Mother-in-law sandwich
Photo: Southern Foodways Alliance · CC BY 2.0

History

The mother-in-law emerged in the 1950s on Chicago's South Side, where the city's unique cornmeal tamale tradition (rolled in paper, steamed in hot-dog warmers) met the chilli-on-everything sandwich culture of the Midwest. The name comes from the joke that both kinds of mother-in-law give you heartburn. Fat Johnnie's at 7242 S Western Avenue and Johnny O's on 35th Street are the canonical operators; both have served the sandwich continuously since the 1970s. The tamales come from only two Chicago manufacturers, Tom Tom or Supreme. Anthony Bourdain featured it on No Reservations in 2008, calling it the evil step-brother of the hot dog.

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Common allergens: Gluten, Dairy

Make it at home

Yield 4Hands-on 45 minTotal 1 hr 30 minDifficulty Intermediate

Ingredients

  • For the Chicago-style tamales (or buy 4 commercial ones from a Mexican grocery): 400g masa harina
  • 1 tsp baking powder
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 80g lard or vegetable shortening
  • 350ml warm chicken stock
  • 200g cooked seasoned ground beef OR 100g chilli powder mixed with 100ml water (the South Side cornmeal version is filled with seasoned cornmeal, not meat)
  • 8 sheets parchment paper cut to 15x20cm
  • For the chilli topping: 500g lean ground beef
  • 1 medium onion finely diced
  • 4 garlic cloves minced
  • 3 tbsp chilli powder
  • 1 tbsp ground cumin
  • 1 tsp dried oregano
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 1 tbsp tomato paste
  • 400ml beef stock
  • 1 tsp Worcestershire
  • 1 tsp brown sugar (the Chicago style is BEANLESS)
  • 4 soft hot dog buns
  • 1 small white onion finely diced
  • 1 large tomato diced
  • 1/2 cucumber sliced thin
  • Sport peppers (the Chicago hot dog pickled chillies)
  • Yellow mustard

Method

  1. TAMALES: beat lard with baking powder and salt until light. Add masa harina and warm stock alternately to a soft dough. The dough should drop easily from a spoon.
  2. Spread 4 tbsp dough across each parchment rectangle to a 10x15cm thin layer. Roll up tightly into a 2cm-thick log; twist the ends to seal.
  3. Steam the tamales upright in a basket for 60 minutes over barely-simmering water until firm and the dough pulls cleanly from the paper.
  4. CHILLI: brown the beef in a heavy pan over high heat until well caramelised. Add onion; cook 5 minutes.
  5. Stir in garlic, chilli powder, cumin, oregano, salt and tomato paste; toast 1 minute.
  6. Pour in beef stock, Worcestershire and brown sugar. Simmer uncovered 25 minutes until thick.
  7. ASSEMBLE: unwrap a steaming tamale. Slide whole into a hot dog bun.
  8. Ladle 4 to 5 tbsp chilli over the top.
  9. Top with diced onion, diced tomato, sliced cucumber and 2 sport peppers per sandwich.
  10. Squeeze yellow mustard across the chilli. Serve immediately on a paper plate (this is street food).

Tip from the editors. Use a regular hot dog bun; the soft bun bonds the chilli, tamale and toppings into one questionable sandwich. The mess is the whole point.

Where to eat mother-in-law sandwich

Mother-in-law sandwich in Chicago

Featured by TableJourney as a signature dish of Chicago. See where to eat Mother-in-law sandwich in Chicago or the Chicago signature dishes guide.

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