Caribbean Style Sancocho Recipes

SANCOCHO (DOMINICAN MEAT AND VEGETABLES STEW)

Steps:

• Trim the excess fat of the meat and rinse well with lemon juice or vinegar.
• To season the meat, add 1 teaspoon dry adobo, ½ teaspoon ground black pepper, 1 teaspoon oregano and sofrito. Mix it all together to coat the meat well.
• In a 6 qts pot or caldero, heat up oil over medium high heat. Add the meat to the pot, and sear until brown all around. Cover the pot with a lid and lower the heat to medium. Let the meat cook until tender, about 30 - 40 minutes. Be sure to add water as needed throughout so that the meat doesn't burn. Remove the meat from the pot and set it aside for later.
• While the meat cooks, peel and cut the vegetables into 1-inch pieces, except for the squash, which you want to peel and cut into two large pieces.
• Add all the vegetables to the pot and add water until you've filled ¾ of the pot. Bring to a boil. Do not overfill the pot because you will be adding in the meat later.
• When the water begins to boil, add the chicken bouillon and allspice or malagueta. Let it cook for about 15 - 20 minutes.
• When the squash is tender, remove it from the pot and blend it with ½ cup of liquid from the pot and ½ cup of cool water until the mixture is smooth. Then, pour it back into the pot.
• Using cooking twine, tie together tightly cilantro, culantro (cilantro ancho), and thyme and add it to the pot. Let it simmer on medium heat for about 20 more minutes.
• Stir in ½ teaspoon of adobo, ½ teaspoon of oregano, red pepper flakes, salt and pepper to taste.
• Add the meat back into the pot and let it all simmer until the vegetables are tender, about 10 - 20 minutes.
• With a colander, remove the herbs bundle we added earlier and the malagueta.
• Stir in freshly squeezed lime juice before serving.
• Serve warm with white rice and avocado.

CARIBBEAN STYLE SANCOCHO

Steps:

• Heat the oil in a large Dutch oven over medium to low heat; add garlic, meat, and onions, cooking until meat is well browned and onions start to caramelize, about 5 minutes.
• Stir in the green pepper, celery, aji dulce (if using), cilantro, salt, pepper, and beef stock; cook until liquid is reduced by half, about 1 hour (if using chicken you will not need to cook this long).
• Add remaining ingredients and continue to cook until meat is tender and vegetables are soft, an additional 30 minutes.
• NOTE: You may find the corn difficult to cut into rounds. What I do is cook it first either by boiling or in the microwave. This softens the cob so it is easier to cut. I add the corn at serving.

SANCOCHO

Steps:

• Peel and cut the yuca, yautia, green plantain and yellow plantain into 1-inch pieces. Scrape out the seeds, then chop the calabaza, skin on, into 1-inch pieces. Put each ingredient in a separate bowl, adding water to cover vegetables in order to prevent them from turning brown while you prepare the rest of the soup.
• Husk the corn, then slice it into 2-inch-thick segments. Set aside.
• Season pork (or beef) and chicken with 1/2 tablespoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon black pepper.
• Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a large pot over medium-high. Add the pork and brown on all sides for 5 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, transfer to a clean, large bowl, then add the chicken to the same pot, and brown on both sides for another 5 minutes, adding oil as needed if the pot gets dry. Transfer with a slotted spoon to the same bowl as the pork.
• Reduce heat to medium and add sofrito to the pot, scraping up any browned bits of meat and incorporating them into the mix. Cook for 5 to 7 minutes, until liquid has evaporated and mixture darkens in color.
• Return the pork, chicken and any accumulated juices to the pot. Add the stock, bay leaves and remaining 1 tablespoon salt, and bring to a boil over high heat. Once simmering, reduce heat to medium-low and cook uncovered for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.
• To keep the vegetables from falling apart, add each one in order of firmness, cooking each for 5 minutes before adding the next. Begin with the yuca, then yautia, green plantain, yellow plantain, calabaza and corn, cooking the yuca for a total of 30 minutes and the corn for only 5 minutes.
• Add chorizo and stir well to incorporate. Cook for another 10 to 15 minutes over medium-low heat until meat and vegetables are tender and break easily with a fork. Because of all the starches and meat in this dish, this stew tends to be thick and rich. Some of the vegetables will fall apart, giving it a porridge consistency. This is a good thing.
• Adjust salt to taste, and serve with fresh bread or white rice on the side.

DOMINICAN CARIBBEAN SANCOCHO WITH 3 MEATS

Steps:

• Wash and Cut up the chicken pieces into large bite size pieces. If you usually sear chicken before putting it in water to cook, then do so. Otherwise just put the chicken in a saucepan of water and bring it to a boil, and then lower the heat and let it simmer for about 1/2 hour while you peel and cut the roots.
• Peel and cut the malanga, yucca, plantain, chayote, and potato into large bite sized pieces. Peel and cut the calabaza or pumpkin type squash into 2 or 3x1" lengths. Cut the corn on the cob into 4 pieces each. Cut and chop garlic and onion. Cut celery into 1/2" slices crosswise. Celery leaves are optional.
• Skim off the stuff from the chicken broth. Then transfer chicken and broth to a large pot. Slice the chorizo crosswise into 1/2" rounds. Add the chorizo and bring to a boil. Lower the heat to medium.
• Add the larger roots and veggies, more water to cover, and then the smaller onion, garlic and celery, and then the seasonings. Bring to a boil and then lower to simmer for about 30 minutes. Taste and adjust seasoning. Continue to simmer until the potatoes test done by putting a fork through.
• Turn the heat off and serve,, one piece of corn cob with each serving.