AI-generated image
Cocido boyacense
Cocido boyacense: Boyacá's steamed feast of chicken, pork, beef, Andean tubers, corn and broad beans
Sunday markets in Villa de Leyva, Paipa and Sogamoso still have families sitting down to cocido boyacense, a pot in which chicken, pork ribs and beef steam slowly on a bed of cabbage leaves above the tubers of the high Andes: potatoes, cubios, ibias and chuguas, with cobs of corn and broad beans still in their pods. There is very little water; the meat juices drip down and flavour everything. It is tipped onto one big platter in the middle of the table, and the concentrated broth left in the pot is drunk from cups alongside. Expect clean, earthy flavours rather than spice: cumin, garlic and spring onion, and a bowl of ají or hogao for anyone who wants heat. The classic slip is too much liquid, which turns it into a boiled stew; keep the water to a few centimetres and the lid tight. Chef's tip: if you can't find ibias or cubios, use oca from a Latin or Andean grocer or a mix of small new potatoes and parsnip, which bring a similar sweet, earthy note.
- Total time
- 125 min
- Difficulty
- medium
- Serves
- 6
Ingredients
For the meat
For the pot
To serve
Shop this recipe on Amazon
Fresh ingredients (8)
Links open Amazon in a new tab. As an Amazon Associate, WhatToEat.Today earns from qualifying purchases.
Method
0/7 doneStep 1: Mix 4 garlic cloves, 4 spring onions, 1 tsp ground cumin, 2 ½ tsp salt and ½ tsp ground black pepper into a paste. Rub it all over 1 ⅓ lb beef short rib, 1 ⅓ lb pork ribs and 6 chicken thighs in a bowl, cover and marinate in the fridge for at least 1 hour or overnight.
10 minStep 2: Line the bottom of a large, heavy pot (at least 8 litres) with 6 white cabbage leaves and pour in 3 ¼ cups water. Lay the beef and pork on the leaves, scraping in any marinade, cover with a tight lid and bring to a simmer over a medium heat.
10 minStep 3: Turn the heat to low and cook for 40 minutes, until the beef has started to soften.
40 minStep 4: Tuck 1 ⅓ lb small potatoes, 10 ½ oz papa criolla, 10 ½ oz ibias, cubios or oca and 3 corn on the cob around and on top of the meat. Lay the chicken on top and scatter over 14 oz broad beans in their pods. Cover tightly again.
5 minStep 5: Steam over a low heat for 35–40 minutes without lifting the lid more than once. Check that the liquid hasn't boiled dry; add a splash of water if it has.
40 minStep 6: Test for doneness: the potatoes should be tender to a knife, the chicken thighs must read 165°F next to the bone with clear juices, and the pork ribs at least 160°F. Cook 5–10 minutes more if needed.
Step 7: Pile everything onto a large platter, meat on top. Pour the broth from the pot into cups to drink alongside and pass ¾ cup ají picante or hogao at the table.
Nutrition per serving
- Calories
- 690 kcal
- Protein
- 54 g
- Carbs
- 52 g
- Fat
- 28 g
- Fibre
- 9 g
Nutrition values are estimates.
KrazyBadal
Good to know
- How long does cocido boyacense take?
- About 125 minutes in total: 30 minutes to prepare and 95 minutes to cook.
- How many people does it serve?
- 6 as written. Change the servings above the ingredients and every amount scales to match.
- Is it gluten free?
- Yes, as written. Check the labels on stock, sauces and spice mixes, which sometimes contain gluten.
- What can I use instead of garlic cloves?
- ½ tsp garlic paste or ⅛ tsp garlic powder per clove.
- What can I use instead of spring onions?
- Chives, or a little finely sliced onion.
Reviews
No reviews yet. Be the first to cook it.
Rate this recipe
Sign in to rate and review this recipe.
You might also like
Pork souvlaki
This is a pork recipe. Walk through any Greek town after dark, from Athens to Thessaloniki, and the smell of souvlaki stands drifts down the street; cubes of pork shoulder grilled on thin skewers are the country's favourite cheap supper, eaten standing up or at a plastic-table taverna. At home you marinate the meat in lemon, olive oil, garlic and dried oregano, grill it hard and fast, and pile it on warm pitta with tzatziki, tomato and red onion. Chef's tip: cut the pork into even 2.5 cm cubes and leave a little fat on; lean loin dries out, shoulder stays juicy over high heat.
Greek
Tteokgalbi
Tteokgalbi is rib meat chopped finely, pressed back into neat slabs and grilled, so it's soft enough to eat without struggling with a bone. Two places in South Jeolla claim it: Damyang, the bamboo county, where all-beef patties come with rice steamed in bamboo tubes, and Gwangju's Songjeong district, whose restaurant street near the railway station mixes beef with pork. This home version uses minced beef and pork, seasoned with soy, garlic and pear, then brushed with a soy and honey glaze as it cooks. Serve with rice, lettuce and a few banchan; leftovers are good cold in a lunchbox. Chef's tip: slap the mince against the bowl for a few minutes; it turns sticky and the patties hold together on the grill without any breadcrumbs.
Korean
Char siu
Hanging in long glossy strips in the windows of Guangzhou's siu mei shops, char siu is the roast pork Cantonese families pick up on the way home to put on rice, noodles or into steamed buns. The outside is lacquered, sweet and a little charred at the edges; the inside stays juicy, savoury and faintly scented with five-spice. Shoulder (pork butt) is the cut to use, because its marbling keeps the strips moist through a hot oven. Marinate it overnight in the fridge, roast it the next day and eat it warm with steamed rice and blanched greens, or cold in fried rice and noodle soups. Chef's tip: save the honey for the last ten minutes; brushed on at the start it burns black long before the pork is cooked.
Chinese