Wieners! Get your greasy wieners!
Yep, you read that right. And what, you might ask, makes a hot dog greasy? Cooking it in oil, of course—New Jersey style.
Gourmet food truck The Greasy Wiener offers San Luis Obispo County authentic beef hot dogs, bratwursts, and burgers that creator and owner Adam Dragotta has been cooking up since 2001. He now operates the truck with his wife, Loren, and their three children, whom they called the “Junior Greasy Wieners.”
Growing up in New Jersey, Adam said the East Coast does hot dogs differently than the West Coast. In New Jersey they don’t boil hot dogs, they don’t grill them, they cook those meat sticks in oil.
“We kind of have a little trade secret on how we do it, and one reason why they’re so yummy. So, it’s a little bit different,” he said.
Although you can’t really tell whether a dog’s been cooked in oil when looking at it, Adam said the difference is in the flavor.
“It locks in the flavor and gives it a great snap. It cooks it perfectly, and you can cook it in different ways,” he said. “You can go through a high temperature, or you can go to a low temperature when you’re cooking.”
Oftentimes, higher temperatures cause the casing of the hot dog to rip open.
“The steamed and boiled dog kind of gets rubbery,” he said. “This doesn’t do that. It has a great snap. … I think it’s the best way to do it, personally.”
Adam started The Greasy Wiener in Tucson, Arizona, selling his oil-cooked hot dogs from a cart, which he said was quite successful.
Then he went to LA in 2009 during the “food truck boom.” From there, he and Loren moved to SLO County to raise a family—and they took the business one step further by developing their own line of hot dogs and sausages from family recipes.
“The hot dog itself, it’s our own brand. You can’t get it anywhere else,” Loren said. “They’re all beef. They’re made with no hormones, no steroids, no fillers … the meat comes from the shoulder. It’s not mystery meat.”
And artificial casings? No thanks. The Greasy Wiener uses the most quality casing made from sheep, Adam said—a natural sleeve that contributes to that beautiful snap.
“It’s the authentic way all dogs used to get made, and now, like all the grocery stores, all these places, they don’t really do it,” he said.
But a great wiener does not stand alone, so The Greasy Wiener offers topping options to please any palate.
Loren said anything with bacon is best, and that includes their bacon chili cheese dog.
With homemade cheese sauce and chili, the dog is also topped with grilled onions and a pickle spear, Adam said—a New Jersey delicacy.
Another popular item is the Street Dog, he said, inspired by a night out in the city.
“I don’t know if you’re ever down and go to any of the sporting events down in LA. When you come out at night, and those street vendors are grilling up the hot dogs and bacon right out front, and the smell is just amazing. And you have to have one. That’s what it is,” he said. “So, we wrap ketchup, mayo, mustard, grilled onions, and tomatoes. And we also do like grilled onions on almost all the hot dogs too.”
Right now, The Greasy Wiener operates out of its food truck, caters events, and provides delivery locally in Los Osos.
“If you’re working in SLO and you work in an office, we’ll make runs to drop off, to do office catering and things like that. We bring the truck to them—employee appreciation and stuff like that,” Loren said.
The Greasy Wiener recently began providing food delivery through Grub Hub and Uber Eats, with links available on its Instagram and Facebook pages.
“We’re definitely an event truck. Hopefully, one day we’ll have a storefront. It’s a dream to have a store. It’s always been a dream,” Loren said.
Adam added, “It’s a catchy name. The product comes out really good. It’s tasty. So, it seems to work. It’s been working for a while.”
And the Dragottas hope to continue providing quality, affordable grub throughout the county.
“Everything is made with love, and we try to do it the best all the time,” Loren said. “We’re a small business and [that’s] just really, really important to us.” Δ
Staff Writer Libbey Hanson is trying to keep her mind out of the gutter. Send wholesome hot dog toppings to lhanson@newtimesslo.com.
This article appears in Feb 20 – Mar 2, 2025.