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Shucos (Guatemalan Street Hot Dogs)
A charcoal-toasted roll spread thickly with smooth guacamol, piled with grilled hot dogs and chorizo, soft boiled cabbage, and finished with mayonnaise, mustard and ketchup.
Guatemalan · easy · serves 6
prep 15 min · cook 25 min
~600 cal · 22g protein · 12g carbs · 53g fat · 5g fiber · 2g sugars · 17g sat fat (estimated, per serving)
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Shucos are Guatemala City's street hot dogs, and the country's most famous street food. They are sold from carts on corners across the capital and in towns around the country, and eaten on the go, after school and after work.
The story most Guatemalans tell puts their birth around the middle of the twentieth century, at carts in Zona 4 of the capital, near the Liceo Guatemala school. The principal, the story goes, warned students off the cart at the gate because he doubted its hygiene, and a student answered, sí, no sean shucos, don't be messy. Shuco is Guatemalan slang for dirty, and the name stuck to the hot dogs, which are gloriously messy to eat.
What sets a shuco apart is the order it is built in. A soft roll is toasted on the charcoal grill, spread with guacamol, a smooth Guatemalan avocado mash with just lime and salt, then loaded with grilled sausages, split hot dogs, chorizo or longaniza, and a heap of plain boiled cabbage. Mayonnaise, mustard and ketchup go on last, with hot sauce or a pinch of smoky cobanero chile for those who want it. The same filling folded into a corn tortilla is a mixta.
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Make it yours
✓ Naturally dairy- and nut-free. No swaps needed.
Toggle a diet and the ingredients rewrite themselves with regional substitutes.
🥕 Vegetarian
🌱 Vegan
🌾 Gluten-Free
🥛 Dairy-Free
🥜 Nut-Free
🥚 Egg-Free
🐖 Pork-Free
Dietary labels are a cooking guide, not allergen-safety advice. We track dairy, egg, gluten, tree nuts and peanuts (we count coconut as a tree nut, following FDA labeling), fish, and shellfish; we do not screen for sesame, soy, mustard, celery, or sulphites. If you have a food allergy, read the label on every product you use, and note that a kitchen can cross-contaminate in ways a recipe cannot control.
Ingredients
US
Metric
Serves 6
- 6 soft hot dog rolls (pan shuco)
- 6 hot dogs (salchichas), if you avoid gluten, check the label, as some sausages contain wheat
- 3 links (about 250 g) fresh chorizo or longaniza, if you avoid gluten, check the label, as some sausages contain wheat
- 1/2 small head green cabbage, finely shredded
- to taste salt
- 3 ripe avocados
- 1 tbsp lime juice
- to taste mayonnaise
- to taste yellow mustard
- to taste ketchup
- to taste hot sauce or cobanero chile flakes, optional
Instructions
- 1Put the shredded cabbage in a saucepan, barely cover with water, add a pinch of salt and bring to the boil. Simmer for 10 to 15 minutes until soft but not soggy, then drain well.
- 2Meanwhile light a charcoal grill or heat a griddle pan. Grill the chorizo for about 10 minutes, turning, until cooked through. Split the hot dogs lengthwise and grill them for 3 to 5 minutes a side until browned. Cut all the meat into bite-size pieces.
- 3Make the guacamol: mash the avocado flesh with the lime juice and salt until completely smooth, with no chunks left.✎ Chef’s noteGuatemalan guacamol is a smooth spread, not a chunky dip. Keep it to avocado, lime and salt.
- 4Split the rolls and toast them on the grill, cut side down, until lightly charred.
- 5Build each shuco in order: a thick layer of guacamol, then the meat, then a heap of cabbage, then zigzags of mayonnaise, mustard and ketchup, and hot sauce or cobanero chile if you like. Eat at once, over a napkin.
Guatemala City street-cart tradition.
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🌏 While it simmers, know your destination
📍
Guatemala City. The city is laid out in numbered zonas, and its best-known food was born on the street in one of them. Around the middle of the twentieth century hot dog carts in Zona 4 began selling shucos, toasted rolls spread with guacamol and loaded with grilled sausages and boiled cabbage, and the name, slang for dirty, is said to come from a student joking about one of those carts.
🗺️
Guatemala. The recados are the point. Pepian is thickened with pumpkin and sesame seeds toasted dark before grinding and is usually named as the national dish; jocon is the green one, built on tomatillo and coriander; and kak'ik, the Q'eqchi' turkey soup, is on Guatemala's own list of national intangible heritage. All three start with dry-roasting rather than frying.
🌍
North America. North America's table began with Indigenous foodways, the "three sisters" of corn, beans, and squash, plus chiles, tomatoes, and cacao, then layered on colonial, African, and immigrant influences. From Mexico's UNESCO-recognized cuisine to the Cajun and Creole pots of Louisiana and the fiery jerk of the Caribbean, the region turns ancient staples into something new. Barbecue, tacos, gumbo, and mole all carry stories of migration and adaptation.
The story behind this dish is up top, worth a read while the pot works.
More from Guatemala
Pepián de PolloChicken in a deep, toasty sauce of charred tomatoes, chiles, and ground seeds, Guatemala’s Mayan-rooted national stew.
Desayuno ChapínThe full Guatemalan breakfast plate: eggs, soupy black beans, fried sweet plantain, fresh cream, and warm corn tortillas.
Tostadas GuatemaltecasCrisp fried tortillas topped three ways, with guacamole, tomato salsa, or black beans, a light Guatemalan street lunch.
Browse all Guatemala recipes →
Good to know
You’ll need: Griddle or flat pan, Pot or saucepan, Grill or barbecue.
Storing it: Best made to order. Prep the fillings ahead and assemble just before eating so nothing turns soggy.
Make it a Guatemala meal
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Rellenitos de PlátanoDessert
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Cuisine
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Frequently asked questions
What is Shucos (Guatemalan Street Hot Dogs)?
A charcoal-toasted roll spread thickly with smooth guacamol, piled with grilled hot dogs and chorizo, soft boiled cabbage, and finished with mayonnaise, mustard and ketchup.
Where does Shucos (Guatemalan Street Hot Dogs) come from?
Shucos (Guatemalan Street Hot Dogs) is a Guatemalan dish from Guatemala City, Guatemala.
Can Shucos (Guatemalan Street Hot Dogs) be made vegan, gluten-free, or dairy-free?
This Shucos (Guatemalan Street Hot Dogs) recipe includes substitution suggestions for vegetarian, vegan, gluten-free, dairy-free, nut-free, egg-free, and pork-free versions. Treat the substitutions as a starting guide rather than a guarantee, and see the allergen note below.
Is Shucos (Guatemalan Street Hot Dogs) safe for people with food allergies?
Our dietary labels and substitutions are a cooking guide, not medical or allergen-safety advice. We track dairy, egg, gluten, tree nuts and peanuts (we still count coconut as a tree nut to be cautious, although the FDA stopped listing it as one in 2025), fish, and shellfish, but we do not screen for sesame, soy, mustard, celery, or sulphites. If you have a food allergy, always read the label on every product you use, and remember a home or commercial kitchen can cross-contaminate ingredients in ways a recipe cannot control.
How long does Shucos (Guatemalan Street Hot Dogs) take to make?
About 40 minutes total (15 minutes prep, 25 minutes cooking), serving 6.
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