True Dominican Sancocho (Latin 7-Meat Stew)
My fiance is from the D.R. and his mother has made me some amazing food! The first time she made sancocho I fell in love with it. It is often made with 7 different meats for a special festivity or holiday. I have simplified the meats in my version, but don't be afraid to use many kinds; this is my mimicked recipe. Great by itself or served the traditional way over rice. Super filling and even better the next day.
Ingredients
Directions
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Mash garlic, oregano, and 1 teaspoon salt together in a bowl.
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Douse chicken, beef, and pork with lemon juice in a large bowl. Drain half the liquid. Mix the mashed garlic, half of the onions, 2 tablespoons vegetable oil, and vinegar into the meat mixture.
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Heat the remaining 1/2 cup vegetable oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the meat mixture in batches and cook until browned on all sides, 15 to 20 minutes.
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Transfer the browned meats into a large pot. Add half of the water, chicken broth, beef consomme, 2 bouillon cubes, and 1 teaspoon salt. Bring to a boil; reduce heat to low and simmer, covered, until meats are more than halfway cooked through, about 40 minutes.
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Combine pumpkin, sweet potatoes, eddeos, yuca, potatoes, plantains, corn, celery, carrots, green pepper, cilantro, and adobo seasoning in the simmering pot. Return soup to a boil. Reduce heat to low and continue simmering until the sancocho is thick and the root vegetables are soft, 1 to 2 hours. Stir in the remaining half of the water by gradual increments to replace any evaporated liquid.
Cook's Notes:
Chop and dice all vegetables to a uniform size.
You can use both bone-in and boneless beef, pork, and chicken. If using boneless, cut meats to roughly the same size.
You can add batatas as an extra starch vegetable, or substitute it for the eddeos.
Chicken bouillon cubes may be substituted for the beef cubes.
1 large naranja agria (bitter orange) may be substituted for the lemon.
In the last 10 to 15 minutes of cooking you can remove the lid to help the thickening process.
