Chilean Completo – The Ultimate Hot Dog

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!