Chile's beloved overstuffed hot dog: a steamed sausage in a soft bun heaped generously with toppings. The iconic 'completo italiano' mirrors the colours of the Italian flag with just three: diced tomato (red), mashed avocado/palta (green) and a thick cap of mayonnaise (white); other versions add sauerkraut, American mustard or ají (chilli).
A Santiago street-food staple since the early 20th century, said to be popularized by the city's fuentes de soda (soda fountains); the avocado-tomato-mayo 'italiano' is the iconic version.
The first bite is a soft collision: warm snappy sausage, cool creamy avocado, the tang of tomato and sauerkraut, all under a rich slick of mayo. It is messy, juicy and unapologetically generous, the kind of thing eaten leaning forward so it doesn't land on your shirt.
Gently poaching keeps the sausage juicy rather than splitting it over high heat. Salting and draining the tomato prevents the bun from going soggy, while the fat of avocado and mayo balances the acidity of the tomato and fermented sauerkraut.
Variations
Completo italiano (tomato-avocado-mayo), completo dinámico (adds sauerkraut and ají), tomate-mayo, palta-mayo, and the cheese-and-chili-topped 'as' variants
On the Palate
Where Completo sits in the Chilean flavor cloud
Ingredients
Serves 4How it's made
8 steps · 15 min
- 18 min
Poach the sausages (vienesas) in barely-simmering water until heated through, about eight minutes.
Watch outKeep the water at a bare quiver, never a rolling boil — hard boiling splits the casing and dries the sausage out.
- 23 min
Dice ripe tomatoes finely and lightly salt them, draining off excess juice.
Watch outSalt the tomato and let the watery juice run off — skip this and the whole bun turns to mush.
- 33 min
Mash ripe avocado with a little salt and a squeeze of lemon into a smooth spread.
- 41 min
Warm the hot-dog buns briefly so they are soft and pliable.
- 52 min
Set a sausage in each bun and spoon a line of sauerkraut alongside it.
- 61 min
Pile on the diced tomato, then the mashed avocado.
- 71 min
Finish with a generous cap of mayonnaise piped down the length.
Watch outLoad the mayo cap generously right down the middle — the completo is meant to be overflowing, not tidy.
- 81 min
Serve immediately while warm, with napkins close at hand.
