Completo

Completo (Chilean-Style Loaded Hot Dog)

The completo is Chile's beloved street-food take on a hot dog, piled high with mashed avocado, diced tomato and a generous swirl of mayonnaise on a soft, squishy bun. It is meant to be messy, tall and eaten with plenty of napkins.

Prep

15 min

Cook

10 min

Total

25 min

Serves

4

Difficulty

Easy

Recipe ingredients

• •4 whole soft hot dog buns, pán de completo style; a slightly sweet, very soft bun is traditional
• •450 g (1 lb) good-quality beef hot dogs / vienesas, Chilean vienesas are typically a thin beef-and-pork frankfurter; all-beef frankfurters are the closest widely available substitute
• •2 whole ripe Hass avocados
• •2 medium ripe tomatoes, firm, ripe tomatoes work best so they dice cleanly
• •120 ml (½ cup) mayonnaise, a mild, slightly sweet mayo; Chilean brands such as Hellmann's-style work well
• •120 g (4 oz) sauerkraut, drained, optional but classic on the 'completo italiano' style
• •15 ml (1 tbsp) white vinegar, for the tomatoes, traditional touch
• •2 g (½ tsp) fine salt, plus more to taste
• •1 g (¼ tsp) freshly ground black pepper
• •5 ml (1 tsp) neutral oil, for griddling the buns

Steps

1. 1 Prepare the tomato: dice the tomatoes into roughly 5 mm (¼ in) pieces, removing the core. Toss with the vinegar, a pinch of salt and the black pepper and set aside to macerate for 5–10 minutes, then drain off any pooled liquid so the bun does not go soggy.
2. 2 Mash the avocado: halve and pit the avocados, scoop the flesh into a bowl and mash with a fork to a rough, chunky purée. Season with a pinch of salt; do not over-mash, it should still have texture.
3. 3 Cook the hot dogs: bring a pot of water to a gentle simmer (do not boil hard) and poach the vienesas for 5–6 minutes until heated through and the internal temperature reaches 74 °C / 165 °F on an instant-read thermometer. Alternatively, grill or pan-fry them over medium heat for 5–7 minutes, turning, until lightly browned and at 74 °C / 165 °F internally.
4. 4 Warm the buns: brush the cut sides lightly with the neutral oil and griddle them cut-side down in a hot skillet for 30–60 seconds until just golden and warm; keep soft.
5. 5 Assemble: place one hot dog in each bun. Spoon a generous layer of mashed avocado over the sausage, top with a heaped spoonful of the diced tomato (drained), and pipe or spoon a thick swirl of mayonnaise over the top.
6. 6 If using sauerkraut for a 'completo italiano' style, layer it over the sausage before adding the avocado.
7. 7 Serve immediately, with extra mayonnaise on the side and plenty of napkins - the completo is meant to be eaten by hand, messily, right away while the bun is still warm and soft.