Dominican · soup

Sancocho de Siete Carnes

Sancocho de Siete Carnes reads umami 7.1, richness 6.8 and salinity 3.8 on Palate's 0–10 flavor X-ray — a Dominican soup, about 4 hr 11 min. Measured from the recipe itself: ingredients and technique.

The flavor X-ray — six axes, 0–10

The measured notes (of 18)

Umami 7.1 · Richness 6.8 · Salinity 3.8 · Sourness 3.7 · Citrus 3.1 · Smoke 2.7 · Herbaceous 2.6 · Sweetness 2.1 · Earthy 1.8 · Fruity 1.3 · Bitterness 0.9 · Allium 0.7 · Floral 0.7

What's in it (16)

Time & effort: about 4 hr 11 min (2 hr 11 min active) · effort: involved

Nutrition (per 100 g, engine-estimated): 51.6 kcal, 3.9 g protein, 3.2 g fat, 1.7 g carbs

Dietary: Contains meat — engine-derived; double-check anything allergy-critical.

How it's cooked (8 steps)

  1. The seven-meat sancocho is the Dominican dish for a christening, a wedding or a long rainy afternoon, and it is deliberately excessive — the ordinary weekday version uses one or two meats. Make it in the largest pot you own and expect to feed twelve.
  2. Rub the goat, beef, pork ribs, chicken and pork shoulder with the sour orange juice and the sofrito and leave 2 hours, or overnight.
  3. Brown the longaniza and the smoked pork belly in the dry pot over medium-high heat for about 8 minutes, until the fat runs and there is a crust on the bottom of the pot. Lift them out.
  4. Add the goat and beef to the pot with the water and simmer, partly covered, over low heat for 60 minutes. The order matters: the toughest meats go in first and each is given only the time it needs, which is what stops a seven-meat pot turning into shreds.
  5. Add the pork ribs, pork shoulder and chicken and cook another 30 minutes, then return the longaniza and smoked belly.
  6. Add the yuca, yautía and ñame, auyama and green plantain and cook 30 minutes more, until the roots are tender and the yuca has begun to break down.
  7. Crush some of the pumpkin and plantain against the side of the pot with a spoon, about 3 minutes, until the broth is thick enough to hold the spoon almost upright. Dominicans judge a sancocho by whether it is espeso — thick — not by how much meat is in it.
  8. Season with the salt and finish with the cilantro. Serve in bowls with white rice on the side, a slice of avocado, and hot sauce.

Dishes with a similar flavor shape

Keep reading: what umami, richness, salinity mean in the flavor lexicon · the world's cuisines, by flavor.

See how this dish fits your palate — take the short taste test →

Every number above is Palate's engine-measured estimate, computed from this recipe's ingredients and techniques — not human-tasted ratings or reviews.