Cachorro Quente Brasileiro

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •Wide 3-liter pan with lid
• •Wooden spoon
• •Small baking tray or dry skillet for warming buns

Instructions

1. 1

   Start the refogado

   Warm the oil in a wide pan over medium heat. Add the onion and cook, stirring now and then, until it goes soft, sweet, and see-through, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic for 1 minute, just until you smell it. This is where the sauce starts tasting like food instead of a red liquid from a bottle.

2. 2

   Make the sauce

   Add the crushed tomatoes, water, salt, pepper, mustard, and ketchup if using. Stir and let it bubble gently for 8 to 10 minutes, until the sauce thickens enough to leave a line when you drag the spoon through the pan. Thin sauce runs out of the bun and turns dinner into laundry.

3. 3

   Cook the sausages

   Nestle the sausages into the sauce and simmer them gently for 8 to 10 minutes, turning once, until they are hot all the way through and coated in red sauce. Don't boil them hard. A violent boil splits the skins and makes the sauce greasy, and then everyone pretends not to notice.

4. 4

   Add the vegetables

   Stir in the corn and peas and cook for 2 minutes, just long enough to warm them without turning the peas dull and tired. They bring sweetness, color, and that unmistakable Brazilian party-table look. If you're using canned, drain them well so they don't water down the sauce.

5. 5

   Warm the buns

   Warm the buns for a few minutes in a low oven or in a dry pan, just until soft and flexible. A warm bun bends around the filling instead of cracking open like it has lost all hope.

6. 6

   Build each dog

   Open each bun and spread in a spoonful of mashed potatoes if you're using them. Add one saucy sausage, then spoon more sauce with corn and peas over the top. The mashed potato is optional, but in São Paulo it works like edible glue, holding the sauce in place so the first bite doesn't collapse into your lap.

7. 7

   Finish with crunch

   Top with batata palha, grated cheese, and parsley if you like. Add the batata palha at the last second so it stays crisp under your teeth. Put it on too early and it softens, and then you've paid for crunch and received sadness.

Chef Tips

• •A salsicha is processed food. I'm not going to pretend otherwise. Choose one with the shortest ingredient list you can find, make a real sauce around it, and keep this where it belongs: party food, not the foundation of every lunch.
• •Skip powdered seasoning. Onion, garlic, tomato, salt, and time already know what they're doing. The packet is mostly noise.
• •Batata palha goes on at the table if you're serving a crowd. That keeps it crisp, and crisp is the whole reason it's invited.
• •Mashed potato is optional, but very São Paulo. Make it plain and soft, not stiff, so it cushions the sausage and holds the sauce.

Advance Preparation

• •Make the tomato sauce up to 2 days ahead and refrigerate it. Rewarm gently, then add the sausages so they don't overcook.
• •Prepare mashed potatoes up to 1 day ahead. Reheat with a splash of milk or water until soft enough to spread.
• •Do not add batata palha until serving. It loses its crunch fast.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 285g)