Meat Platter (Dominican Sancocho)

Dominican Republic Sancocho is probably the most beloved dish in the country. Originally it was made with seven types of meat and today it is usually made with less. This dish is served at every party. Sometimes just the making of it will cause a party to happen. Everybody pitches in and contributes something to be part of the dish. The meat is marinated and cooked separately and then added to the big pot. Trying to make a small amount is seemingly impossible, but not to worry as it is delicious and somehow the pot ends up empty. Be sure to serve the sancocho with white rice and avocado slices and of course plenty of rum and very cold beer.

Meats:
½ lb chicken pieces, skin-on
½ lb beef (stew meat or ribs)
½ lb pork meat
½ lb pork chops (can be smoked)
1 lb sausage
sazón for seasoning meats
2-3 sour oranges or you can use a bitter orange marinade

Tuber Vegetables:
2 green bananas
2 plantains
2 corn on cob chopped in 2-3" wheels
1 cassava or yucas
1 malanga (yautias)
2 auyama (squash/pumpkin)
1 yam (ñame)

Sancocho Stock:
2 tsp. oregano
2 onions, processed in blender
1½ Tbsp. mashed garlic
1 bunch coriander (cilantro)
4 wide coriander (culantro) leaves
2 chicken cubes
2 green peppers, cut in half
sea salt
black pepper, freshly ground
1 sour orange, freshly squeezed
2 Tbsp. vinegar
12 cups water

Meats:
Cut and wash the meat with sour orange or lemon juice, freshly squeezed. Season with oregano, garlic, onion, salt and pepper to taste or with Dominican seasoning and let marinate at least 30 minutes.

In a pot with a little hot oil add in the chicken and let sauté until it obtains a golden colour. Add a little bit of chopped auyama and 2-3 cups water, preferably hot. Cook until chicken has browned and has enough broth, be careful not to overcook since you’ll will add to the sancocho stock later on and it will continue to cook for a few minutes more. Reserve.

Cook the remaining meats separately and in the same way as the chicken, striving to keep each one with enough broth. Reserve. If you use smoked pork chop, season with a bit of sour orange and ground oregano and fry. There is no need to season the sausage, just chop into 2-3 inch pieces and also fry. Reserve.

Tubers Vegetables:
Peel all vegetables and cut into medium-sized pieces. Leave the vegetables in water with salt to avoid them from darkening until the stock boils to add them into the pot.

Sancocho Broth:
In large pot or two medium-sized pots place 11 cups of water, add sea salt and reserve 1 cup of water to add later if needed. Once water begins to boil add the two chicken or beef bouillons, plantains, yautias, corn, onion blended with a bit of water, green pepper, half of the auyama, cilantro and culantro. When the plantains, yautias, have tenderized a little, add the remaining vegetables and the meats with its broth, reserving the sausage and other half of pumpkin (auyama) for later.

When it begins to thicken, add the rest of the auyama, the sausage, ½ cup of sour orange, 1 Tbsp. of vinegar, garlic and check for salt and pepper. Let boil until the auyama softens, but don't let it thicken too much as it thicken more as it cools in pot.

Serve with white rice, avocado slices.

Makes 12 servings.