Colombian National Dishes

Cocido de Subachoque

Make Cocido de Subachoque with beef, pork, fresh chorizo, potatoes, chuguas, cubios, peas, corn and warm cheese hogo

Colombian National Dishes
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Cocido de Subachoque with beef, pork, chorizo, Andean potatoes and tubers, corn, and warm tomato-cheese hogo.
Region Subachoque, Cundinamarca, Colombian Andes
Category Beef, pork, chorizo and Andean tuber main dish
Yield 10 portions
Preparation time About 40 minutes
Active time About 50 minutes, including staged additions and hogo
Overview

Cocido de Subachoque

Beef, pork, chorizo, Andean tubers and corn simmer together in a generous Cundinamarca-style cocido, served with warm tomato-and-cheese hogo.

Cocido de Subachoque is a substantial highland dish recorded for Subachoque, Cundinamarca. Its long, covered simmer brings together several meats with chuguas, cubios, peas, fava beans, two kinds of potato and corn. The Ministry cookbook serves each portion with hogo, a warm topping of scallion, tomato, milk and fresh white cheese. The dish is hearty and brothy, with the ingredients arranged in a platter and some cooking liquid spooned alongside.

This is a different recipe from the meat-free Cocido campesino of nearby Nemocón. The two share Andean tubers, but Subachoque’s version includes beef, pork, ribs, bacon and chorizo. The source also gives a distinct cooking sequence: ribs, bacon, chuguas and peas start first; the remaining ingredients enter at intervals so the meats soften and the potatoes do not all collapse at once.

Set aside time for the slow cook and the final warm rest. Use a large pot with enough room to layer the ingredients, and cut the meat and potatoes into even pieces. Fresh chorizo needs to cook through; check its centre with a thermometer. Make the hogo separately while the cocido simmers, then spoon it over each serving rather than mixing it through the pot. Its creamy, savory topping balances the broth and gives each bowl a little of the whole recipe.

Ingredients

Ingredients

Ingredients

  • 3.31 L water
  • 500 g beef stew meat (murillo), cut into 3 cm pieces
  • 500 g pork shoulder, cut into 3 cm pieces
  • 250 g beef short ribs, chopped into serving pieces
  • 250 g pork belly or meaty bacon, diced
  • 500 g fresh pork chorizo, cut into thick rounds
  • 250 g chuguas (rubas), scrubbed
  • 250 g cubios, scrubbed
  • 250 g fresh green peas
  • 250 g fresh shelled fava beans
  • 750 g papa sabanera potatoes, peeled and cut into chunks
  • 500 g papa criolla potatoes, peeled and cut into chunks
  • 4 ears fresh corn, husked and cut crosswise
  • 60 ml neutral oil
  • 12 g fine salt for the pot, then adjust only if needed
  • 125 g scallions for the hogo, chopped
  • 125 g ripe tomatoes for the hogo, peeled and chopped
  • 14 g butter for the hogo
  • 30 ml whole milk for the hogo
  • 63 g mild fresh white cheese for the hogo, grated
  • 2 g fine salt for the hogo
  • 1 g ground black pepper for the hogo
Method

Method

Method

  1. Prepare the meat, vegetables and hogo ingredients Cut the beef, pork, ribs and bacon into manageable pieces; keep the fresh chorizo chilled until it is ready to go into the pot. Scrub the chuguas and cubios. Peel and chunk both potato varieties, keeping the pieces similar in size. Husk the corn and cut each cob crosswise. Rinse the peas and fava beans. For the hogo, peel and chop the tomatoes, chop the scallions and grate the cheese. Keep raw meat and vegetables separate, and wash your hands and tools after handling the meat.

  2. Start the ribs, bacon, chuguas and peas In a large heavy pot, combine the measured water, oil, beef ribs, bacon, chuguas, peas and pot salt. Bring the liquid to a boil, then reduce the heat enough to maintain a strong but controlled simmer. Cook for 45 minutes. Skim excess foam if needed and keep the first layer mostly submerged. Avoid a hard rolling boil, which can break the tubers later and make the broth cloudy.

  3. Begin the covered second stage Lower the heat, cover the pot and continue cooking for 90 minutes. At the start of this stage, add the beef and pork. After 10 minutes, add the fava beans; after another 10, add the cubios. At the next 10-minute interval add the sabanera potatoes, then the corn, then the chorizo, and finally the criolla potatoes, keeping each addition 10 minutes apart. After the final potatoes go in, continue the gentle covered simmer so the meat becomes tender and the potatoes cook through. Add a little hot water if the ingredients rise above the liquid.

  4. Cook the hogo separately During the long simmer, melt the butter in a small saucepan over medium-low heat. Add the scallions and tomatoes and cook gently until they soften. Stir in the milk, grated cheese, hogo salt and black pepper. Keep the mixture at a gentle simmer for about 15 minutes, stirring often until it becomes a spoonable sauce. Do not let it boil hard; lower the heat if the milk begins to catch. Cover and keep warm.

  5. Rest the pot and serve Check a thick piece of fresh chorizo with a clean thermometer; its centre should reach 71.1°C. The beef and pork should be tender, the ribs easy to pull apart, and the tubers soft but intact. Remove the pot from the heat, keep it covered and let it rest near warmth for 30 minutes. Arrange a selection of meat, sausage, corn, potatoes and tubers on a warm platter. Spoon hogo over each portion and ladle some broth alongside.

Practical guidance

Practical

Nutrition per serving

Rounded estimate based on the selected meats, chorizo, vegetables and hogo ingredients. Sausage, bacon, salt and cheese can change sodium and fat substantially; actual portions also vary with the amount of broth served.

Practical guidance

1. Use a large heavy pot or clay olla with a close-fitting lid. Leave enough headroom for the later additions; crowding makes it harder to stir and keep the ingredients under broth. 2. Choose beef stew meat with connective tissue, such as chuck or a similar cut sold as murillo. The long simmer turns collagen-rich meat tender; lean quick-cooking steak can become dry. 3. Fresh chorizo and ready-to-eat cured chorizo are not interchangeable in the timing. This recipe assumes fresh raw pork chorizo; check the package and cook it fully to 71.1°C at the centre. 4. The 10-minute addition rhythm is a practical way to preserve the source order. Keep a timer nearby and add one ingredient group at a time rather than tipping everything in together. 5. Papa sabanera holds its shape better, while papa criolla softens more readily. Cut the latter slightly larger if the pieces are small, and avoid vigorous stirring after it enters the pot. 6. Hogo equipment: A small saucepan, wooden spoon and grater are enough. The source’s hogo is a separate warm onion-tomato, milk-and-cheese topping; it is not the same as the chorriado from the Nemocón recipe. 7. Salt levels vary in chorizo and bacon. Start with the measured pot salt, then taste the broth near the end before adding more. 8. Keep the broth at a steady simmer. Add hot water, not cold, if the meat or vegetables become exposed; cold water interrupts the simmer and extends the cooking time. 9. Serve the solids and broth together or separately, according to the table. Spoon hogo over the meat and vegetables at the end so its creamy texture remains distinct. 10. Refrigerate leftovers in shallow containers within 2 hours. Reheat the cocido throughout to 74°C and bring reserved broth to a boil; add a little broth if the potatoes have absorbed liquid.

Allergens and food safety

Contains milk from the hogo’s milk, cheese and butter. Check the chorizo and cheese labels for any additional declared allergens. Keep raw meats and their juices separate from produce and cooked foods. Cook fresh ground-meat chorizo to 71.1°C at its centre. Simmer the beef, pork and ribs until tender. Refrigerate leftovers in shallow containers within 2 hours and reheat throughout to at least 74°C; discard perishable food left at room temperature for more than 2 hours.

Final notes

1: Subachoque’s cocido pairs beef, pork, ribs, bacon and chorizo with Andean potatoes, chuguas, cubios, peas, fava beans and corn. 2: Warm hogo made with scallion, tomato, milk and fresh white cheese is spooned over each serving.

Nutrition per serving

Nutrition per serving

  • Serving basis: 1 of 10 portions
  • Calories: 950 kcal
  • Carbohydrates: 60 g
  • Protein: 46 g
  • Fat: 52 g
  • Fibre: 11 g
  • Sodium: 1450 mg