Sancocho saved me. I was six years old when I first came to the mainland. I didn’t speak a lick of English and I missed Puerto Rico terribly. I didn’t understand what winter was or why the cold never seemed to go away. My mother would make this hearty stew and it would take me right back to my Abuela’s house in San Juan. I love making it with oxtail but feel free to use chuck or bone-in short ribs.

Tools

  • Very large heavy-bottomed soup pot (12 quarts)

  • Tongs

  • Food Processor or Blender

  • Skimmer

  • Wooden spoon

Ingredients

  • 2 tablespoons olive oil

  • 2 pounds oxtails, excess fat trimmed (sub with chuck or short ribs)

  • 1 yellow onion

  • 1 green bell pepper

  • 1 Italian frying pepper, seeded

  • 3 garlic cloves

  • 1 cup cilantro stems

  • 1 gallon of chicken stock

  • 8 oz tomato sauce

  • 1 tablespoon adobo

  • 2 bay leaves

  • 1 pound Caribbean pumpkin, large dice ( sub with Kabocha Squash, Butternut Squash, sweet potato, or carrots) 

  • 1 pound potato, large dice

  • 1 pound yucca root, woody center removed, then cut into a large dice

  • 2 green plantains, sliced on the diagonal in ½ inch thick slices

  • 2 ears of corn, sliced in 1-inch rounds

  • Salt and Pepper to taste

  • Cilantro leaves for garnish

Directions

STEP 1

Add the olive oil to a very large, heavy-bottomed, soup pot over medium-high heat. Dry the oxtails and add salt and pepper to taste. Brown the oxtails in batches.

STEP 2

While the oxtails brown, process the onion, bell pepper, frying pepper, garlic, and cilantro stems in a blender until they resemble a chunky sauce. Set aside a ½ cup of the recaito you’ve just made and freeze the rest for future preparations.

STEP 3

Remove excess fat from the pot you browned the oxtails in, leaving about 2 tablespoons in the pot. Add the recaito and sautee until fragrant. Add the tomato sauce and adobo and saute for 1 minute more.  Add the chicken stock and bay leaves and bring to a boil. Taste the broth and add salt and pepper to taste, remembering that as the broth reduces it will become saltier. So don’t go overboard. 

STEP 4

Add the oxtails back to the pot. Lower the heat, cover the pot leaving the lid slightly cracked. Simmer for 2 hours.

STEP 5

Skim fat off the top of the stew. Add all of the root vegetables, pumpkin, and corn. Top with more chicken stock if necessary to cover all vegetables. Put the lid back on leaving it slightly cracked and simmer for 30 to 45 minutes until the root vegetables are tender.

STEP 6

Taste broth and season with salt and pepper to taste. Serve garnished with cilantro leaves.