The Chilean Completo: A Hot Dog Sandwich

As baseball stadiums pack in daily crowds, and we head towards BBQ weather, the hot dog makes its return to tables across the country. But hot dogs are not just an American indulgence. In Brazil, there’s the cachorro quente, and Argentina has its panchos, but in Chile, the completo is king.

Chile’s version of what Americans consider to be “as American as apple pie” is to Chileans “tan chileno como los porotos” (as Chilean as beans). But a completo in Chile is not a simple sausage on a bun with some mustard. It’s a culinary mouthful, piled high with toppings like the ubiquitous mashed avocado, diced tomatoes and a stripe of mayonnaise generous enough to raise your cardiologist’s eyebrows. It’s a mix-and-match operation, which may include chucrut (sauerkraut), or relish-like salsa americana, a finely-chopped salad made of a mix of marinated pickles, onions and carrots.

Here’s a guide to the various types of completos you’ll find on any given day downtown, in the barrio universitario (an area of Santiago packed with universities) and in the hands of businessmen and school children alike, or waiting in the small, plastic boats in which they’re delivered to the table in sit-down establishments.

Chileans consider the completo to be the name of a few different hot-dog-on-a-bun-with-toppings varieties, including one, which itself is called a completo. Here are some of the more popular varieties:

Tomate-mayo: hot dog on a bun served with juicy chopped tomatoes and Chile’s favorite condiment, mayonnaise.

Italiano: hot dog on a bun topped with the three colors of the Italian flag (green mashed avocado, red chopped tomatoes, and a thick layer of white mayonnaise).

Completo: hot dog on a bun with tomatoes, sauerkraut, and mayonnaise.

Dinámico: hot dog on a bun topped with the avocado-tomato-mayo trifecta and salsa americana (pictured).

Many people also add ketchup and/or mustard, often in a serpentine back-and-forth pattern across the top of the layer of mayonnaise.

If you’re an avowed non-hotdog eater, at many places, the above can also be ordered as an as (ace), which is a chopped minute-steak sort of meat with these toppings. In fewer places, you can get a vegetarian or vegan version.

If you find yourself in the area, here’s where to try them.

On the street: In many fast-food kiosks and stands around the city, especially at Plaza de Armas in the galería Fernández Concha, where the completo first started at a locale referred to as “Portal Ex-Bahamondes.” You can also find completos in and around the Vega, which is the main market in Santiago.

Vegan Bunker: Vegetarians swear by the completo’s soydog cousin, available in several locations in and around the barrio universitario, including this restaurant at 2479 Blanco Encalada, near the Club Hípico in República, Santiago. 

Tip: the best way to avoid getting the toppings on your shirt, tie, pants, or shoes, is actually to eat it standing up, and tilting your head to the completo, and not vice-versa.

Chilean Completo

• 2 substantial hotdog buns
• 2 hotdogs
• 1 large tomato
• 1 large Haas avocado
• 4 tablespoons mayonnaise
• fine salt, to taste

Get the full recipe.