Once you eat a Chilean completo, you’ll find it difficult to eat a regular, boring hot dog again.
The completo literally translates to “complete” and is everything the name describes.
While there are variations of completos, the basic version consists of:
1. A large hot dog roll, about twice as thick and long as the whimpy store-bought hot dog buns I ate as a kid.
2. A typical hot dog, usually cooked in boiling water.
3. Diced tomatoes spread across the hot dog.
4. A generous helping of smashed avocado (palta).
5. Too much mayonaise to resonably fit on the roll.
Completos can also sport some sauerkraut or chucrut.
Regardless of the topping, the completo will be the messiest thing you eat all week. The toppings outweigh the hot dog by a significant margin and almost overpower the roll which holds it all together.
I purchased my first completo from a street vendor and ate it outside trying to stand such that the mayo and avocado which oozed out with every bite would drip on the street and not my clothes or shoes.
Ask the locals near where you live or are staying where to get the best completo. They may just point you to a street vendor with a small kiosk. You’ll find yourself trying to wrestle with something that seems too large and messy to reasonably eat, yet is indescribably delicious. That is the Chilean completo. Enjoy!
Picture by Carolina Hornig
A Gringo's Culture Guide to Chile
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The Gringo’s Culture Guide to Chile is designed to help you understand Chileans, their culture, food, language, and daily life so you can enjoy your time in this beautiful country and not be blindsided by culture shock.
I LOVE Chilean completos!! You’re right…. regular hot dogs just aren’t the same after having completos!!
@Michelle – I love them too! Unfortunately, our kids haven’t yet gotten beyond the plain, boring hot dog.
Love completos! Growing up in Valparaiso, Chile, completos were an awesome weekend treat!! They were the “happy meal” (but much healthier!) of our time:) Your pictures brings back so many great memories of my home country! As a matter of fact, I have a few avocados, tomatos, mayo and hotdogs…I will be making this for luch today. Too bad the whimpy hot dog buns will have to do :(. Thanks for sharing.
@Leticia – I’m glad I inspired you to have a Chilean lunch! The hot dog buns in the US are wimpy for making a real completo so you’ll just have to close your eyes and imagine the real thing from back in Chile.
The traditional completo with tomato, palta and mayo is called an Italiano (Italian, because of the Italian flag colours). I love completos, they are perfect midnight snack for when you’re out on the town having a few drinks. Here in Canada we have the wimpy buns, but you can also find bigger buns for smokies. They are a bit more expensive and get less in the package but they hold the toppings pretty good. Hmm, maybe I’ll have some completos this weekend 😉
@Carmen – the Italiano is a classic. Chileans will also make sandwiches into “Italianos” like the beloved Lomito pork sandwich.