Brazilian Hot Dog (Cachorro Quente)

Brazilian Hot Dogs

The Brazilian hot dog is quite the crazy dog!

When looking for one of the world’s craziest hot dog, look no further than the Brazilian hot dog.

We thought our beloved Chicago Dog had a lot of ingredients piled on, but the Brazilian hot dog takes toppings to a new level. While the Chicago hot dog has strict guidelines on how it’s to be built, that’s not necessarily the case in Brazil. For certain, there is a small appearance of law and order at the beginning of the hot dog building process, but after that, all chaos breaks out.

The Brazilian hot dog begins its life just like any other hot dog, with a tasty frank and a bun. Then it goes Brazilian on us. The dog is topped with a delicious ground meat mixture and then some melted cheese. At this point, it sort of resembles a chili dog. So far, so good, right? Wrong! This is when hell breaks loose.

At this point, the Brazilian hot dogs are “dressed” with an infinite variety of toppings. While these toppings may include anything but the kitchen sink, some of the more common include corn, peas, olives, shoestring potatoes, Parmesan and/or mozzarella cheese, Requeijão (Brazilian cream cheese), shredded lettuce and diced tomatoes. Condiments typically include ketchup, mustard, mayonnaise or chunky salsa (pico de gallo).

Another version of the Brazilian hot dog includes mashed potatoes. Yep, you read right…mashed potatoes. A bed of mashed potatoes is laid down on the bun and the hot dog is nestled into them before topping it with the meat mixture. The dog is then dressed with desired accompaniments. Crazy, you say? It actually sounds delicious!

While the Brazilian hot dog may sound somewhat insane, keep in mind that we’re talking about a country as a whole. Each geographical region has its own particular preference for toppings. Imagine listing all the ingredients in an “American” hot dog. From east coast to west coast, the variety of preferred toppings would seem as insane as Brazil’s.

Yet, the Brazilian hot dog sounds intriguing. It’s a hot dog buffet waiting to happen. Let’s cook up a few up and maybe we’ll discover our favorite one…or two.

While, the typical Brazilian hot dog utilizes a regular hot dog and ground beef, we opted for turkey with the same great results. The recipe remains the same regardless of your choice of meat.

Brazilian Hot Dog Ingredients

Brazilian Hot Dog (Cachorro Quente)

Prep time

30 mins

Cook time

1 hour

Total time

1 hour 30 mins

The Brazilian hot dog is topped with a delicious ground meat mixture, melted cheese and your choice of a wide variety of toppings.

Author: Gary Glen

Recipe type: Hot Dog

Cuisine: Latin American

Serves: 8 Hot Dogs

Go Get This Stuff

1 pound ground turkey
1 green pepper, diced
1 onion, finely chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced
1-1/2 cup chicken stock
2 tablespoons tomato paste
2 teaspoons thyme
2 teaspoons fresh ground black pepper
1/2 teaspoon cumin
salt per taste
package of 8 hot dogs
8 buns, deli style, hoagie roll or small baguettes
vegetable oil for frying

Then Do This

For the Ground Meat Topping

In an oiled large skillet, place ground turkey and cook over medium heat while stirring and breaking into small crumbles for about 10 minutes.
Add onion, green pepper and garlic. Stir and cook for an additional 5 minutes or until onion and green pepper are softened.
Stir in chicken stock, tomato paste, thyme, black pepper and cumin. Bring to a boil and reduce heat to a simmer. Continue to cook while occasionally stirring until liquid has been evaporated, about 45 minutes. Cover skillet an keep warm until ready for use.

Prepare the Hot Dogs

If you have your preferred method of cooking hot dogs, so be it. We have a special way of doing it on the grill, but a stovetop grill pan or skillet will also work.

Preheat a grill or skillet for direct grilling using medium-high heat. While occasionally rotating, cook hot dogs until slightly charred and evenly browned. Remove from heat and allow to cool enough to handle.
Slit each dog down the middle, lengthwise. DO NOT cut all the way through, just enough to open up the dog slightly, like a book.
Return to heat, slit side down and slightly grill the inside, about two minutes.
Remove hot dogs from heat and keep warm.

Assemble the Hot Dogs

Place hot dog onto bun, keeping the hot dog opened slightly. Ladle about two tablespoons of the meat mixture on top of the dog. Next, place mozzarella cheese on top, if using. Meat mixture should be hot enough to allow cheese to melt.
Continue "dressing" the dog as your taste buds desire.
If making the mashed potato version, begin the process by spreading a mound of potatoes on the bun, then slightly embed the hot dog into them. Continue adding the remaining ingredients.

Notes

See below for assembling with topping ideas. Eventually you'll discover one you can call your own.

Optional Toppings: corn, peas, olives, shoestring potatoes, Parmesan and/or mozzarella cheese, Requeijão (Brazilian cream cheese), shredded lettuce and diced tomatoes. Condiments typically include ketchup, mustard, mayonnaise or chunky salsa (pico de gallo).