Sancocho

Ingredients

The seven meats

• 400 gbeef chuck, in 4 cm cubes
• 400 ggoat on the bone, in 4 cm pieces
• 400 gpork shoulder, in 4 cm cubes
• 400 gsmoked pork ribs, separated
• 4chicken thighs, halved
• 200 glonganiza sausage, in thick slices
• 200 gpork belly, in cubes

Seasoning

• juice of 2 limes and 2 tbsp salt, for washing the meat
• 4 tbspsofrito (onion, garlic, bell pepper, culantro, blended)
• 2 tbspdried oregano
• 1 tbspground black pepper
• 3 tbspwhite vinegar
• 3 tbspoil
• 2 tbsptomato puree
• 2 sprigsculantro (recao)

Roots and vegetables

• 500 gyuca (cassava), peeled and in chunks
• 400 gyautia (malanga), peeled and in chunks
• 400 gname (yam), peeled and in chunks
• 400 gauyama (calabaza pumpkin), in chunks
• 2green plantains, in thick rounds
• 1ripe plantain, in thick rounds
• 2corn cobs, in 3 cm rounds
• 4 Lwater

To serve

• steamed white rice
• 1avocado, sliced
• lime wedges and hot sauce

Directions

1. Wash every piece of meat with lime juice and salt, rinse and drain, then season all of it with sofrito, oregano, pepper and vinegar and leave 1 hour, or overnight.
2. Start with the toughest meats. Brown the goat and beef in oil in a very large pot over high heat, then add the pork shoulder and smoked ribs, cover with 2 L of the water, and simmer 1 hour 15 minutes.
3. Add the chicken, longaniza and pork belly with the remaining water and simmer 30 minutes more. Skim the fat and scum off the surface as it collects.
4. Grate a handful of the yuca or yautia straight into the pot now. Its starch is what thickens sancocho; flour or cornflour would be an admission of defeat.
5. Add the roots in order of hardness: yuca and name first, then 10 minutes later yautia and green plantain, then 10 minutes later corn and auyama.
6. Simmer 35–45 minutes, uncovered, stirring gently so the roots do not break up, until the auyama has melted into the broth and the stew is thick enough that a spoon stands up briefly.
7. Add the ripe plantain and the culantro in the last 10 minutes for a sweet counterpoint, and check the salt. The broth should be dense, oily on top and deeply savoury.
8. Rest the pot off the heat 15 minutes, then serve in deep bowls with white rice on the side, avocado slices and lime.

Technique

• Sancocho de siete carnes is celebration food: Christmas, baptisms, election nights. An everyday sancocho uses one or two meats and takes half the time.
• The order in which things go into the pot is the entire skill. Everything added at once gives you dissolved chicken and raw yam.
• Auyama and grated yuca are the thickeners. A watery sancocho means not enough starchy root broke down.

Substitutions

• No yautia or name: use waxy potato and extra yuca. The texture is less silky but the stew still works.
• No goat: use lamb shoulder on the bone, or simply increase the beef.

Variations

• Sancocho de habichuelas, a bean-based version from the south.
• Sancocho prieto, darkened by browning the meats far harder and adding burnt sugar.

History

A hearty stew combining meat, plantain, yuca, corn and other vegetables in a rich broth, considered one of Colombia’s most widely prepared national dishes, with regional variations found across the country reflecting local ingredient availability and differing culinary traditions from the Caribbean coast to the Andean interior to the Pacific lowlands. Its combination of Indigenous American root vegetables including yuca, African-influenced plantain cooking, and Spanish-introduced livestock reflects Colombia’s genuinely layered culinary history, drawing together Indigenous, African and European culinary threads into one unified dish. Sancocho is traditionally prepared in large quantities for family gatherings and celebrations, considered an essential and deeply comforting dish across virtually all regions of Colombia.

Frequently asked questions

What is Sancocho?

Sancocho is a soup & stew from Colombia: hearty stew of chicken or fish with plantain, yuca and corn. A hearty stew combining meat, plantain, yuca, corn and other vegetables in a rich broth, considered one of Colombia’s most widely prepared national dishes, with regional variations found across the country reflecting local ingredient availability and differing culinary traditions from the Caribbean coast to the Andean interior to the Pacific lowlands. Its combination of Indigenous American root vegetables including yuca, African-influenced plantain cooking, and Spanish-introduced livestock reflects Colombia’s genuinely layered culinary history, drawing together Indigenous, African and European culinary threads into one unified dish. Sancocho is traditionally prepared in large quantities for family gatherings and celebrations, considered an essential and deeply comforting dish across virtually all regions of Colombia.

How long does Sancocho take to make?

Sancocho takes 50 min of preparation and 3 hr of cooking. The recipe makes 8 servings. It is rated hard to make.

What can I substitute in Sancocho?

Yes, within limits. No yautia or name: use waxy potato and extra yuca. The texture is less silky but the stew still works. No goat: use lamb shoulder on the bone, or simply increase the beef.

What is the most important thing to get right in Sancocho?

Simmer 35–45 minutes, uncovered, stirring gently so the roots do not break up, until the auyama has melted into the broth and the stew is thick enough that a spoon stands up briefly.