Colombian Hot Dogs!

There’s something very nostalgic about a hot dog. And I love them.

Baseball games, summer cookouts, roadside stands. If I see a hot dog, I am going to eat it.

The world is full of all sorts of different hot dogs. Norwegians wrap their hot dogs in a potato flat bread and top it with shrimp salad or potato salad — or both. Down in Baltimore, they add a slice of fried bologna to their hot dog (because a hot dog always needs more sodium). In the south of Iran, the classic street food known as sosis bandari is more like a hash, with bits of hot dog cut up and cooked with spices, tomato paste, peppers, and potatoes and served as a sandwich.

(and no, we won’t be discussing whether or not a hot dog is a sandwich in this post.)

Almost every country in South America has some version of a hot dog, with all kinds of things being piled onto the bun along with the hot dog itself.

Known as the perro caliente Colombiano, hot dogs in Colombia are typically boiled and topped with a combination of mayo and ketchup, known as salsa rosada, along with a pineapple sauce, potato chips, and, more often than not, hard boiled quail eggs.

My friend, Chris Weathered, chef of Mill and Main in Kerhonkson (you might recall I wrote about Mill and Main in my Guide to the Catskills) is part Colombian, so it only made sense that we should make Colombian hot dogs together.

And we did just that.

Now listen, I am not going to argue with you about what should or shouldn’t go onto a hot dog. If you know me, you know I’m not even a fan of ketchup, but guess what?

We put a big fat quirt of ketchup on these dogs and I still ate it.

Heck, I even LIKED it.

(that doesn’t mean that I’m going to start putting ketchup onto my hot dogs though, so don’t come at me.)

What do I typically put on my hot dog, you ask?

I’ll tell you.

Obviously, mustard. I fucking love mustard and I even put mustard on my pizza. sometimes. THAT’S RIGHT, MUSTARD ON MY PIZZA. (more like a dip, I guess, instead of ranch, TRY IT.)

Spicy brown is typical for me on my dog, but only because Dijon doesn’t typically come in a squirt bottle. I also love chopped banana peppers or pepperoncini bc there is nothing better than something a little pickled and a little spicy on my hot dog.

I also need a crunchy something, and lately, that crunchy something has been potato chips.

Chris (and Colombians) also add crushed potato chips to their hot dogs and Chris recommends opening the bag of chips and crushing the chips right in the bag instead of crushing them by hand onto the hot dog.

Crushing chips in the bag prevents your hands getting all greasy and covered in potato chip crumbs and I think it is a very good idea. Just be sure to take out some chips to save for onion dip or something so you don’t crush all of them (unless you want them all crushed, then by all means, crush the entire bag).

And then there is the dog. What kind and how you cook it, which might just be the most important part of a hot dog.

Chris and I used all beef boys with a natural casing. In Colombia, the hot dogs are usually boiled, but we grilled ours because grilling is cute and it’s summer and we love that char.

The hot dogs I got were also very long, which allowed them to hang over the edge of the bun, giving us a bonus bite, which is v fun. Highly recommend.

I could talk about hot dogs all day (and guess what? I got a hot dog cookbook coming out Spring 2026!!!), but for now, I will leave you with this tip before you make your own hot dogs:

Dress the dog, not the bun. A very important thing that will make your life a little bit better.

Oh, and also that chip tip. That’s a good one, too.

Enjoy the recipe, comment below and let us know how you hot dog.

Colombian Hot Dog Recipe

Serves 6
Prep time: 15 minutes
Total time: 40 minutes

INGREDIENTS

for the pineapple sauce:
2 cups peeled and diced pineapple 
2 ½ tablespoons granulated sugar 
1 jalapeno, minced
1 lime
1 tablespoon cornstarch 

for the cabbage slaw:
½ green cabbage, cored and shredded
½ cup mayo 
2 teaspoons ground cumin 
2 teaspoons sweet paprika 
1 lime
kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

for the hot dogs:
6 hot dogs 
6 hot dog buns 
1 bag of potato chips (plain or salt & vinegar are preferred) 
mayo, to taste
ketchup, to taste
mustard, to taste

DIRECTIONS

1. Make the pineapple sauce: Place the pineapple, sugar, and jalapeno into the bowl of a food processor or blender. Juice in the lime and purée until smooth. Mix the cornstarch with ¼ cup water in a small bowl and, with the motor running, slowly stream the mixture into the pineapple sauce until thick. Place the pineapple sauce into a squeeze bottle and set aside until ready to use.

2. Make the cabbage slaw: In a large bowl, mix the cabbage with the mayo, cumin, and paprika. Zest in the lime and squeeze in its juice, then season with salt and pepper. Set the slaw aside until ready to use.

3. Cooking and building the hot dog: Traditionally, the dogs in Colombia are boiled but I strongly prefer grilling hot dogs and their buns. Cook how you want though!

4. Once cooked, place the hot dog in the bun and top with coleslaw. Drizzle mayo, mustard, ketchup, and pineapple over top in any order.

5. Open the bag of potato chips, then crush them directly in the bag so you don’t get your hands all greasy and crumby. Sprinkle chips across the top of the hot dog to ensure some nice crunch in every bite.