A hot dog steamed (steamé) or grilled (toasté) and served on a pillowy steamed bun, classically topped with mustard, relish, vinegary coleslaw and chopped onions. A defining fast-food staple of Montreal casse-croûtes, woven into the city's working-class and hockey-arena identity.
The Montreal hot dog is a defining fast-food staple of the city's casse-croûtes, the working-class diners. A hot dog is steamed (steamé) or grilled (toasté) and served on a pillowy steamed bun, classically topped with mustard, sweet relish, vinegary coleslaw and chopped onions. The steamed-bun-and-slaw construction is specifically Montreal, and the steamé-versus-toasté duality is woven into the city's hockey-arena and working-class identity, famously at the old Montreal Forum.
A soft, warm, slightly soggy bun around a mild dog, the bright mustard, sweet relish and tangy coleslaw piling up, the chopped onion biting through. Eaten fast at a counter, it is cheap, comforting and the taste of a Montreal night.
The bun is steamed soft (for the steamé) which gives the distinctive pillowy, slightly soggy texture that a grilled bun does not have. The dog itself is either steamed (steamé) or grilled flat (toasté), and the toppings are layered on in a specific order: mustard, relish, coleslaw, then onions. The coleslaw is vinegary, not creamy, which is the Montreal distinction. The assembled dog is eaten immediately before the bun collapses.
Variations
A toasté grills the bun and dog. An all-dressed has everything.
On the Palate
Where Montreal Hot Dog sits in the Canadian flavor cloud
Ingredients
Serves 4How it's made
6 steps · 10 min
- 13 min
Steam 4 hot dog buns over boiling water 2 minutes until very soft and warm.
Watch outSteam the bun soft and pillowy, don't grill it — the slightly soggy steamed texture is the whole point of a steamé.
- 25 min
Steam 4 hot dogs in simmering water 5 minutes (for steamé), or grill flat on a pan (for toasté).
- 34 min
For the slaw, toss 100g shredded cabbage with 2 tbsp white vinegar, 1 tsp sugar and salt.
- 44 min
Lay a dog in each bun; spread with mustard, sweet relish, a spoonful of slaw, then chopped onion.
Watch outLayer the toppings in order — mustard, relish, vinegary slaw, then onion — and use vinegary slaw, not creamy; that's the Montreal mark.
- 52 min
Press gently and serve immediately.
- 61 min
Eat at once, while the bun is still soft and warm.
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