Anyone who has been to Chile should know what a completo is. If they don’t then I’m sorry, but you have missed out.

It’s a Chilean way to enjoy hotdogs. As the word completo suggests, it’s a hotdog that is complete with toppings.

Here’s what the final product looks like.

To make a completo you just need a handful of ingredients. Start with large-sized hot dog buns. Due to the number of ingredients that go into a completo, it wont work if you get the smaller-sized traditional hot dog buns. So go to your bakery or the specialty bread section of your supermarket. You will need to slightly warm the buns in the oven before creating the completo.

Next you’ll need the following ingredients:

• Vienna style frankfurts
• Sauerkraut
• Giardiniera
• Fresh tomato
• Avocado (mashed up)
• Mayonnaise
• Ketchup
• Mustard (American style)

Preparation

The preparation isn’t too difficult however, there are a few things to keep in mind.

The sauerkraut goes either at the bottom of the hotdog bun (below the frankfurt) or as the first topping after adding the frankfurt. The sauerkraut must not be too soggy as this will moisten the bread and that won’t be good.

The Vienna frankfurt can either be boiled or pan fried. My preference is to add the frankfurts into a pot of boiling water for around 3 minutes. Overcooking the frankfurt can ruin it so be conscious to get them out before they split!

Now that both sauerkraut and the frankfurt are in the bun, salsa america or American sauce is added. To make this salsa, you will need a jar of giardiniera (pickled garden salad). Mix a few tablespoons full inside a food processor and then strain (with a colander) to remove any excess moisture. Add this over the top of the frankfurt.

Next up is the diced tomato. Skin the tomato and then cut into cubes. You can sprinkle a bit of salt over the tomatoes to taste. Try to ensure that the juice from the tomato does not get carried over. Remember to not use too much, just add enough to cover the frankfurt.

After the tomato is added, you will need to spread a layer of mashed avocado over the top. Once again, sprinkle a tiny bit of salt to add more flavour if you need it. Keep in mind that there is not much space to work with inside a hotdog bun so keep each layer relatively thin or you will run out of room!

After the completo is covered in nice green avocado, you will spread mayonnaise to create yet another layer. Once again, you don’t need a thick layer, just enough to cover the avocado.

Now you are basically done. The only other things you’ll need now is to add either mustard sauce or ketchup, or both!

Each layer adds taste and texture to the completo. When biting through the hotdog, you will experience an explosion of savoury flavours all the way til you’re done.

This is what we call a completo completo! A complete hotdog.

There are variations to this completo recipe. A simplified and common modification is called the “completo Italiano”, the Italian completo. This has just the frankfurt, tomato, avocado and mayonnaise. As you can appreciate, the ingredients have the same three colours of the Italian flag. This is personal favourite of mine for times when I don’t feel like having salty sauerkraut and giardiniera salsa.

I hope you are able to use these instructions to go on and create this Chilean version of a hotdog. Good luck with it and don’t be afraid to make a mess!