Chilean Puchero Seco — Homemade One Pot Boiled Dinner Recipe

Versión en Español

Chilean puchero seco is a one pot boiled dinner of beef, smoked pork ribs, and chorizo cooked in a pressure cooker with very little water, together with potatoes, squash, corn, zucchini, cabbage, celery, and herbs, then served piece by piece on the plate. It takes 45 minutes of preparation plus 35 minutes of cooking and serves 6 people.

It captures the abundance of the Chilean countryside and the Spanish culinary heritage adapted to local farms. Unlike other boiled dinners, the seco, or dry, version cooks everything at once with a minimum of water, so the meats and seasonal vegetables cook in their own juices.

How to Make Chilean Puchero Seco?

For puchero seco, use a well structured beef cut such as huachalomo (chuck), sobrecostilla, or abastero. Everything cooks together at once with very little water, and you can vary the vegetables according to what is available locally and in season.

Nutritional Information

Each serving of puchero seco contains approximately 500 kcal, 30 g of carbohydrates, 25 g of fat, 35 g of protein, 5 g of fiber, 6 g of sugars, 110 mg of cholesterol, and 800 mg of sodium. These values are estimates and may vary depending on ingredients and portion sizes.

Homemade Chilean Puchero Seco Recipe

Preparation: 45 minutes
Cooking: 35 minutes
Servings: 6 people

Ingredients

• 250 ml (8.5 fl oz) of boiling water
• 7 garlic cloves
• 6 pieces of beef (huachalomo or chuck)
• 6 onion quarters
• 6 pieces of squash
• 6 pieces of smoked pork ribs
• 6 whole peeled potatoes
• 6 pieces of zucchini
• 6 celery stalks
• 4 chorizos
• 4 sprigs of fresh oregano
• 4 bay leaves
• 3 corn cobs, halved
• 3 pieces of cabbage
• 1 red bell pepper, cut into pieces
• Olive oil
• Fresh parsley, chopped
• Fine salt

Instructions

1. Lay out all the ingredients on the counter, separated into bowls following the ingredient list, so everything is ready to go into the pot at once.

2. Pour the boiling water into a pressure cooker and add in layers the onion quarters, the corn, the red bell pepper, the pork ribs, the beef, the peeled squash, and the whole peeled potatoes.

3. Add the zucchini, the celery stalks, the chorizos, the fresh oregano, the bay leaves, the whole garlic cloves, a drizzle of olive oil, the cabbage, and a tablespoon of salt. Close the cooker, bring it to pressure over high heat, then lower to medium heat and cook for 35 minutes.

4. Turn off the heat and let it rest for 10 minutes without opening, until no more steam comes out of the valve. Open it and place on each of 6 plates a piece of cabbage, a chorizo, and a piece of zucchini, then a potato, a piece of squash, a piece of pork rib, a piece of corn, a piece of beef, and a celery stalk.

5. Top with chopped fresh parsley and a drizzle of olive oil if you like. Serve the puchero hot, with a little of the cooking broth in a cup on the side and a good glass of wine.

Additional Tips

Layer by cooking time

Put the ingredients that need the most cooking, such as tough meat and potatoes, at the bottom, and the most delicate, such as zucchini and cabbage, on top.

Brown the beef first

Sear the beef briefly before adding it to the pot. It boosts the flavor of the puchero and gives a richer broth to serve on the side.

Serve the broth separately

The little broth left in the pot is concentrated and full of flavor. Serve it in a cup alongside the plate rather than pouring it over.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

1. Which cuts of meat are best?

Use well structured cuts such as huachalomo, sobrecostilla, or abastero, plus the smoky touch of the pork ribs.

2. Can I make puchero seco in a regular pot?

Yes, but the cooking time increases considerably, to about 1.5 to 2 hours, and you will need to watch the water level so the bottom does not burn.

3. How is puchero seco traditionally served?

One piece of each ingredient is placed on wide individual plates and topped with fresh parsley. It is usually served with a glass of red wine to balance the richness of the meats.

4. Why is it called seco?

Because it is cooked with very little water, so the ingredients steam in their own juices instead of swimming in broth, unlike a cazuela or a soupy cocido.

Why Is It Called Puchero?

Puchero is a general name for dishes cooked together in a single pot. The puchero itself is a clay vessel used to cook a wide variety of ingredients together, and the name passed from the pot to the dish.

Puchero in Chile and Latin America

Versions of puchero are cooked in Spain and across Latin America. The Chilean puchero seco stands out for its pressure cooker method and its mix of beef, pork, and garden vegetables served separately on the plate.

Did You Know?

The word puchero comes from the Latin pultarius, related to a porridge of flour cooked in water, and it names different stews in Paraguay, Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, Spain, the Philippines, Mexico, Argentina, Uruguay, and southern Brazil.

Recommended

• Chilean Beef Cazuela Recipe
• Chilean Menestron Soup Recipe
• Chilean Pollo Ganso a la Olla Recipe
• Chilean Campesino Pork Causeo Recipe