Instant Pot Hot Wieners (Rhode Island Style)–hot dogs, served in a steamed bun, and topped with celery salt, yellow mustard, chopped onions, and a seasoned meat sauce.

Each week in 2020 I’m sharing a recipe inspired by one of the 50 states. (See all the state recipes I’ve covered so far.) Today is the LAST state to be covered! And it is all about the smallest state we’ve got…Rhode Island, the Ocean State. Its distances North to South are 48 miles and East to West 37 miles. The state is best known for its scenic shores and seaside colonial towns, and it’s a popular destination for sailing, surfing, and fishing.
Instant Pot Hot Wieners (Rhode Island Style)
Today’s recipe for hot wieners goes way back to the early 1900s. Greek immigrants came to New York via Ellis Island and settled in Brooklyn. As they moved out of New York and across the country they brought with them a form of hot dog which they covered in a Coney Island meat sauce. One of these Greek immigrants, Augustus Pappas and his son Ernie opened a restaurant in Providence, Rhode Island called the Original New York System in 1927. This restaurant was the first to serve the Hot Wieners.
Today you can find several restaurants in Rhode Island that serve hot wieners. Make sure to order yours “all the way” which means the dog is served on a steamed bun with mustard, meat sauce, onion and celery salt.
Hot wieners are firmly planted in Rhode Island’s culinary psyche. They’re to the Ocean State what cheesesteak is to Philly, what barbecue is to Kansas City and what street tacos are to Los Angeles.
Grace Lentini, The Hot Wiener: A Rhode Island Icon

My Instant Pot version of Rhode Island hot wieners uses the Instant Pot to simmer the meat sauce and simultaneously cook the hot dogs. While the wieners are cooking mince up some onions and break out the mustard and celery salt. I bought celery salt just for this recipe and it was worth it. I really think it’s the secret ingredient!
And just to give you a laugh watch this sketch about Rhode Island. My kids love this and quote it all the time…
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Instant Pot Hot Wieners (Rhode Island Style)
- Yield: 6 servings 1x
Description
Hot dogs, served in a steamed bun, and topped with celery salt, yellow mustard, chopped onions, and a seasoned meat sauce.
Ingredients
- 1 pound lean ground beef
- 1 cup diced onion
- 1 Tbsp chili powder
- 1 Tbsp paprika
- 1/4 tsp allspice
- 1/4 tsp curry
- 1/2 tsp dry mustard
- 1/2 tsp cinnamon
- 1/4 tsp celery salt
- 3/4 cup beef or chicken broth
- 6 hot dogs
- 6 hot dog buns
- Toppings: minced onion, yellow mustard, celery salt
Instructions
- Turn Instant Pot to sauté setting. When display says HOT add in the ground beef and break it up. Add in the onions, chili powder, paprika, allspice, curry, dry mustard, cinnamon and celery salt. Brown for about 5 minutes.
- Add in the broth and scrape the bottom of the pot so that nothing is sticking. Turn off Instant Pot.
- Place hot dogs on top of the meat.
- Cover Instant Pot and secure the lid. Make sure valve is set to sealing. Set the manual/pressure cook button to 1 minute. When time is up let the pot sit for 5 minutes and then move the valve to venting. Remove the lid.
- Steam the hot dog buns. Place a hot dog on each bun. Top with mustard, celery salt, diced onions and a scoop of the meat mixture in the Instant Pot.
Notes
Recipe adapted from Food Network
I used my 6 quart Instant Pot Duo 60 7 in 1*.
- Category: Beef
- Method: Instant Pot or Slow Cooker

*Karen Petersen is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com.
I am a born, raised Rhode Islander of over 70 years and this is no where near a typical Rhode Island Hot Weiner.. Number i; you don’t uses hot dogs but use a Weiner which is only made in Rhode Island hand-cut from a 5 or 10 pound Weiner rope from the Rhode Island Weiner factory and there is a specific way you cook the Weiner.. Number 2; this is not the true recipe to make the Weiner sauce as it is missing a lot of ingredients. Number 3; in the photos and instructions the Wieners are built incorrectly out of sequence.. Number 4; the type of mustard and type of onion is not specified and Number 5; the size of the bun is too large if you are using regular side split hot dog buns..
One of the original variations of the Weiner sauce has been published in a cookbook which has been published on the internet. Most all Rhode Island and nearby Massachusetts restaurants serving hot Weiner have some deviation from the base recipe to make it their own unique taste. I’ve used the recipe and it tastes exactly like 6 Rhode Island Hot Weiner Restaurants that I purchased samples for taste testing. one note, restaurants are fast service so you don’t make a batch of Weiner sauce and serve it same day, you make it in advance so all the ingredients get to mingle and get to know each other enhancing the overall taste.
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Really, Jason…do you feel better for having posted such a childish, rude and sarcastic comment to a site with some of the best Instant Pot recipes out there?!?!?!?!
Karen…your recipes and excellent information ROCK!!!
You are my “go to” to get a meal on the table most nights…not to mention breakfast, snacks and desserts…Thank you!!! 🙂
I am a Native Rhode Islander, born and bred. My father who was an upholsterer in Providence actually covered the seats in the New York System in Olneyville. He used to take us there all the time. So the only change I would make is you need the weiners from Dey St. That is where the System gets them! HaHa You haven’t lived until you tasted one. M
y husband loves them. I usually make my sauce on top of the stove. I will have to give my Instant Pot a try!
If I ever come to Rhode Island I will go there and get one! Sounds amazing!!
Did I miss Washington?
Here it is: https://www.365daysofcrockpot.com/instant-pot-caramel-apple-cobbler/
Can’t wait to try this recipe, thanks. Thanks for sharing that sketch, too. It made me laugh and reminded me of an old Mad Magazine license plate parody. Rhode Island’s official plate read “Discover Rhode Island”. Mad turned it into “Try To Find Rhode Island”. 😂
Lol! It is such a small state.