NICK’S RECIPE: Not long ago a reader lamented the loss of the
Texas hot recipe from Nick’s Red Hots. It’s not lost at all … but
not exactly found, either.

Nick’s had been at various locations in downtown Bradford, most
recently along the street that wraps around Veterans Square. It
closed a few years ago. Its hot dogs were unique, right down to the
stale buns.

Terrie Pillar, who worked at Nick’s at the time of its closing,
still has a copy of the recipe — which she showed us but wouldn’t
allow us to copy. Another employee, Ruth Wheeler, also wrote it
down at the time Nick shut his doors.

Nick had closely guarded the recipe and even barred the kitchen
door while the sauce was being prepared.

We were amazed at the number of spices in this recipe — way more
than in any recipe we had seen in previous years.

In all, there were about 18 spices including things you wouldn’t
expect such as nutmeg, turmeric and saffron.

Nick would put the spices with ground beef and onions, among
other ingredients, into a large kettle. He would cook it for a
couple of days until it was reduced to about 2/3 of the original
volume. Then Nick would pour it into big cake pans and put it in
the freezer. Just before it was frozen, he would cut it into
squares. These, then, would be removed with a spatula by the women
when they would need a batch. They would cook it in a double
boiler.

To our way of thinking, it would be virtually impossible to
duplicate the taste of Nick’s unique sauce without this recipe.

At least, it’s a comfort knowing the recipe survives. Maybe some
day, we’ll get to sample a Nick’s dog again.

HOT DOGS: We’ve had a few online comments about Texas hots
including one from Tom McAndrew who writes, “I noticed that the
price of the hot dogs hasn’t been a part of the history covered in
your articles so let me state that during the ’40s I would stop for
a carry-out late-night snack which cost 10 cents each or 3 for a
quarter at either Ma Pete’s or Johnies.”

We remember that Nick’s dogs, just before he closed, were a
dollar each. If you bought six, he’d throw in an extra.