Name: Maxwell Street Polish
Prep time: 5 min
Cook time: 15 min
Total time: 20 min
Yield: 4 servings
Cuisine: American
Ingredients: 4 smoked Polish sausages (about 150 g each); 2 large onions, sliced thin; 1 tbsp vegetable oil; 4 soft hot dog buns; 4 tbsp yellow mustard; 8 sport peppers or pickled green chillies

Maxwell Street Polish

A grilled Polish sausage on a bun topped with fried onions, yellow mustard and sport peppers, ready in 20 minutes.

20 min total Serves 4 servings Easy

What Makes Maxwell Street Polish Work

Think of a hot dog, then swap the frankfurter for something with more bite. A Maxwell Street Polish is a thick, smoked Polish sausage, split and grilled, laid in a soft bun and loaded with onions that have been cooked until they are brown and sweet. Simple wins here.

The onions come first, because they take the longest. Slice them thin and cook them in a little oil over a medium heat for about ten minutes until they colour, stirring so they do not catch. Keep them in a pile on the side to stay warm while the sausages cook. Low and slow is the rule.

Split the sausages lengthways, not all the way through, so they lie flat and brown on the cut side. Grill or pan-fry until browned and heated through. Warm the buns, pile in the sausage and onions, and finish with yellow mustard and a few sport peppers.

Making Maxwell Street Polish

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Heat the oil in a pan over a medium heat. Cook the onions for 10 minutes until soft and browned.
Split each sausage lengthways, almost through. Heat a grill pan over a medium-high heat.
Cook the sausages cut side down for 3 minutes, then turn and cook for 3 minutes more until browned.
Warm the buns. Fill each with a sausage, the onions, mustard and sport peppers.

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Notes for Getting It Right

Cook the onions slowly; fast heat burns the edges before the middle softens.
Split the sausage so it lies flat and browns evenly.
Steam the buns for 30 seconds in a covered pan for a softer bite.

Changing the Recipe

Dried chilli flakes can stand in for the green chillies. Heat varies a great deal between chillies and between jars, so start with a small pinch and add more to taste.

What Goes With Maxwell Street Polish

Chips
Pickles
Coleslaw
Cold beer

Sides from the same cuisine on this site: New York Bagels, Creamy Coleslaw, Philadelphia Soft Pretzels.

Keeping and Reheating

Best eaten at once. Cooked onions keep for 3 days in the fridge.