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Completo
Serves 4 Prep 15 min Cook 10 min Total 25 min Type Side Origin Chilean

Completo

The Chilean street hot dog: a long roll, a frankfurter and a heroic layering of mashed avocado, diced tomato, sauerkraut, mayonnaise and mustard.

Serves 4 Prep 15 minutes Cook 10 minutes Units Rate

Overview

The Chilean street hot dog and the proper night-out food after a few drinks in any city in the country. You start with a long soft frankfurter roll, poach the frankfurter in barely-simmering water for five minutes, dice tomato fine and salt it to draw out the water, and mash avocado with lime and salt to a thick paste. The build is bottom-up: split roll, frankfurter, diced tomato, sauerkraut, a heroic layer of smashed avocado, mayonnaise piped generously over the top, a squiggle of mustard if you like. Wrap in paper, hand it over, eat with both hands while walking down a Santiago street.

Ingredients

  • 4 long soft hot dog rolls (pan de hot dog - softer and longer than American ones)
  • 4 good-quality frankfurters (or German-style sausages)
  • 2 ripe avocados
  • ½ lime (juice)
  • 1 teaspoon salt (for avocado)
  • 4 ripe tomatoes (small, very finely diced, seeds removed)
  • ½ teaspoon salt (for tomato)
  • 150 g sauerkraut (drained well)
  • 4 tablespoons mayonnaise (Chilean-style, very thick)
  • 2 tablespoons American yellow mustard (optional)
  • Optional: pebre (or ají sauce)

Method

Stage 1 - Tomato and avocado

  1. Dice tomato 4 mm small; salt; leave 10 minutes; drain off the water that pools.
  2. Mash the avocado with lime juice and 1 teaspoon salt to a chunky-smooth purée.

Stage 2 - Sausages

  1. Bring 2 litres of water to a low simmer (not boiling - boiling splits the casings).
  2. Drop the frankfurters in; cook 5-6 minutes.
  3. Lift onto a tray.

Stage 3 - Buns

  1. Lightly toast or warm the buns (split lengthways but don't cut all the way through).

Stage 4 - Build

  1. Place a frankfurter in each bun.
  2. Pile 2 tablespoons of drained diced tomato along one side.
  3. Pile 2 tablespoons of sauerkraut along the other side.
  4. Spoon 3-4 tablespoons of mashed avocado generously along the top.
  5. Squiggle 1 tablespoon of mayonnaise over the avocado.
  6. Drizzle mustard if using.

Stage 5 - Wrap and eat

  1. Wrap each completo halfway up in paper or foil.
  2. Eat immediately, with both hands.

Notes

  • Avocado is non-negotiable: It's the centre of the dish, not a garnish. A completo without avocado is not a completo.
  • Drain everything: Wet tomato and wet sauerkraut give a soggy bun fast. Both need draining well.
  • Frankfurter, not hot dog: The Chilean frank is a meatier sausage with a softer texture than American supermarket hot dogs. Good German bratwurst or Polish kielbasa is closer.

Storage

  • Eat fresh.

Recipes mentioned here

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