Africa and South America
Now that you’ve learned from our previous posts how hot dogs are prepared and cooked, or featured in local cuisines from different places in Asia, Australia and Europe, let’s travel to Africa and South America and discover other interesting facts about these tasty treats.
South Africa
Boerewors or ‘farmer sausage’ is made from minced beef or pork, and mixed with a variety of ingredients, such as cloves, pepper, coriander and nutmeg. This is usually paired with relishes like tomato, mustard and chutney. Other varieties of boerewors are Karoowors (sausage from the Karoo region of South Africa), spekwors (prepared using cubed port fat) and garlic wors.
Fun Facts: South Africa’s AfriForum Youth holds the Guinness World Record for the Longest Barbecued Sausage or Boerewors, which measures 514.5 metres. The record for the Longest Sausage Roll was also achieved by King Pie Holdings on the 25th of June 2005.
SOUTH AMERICA
Argentina
The panchuker is a popular snack found in many street food stalls in Argentina. Like the Dagwood Dog of Sydney, this hot dog variant is prepared using baked sausage covered with a waffle-like batter and fried in vegetable oil before being served on a stick. Panchukers are commonly served in fast food restaurants and party catering services at different locations, such as Cipoletti, La Plata, Buenos Aires and Tucumán. Another snack that the Argentines love is the choripan, a recipe made using chorizo (sausage) and crusty bread served with a special condiment known as chimichurri (a sauce made using grilled meat mixed with garlic, vinegar, parsley, olive oil and chilli pepper).
Brazil
The cachorro quente is a famous snack, which you can find in many hot dog stands outside metro stations, bus stops and bustling commercial streets of São Paulo and other cities in Brazil. This variant is served with a range of condiments like ketchup, pico de gallo (vinaigrette) and mayo as well as toppings, such as bacon strips, shoestring potatoes, potato chips, peas, onion, corn, parmesan cheese, red pepper, green pepper and hard-boiled quail eggs.
Chile
Completo, the Spanish term for complete, is a popular hot dog variant in Chile. Its size is twice bigger than an average American sausage. Common ingredients included in the preparation of completo are chopped tomatoes, mashed avocado, sauerkraut (finely cut cabbage fermented with lactic acid bacteria), mayonnaise, green sauce, Chilean chilli and cheese.
Colombia
Colombian-style hot dogs, locally termed as perros calientes, are served with ketchup, coleslaw, mustard, mayonnaise, cheese and potato chips. These toppings and condiments add a sweet, salty and savoury taste that make this snack a delicious treat for everyone.
Hot dogs are easy to prepare—this is why various places around the world have created their own version of these delicious treats based on regional taste or cultural preference.
From Asia, Australia and Europe, to Africa and South America, you can find many hot dog or sausage variants sold at street food stalls or featured as ingredients to various local cuisines in food catering services and world-class restaurants.
Hooked with our hot dog fun facts? We’re not done yet—there’s more! Watch out for our next post as we uncover some interesting hot dogs facts from North America.