/c of the velvety, separated texture.
I’m stumped. And disappointed. I went to Roakes this June when I came to Portland for a college reunion. The place is NOT the same. The sauce has lost its fire.
I use this recipe, a teeny less cheese, up to a pound of ground beef (because sometimes their sauce is chunky) and almost all of a small can of enchilada sauce. Not exactly a copy, but getting closer and still yummy. Sigh. We used to go down on Saturdays at lunchtime and wait over an hour for their dogs. Always worth it.
I went to Roakes last year. A ten year gap between visits, since I live in NYC. It’s still good, but no longer great. Muted, dimmed flavor. Just not the same. Sad.
Hi, got a kick from reading all the posts, but Brian, you
are absolutely correct! For whatever reason, these folks
there at the Jennings Lodge Roakes changed their recipe
about 3-4 years back, possibly due to a change of owners
once again, but after a visit and purchasing several of
their coneys for my sis/brother-in-law for a Clackamas
park lunch, I have not returned! The sauce was terrible!
I even called the next day to inquire as to the reason
for the change, and the one of the owners denied changing it, but I know better….I’m 70 and have been munching these puppies down since I was old enough to eat solid food, it’s been recently altered without a doubt, it’s missing a couple ingredients now,……oh well, I’ve got my own sauce made up
and fashioned after the original, even closer to the original flavor then ever “now”, won’t be going back there
either! I’ll post mine here soon! BTW, the recipe showing above isn’t even close, don’t waste time and ingredients
trying that one folks……it’s not a Roakes substitute!
Rick W
Rick,
Thank you for your wonderful reply. I’m sorry to be right but I am. At 70 you are younger than I am.
There is hope. There is a restaurant in NYC called Huertas which features a Basque Hot Dog. It’s the best ever. My wife, a nice girl from Brooklyn who swears by Nathans, teared up when she ate it. And, and, the recipe is in their new cookbook, The New Spanish. We’ll try the recipe — it’s in the book — over the 4th and then publish. You are going to be a very happy man.
Best regards,
Brian
Did you ever try the coney sauce on the 4th? Hope so. Just read all the posts very interesting. I have eaten thrre since the sixties and they have changed something.
I ate there last year on a visit back to Oregon from New York City. Hot dogs in NYC suck. The Portland dogs, once glorious, are now different. The sauce is watery, muted. It lacks the zip of old days.
I worked there in the 90’s. I can tell you the recipe for the sauce has changed. Ruth Roake was working at the counter so I don’t think it’s an owner change. But definitely, something’s different. I know the dogs are different because they used to purchase Oregon Chief hot dogs who made the dog recipe just for them. They are out of business now. I don’t know anything else helpful.
Thank you so much. I can’t help but ask: based on working there, do you have any insights about the sauce? Did you ever make a batch?
We grew up in Canby in the 70’s and 80’s loved roakes. Would love the recipe. My wife worked at a place in canby called fat rosa’s in the early 80’s in high school. Mona the owner offered take and bake pizza jojo potatoes and coney dogs with the roakes style mustard/spices/cornmeal/groundbeef kind of a yellow dog sauce. We are still friends with Mona and beg her once a year for the recipe which she’s still some 30 odd years later will not share. Why do we have such a hard time finding it and why does it seem such a secret ???
God, I would die for the ORIGINAL recipe. Can you tell Monda that Roakes has changed and the sauce is not the same. That sauce belongs in the Smithstonian. If there is anything I can do to assist you in liberating the recipe, please let me know.