Hispanic Heritage · Honduras

El Interior

Tegucigalpa · Comayagüela · Valle de Ángeles · Santa Lucía · Comayagua · Siguatepeque

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Tapado olanchano

Descubre

Travel inland in Honduras through tapado olanchano, a substantial pot of meat, plantain, and roots. This kitchen centers the cooking of Olancho and the interplay between savory broth and the sweetness of plantain.

La Gente

Salted meat asks the cook to pay attention before the pot is seasoned. Follow the soaking and preparation steps, then taste as the ingredients simmer. It is a useful way to learn how preserved ingredients shape a dish.

Sabor

The interior cooks with salt, corn, and beef fat, seasoned with garlic, cumin, achiote, and oregano, with the encurtido and the chismol bringing the acid and the crunch. The tapado olanchano is salty from the dried beef and sweet from the plantain and coconut, and it does not need help from the spice shelf beyond garlic, a little cumin, and a bay leaf.

Spice DNA · Sweet medium · Smoke medium · Herb low · Heat low · Acid low

Seasonings to explore

Minced Garlic in Olive Oil. In the pot. Adds a savory garlic base.
Cumin, ground. A teaspoon in the tapado, and on the carne asada.
Sazón with Coriander and Annatto. For the achiote gold.
Bay leaves, whole. In the broth.
Oregano, whole. On the carne asada and in the encurtido.
Black Pepper, ground. In the pot.
Onion Powder. With the fresh onion.

Badia does not sell the carne seca. A ranch in Olancho does. The jerky works.

Cocina

Tapado olanchano

The rancher's pot of Olancho: dried beef, pork, chorizo, plantain, yuca, and a little coconut. Soak the beef the night before.

Serves 8

1 lb dried salted beef (cecina) or unsweetened beef jerky, cut in pieces
1 lb pork ribs, cut in pieces
8 oz chorizo, sliced
10 cups water
3 tbsp oil
1 onion, chopped
2 tbsp Badia Minced Garlic in Olive Oil, or 5 garlic cloves minced
½ tsp Badia Onion Powder
2 tomatoes, chopped
1 tsp Badia Cumin, ground
1 tsp Badia Sazón with Coriander and Annatto
½ tsp Badia Black Pepper, ground
2 Badia Bay Leaves, whole
2 green plantains, peeled and cut in chunks
2 green bananas, peeled and cut in chunks
1 lb yuca, peeled and cut in chunks
2 potatoes, quartered
1 ripe plantain, cut in chunks
1 can (13.5 oz) coconut milk
Salt, if it needs any
Cilantro, chopped

The night before. Cover the dried beef with water and soak it overnight in the refrigerator. Drain. It will still be salty. That is the design.
Boil the meats. Put the soaked beef and the pork ribs in a large pot with the water. Bring to a boil, skim, and simmer 1 hour, until both are tender.
The sofrito. Warm the oil in a pan. Cook the onion with the garlic and onion powder until soft. Add the tomatoes, cumin, sazón, and pepper and cook down 5 minutes. Stir into the pot with the bay leaves and the chorizo.
The starches. Add the green plantains, green bananas, yuca, and potatoes. Simmer 25 minutes. Add the ripe plantain and simmer 10 minutes more, until everything is tender and the broth has thickened.
Coconut. Stir in the coconut milk and warm through without boiling hard. Taste. The dried beef has salted it; you may need nothing.
Serve. Wet, in bowls, with cilantro over the top, for a soup-like serving. Drier, on a plate with the broth on the side, for a drier serving. Corn tortillas either way, and a glass of horchata.

Pueblos del Interior

Tegucigalpa · Comayagüela · Valle de Ángeles · Santa Lucía · Comayagua · Siguatepeque · La Paz · Juticalpa · Catacamas · San Esteban · Santa Rosa de Copán · Copán Ruinas · Gracias · La Esperanza · Danlí · Yuscarán · Choluteca · Nacaome