Puchero Gaúcho

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •Heavy 6-liter pot with lid
• •Second heavy pot or wide skillet for browning
• •Large bowl for soaking chickpeas
• •Large bowl for desalting charque
• •Ladle

Instructions

1. 1

   Soak and desalt

   The night before, put the chickpeas in a bowl with plenty of water and put the charque in a separate bowl with water. Change the charque water once or twice if you remember. Soaking the chickpeas helps them cook evenly and sit easier, and desalting the charque keeps the finished broth savory instead of aggressively salty. We want depth, not a salt lick.

2. 2

   Start the chickpeas

   Drain the chickpeas and put them in a large heavy pot with 8 cups of fresh water and the bay leaves. Bring to a boil, then lower to a steady simmer and cook for 45 minutes, until they are starting to soften but still hold their shape. They finish with the meat, so don't chase tenderness yet or they'll collapse before the roots are done.

3. 3

   Brown the beef

   Pat the fresh beef dry. Warm the oil or lard in another heavy pot over medium-high heat and brown the beef in batches until the pieces have deep brown edges, 3 to 4 minutes per side. Don't crowd the pot. Too much meat at once drops the heat, the meat releases water, and suddenly you're boiling grey cubes instead of building flavor. Pull the browned beef to a plate.

4. 4

   Build the refogado

   Lower the heat to medium, add the onion to the same pot, and cook until it murcha, soft and see-through, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and stir for 1 minute, just until you smell it. Scrape the browned bits from the bottom as the onion releases moisture. That's not dirt, that's dinner. Burn the garlic, though, and bitterness follows the whole pot.

5. 5

   Thicken the base

   Scoop 1 ladle of partly cooked chickpeas with a little cooking liquid into the refogado and mash them against the side of the pot with a spoon. This is the same trick a gente uses for feijão: the mashed beans make the caldo creamy instead of thin. No packet, no cube, no powdered imitation. The pot already has what it needs.

6. 6

   Simmer the meats

   Add the browned beef, drained charque, the chickpeas with their cooking liquid, the black pepper, and 2 more cups water. Bring to a boil, then lower to a gentle simmer, lid slightly open, for about 1 hour, until the beef is beginning to soften. Taste the broth before adding salt. Charque speaks loudly, and the cook listens before seasoning.

7. 7

   Add the roots

   Add the carrots, potatoes, cassava, sweet potato, and corn. Simmer gently for 30 to 40 minutes, until a knife slides into the cassava and potato without resistance. Keep the bubbling calm. A hard boil breaks the roots apart and makes the broth cloudy before the meat has finished relaxing.

8. 8

   Finish with cabbage

   Lay the cabbage wedges on top, cover, and cook for 10 to 15 minutes, until the leaves are tender but still green at the edges. Taste the broth and add salt only now, little by little. Finish with parsley or scallions if using. The final pot should smell deep and clean, with tender meat, sweet roots, and a glossy caldo that coats the spoon.

9. 9

   Serve the pot

   Serve the puchero in deep bowls with pieces of meat, chickpeas, roots, cabbage, and plenty of broth. Put arroz soltinho beside it or underneath it, because rice knows exactly what to do with this caldo. If you want something sharp on the table, a simple green salad or couve refogada brings the plate back to the everyday Brazilian balance.

Chef Tips

• •Charque and carne seca vary wildly in salt. Taste a tiny cooked piece after desalting. If it's still harsh, simmer it alone for 10 minutes, discard that water, and then add it to the pot.
• •Use what the market has that looks alive. Cassava should look fresh and white, not grey or streaked. If the roots look tired, buy more potato and carrot and keep your pride. A sad vegetable is not a moral test.
• •The honest Tuesday shortcut is canned chickpeas. Use 3 cups drained and add them with the roots, not at the beginning. The cost is a thinner broth and less chickpea flavor in the caldo, so mash a full cup into the refogado to help it along.
• •Don't add bouillon cubes or powdered seasoning. They flatten the pot into salt and sameness. Onion, garlic, browned beef, charque, bay, and time are enough when you let them do their jobs.
• •This is batch cooking without the spreadsheet nonsense. Cool leftovers, portion meat, roots, chickpeas, and broth together, and freeze for up to 3 months. Reheat gently so the cassava doesn't turn to paste.

Advance Preparation

• •Soak the chickpeas overnight, at least 8 hours, in plenty of water.
• •Desalt the charque overnight, at least 8 hours, changing the water once or twice if possible.
• •The full puchero can be cooked 1 day ahead. Cool it, refrigerate it, and reheat gently with a splash of water. The broth gets richer overnight.
• •Leftovers keep 4 days in the fridge or freeze for up to 3 months in meal-size portions.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 700g)