Hispanic Heritage · Panamá

Colón y Bocas del Toro

Colón · Cristóbal · Portobelo · Nombre de Dios · Sabanitas · Bocas Town

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Saus

Descubre

Explore Panama’s Caribbean side through saus, a chilled preparation of cooked pig’s feet dressed with lime, onion, and chile. Its sharp, refreshing seasoning offers a different view of a cut often associated with hot stews.

La Gente

Cook the meat until tender before it meets the dressing, then chill as directed. The contrast is the point: soft, savory meat, crisp onion, and bright citrus. Serve small portions as part of a larger table.

Sabor

The Caribbean side of Panamá cooks in coconut, lime, culantro, and the chombo, with the Antillean cupboard underneath: thyme, allspice, curry, ginger, black pepper.

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

Seasonings to explore

Minced Garlic in Olive Oil. In the saus and the rice. Adds a savory garlic base.
Habanero Hot Sauce. For the ají chombo when there is no fresh one. Badia makes it. Colón would rather you found the fresh one.
Thyme leaves. In the rice and the pati.
Allspice, ground. In the pati filling and the escabeche. The Jamaican pepper.
Black Pepper, ground. In everything.
Cilantro flakes. For the culantro on the day there is no fresh. Fresh culantro is what the saus wants.
Onion Powder. With the fresh onion.
Ginger, ground. In the pati and the escabeche.

From your market: pig's feet split by the butcher, limes by the bag, cucumbers, red onion, fresh culantro, fresh habaneros or Scotch bonnets, coconut milk, rice, and for the pati, ground beef, flour, and shortening. Badia does not sell the culantro. A Latin market sells it as recao, and Colón buys it by the bunch.

Cocina

Saus

Pig's feet, boiled soft and marinated cold in lime, onion, cucumber, culantro, and chile. The dish of Colón. Make it the day before and serve it cold.

Serves 6

3 lb pig's feet, split
1 onion, halved, for the boil
2 tbsp Badia Minced Garlic in Olive Oil, or 5 garlic cloves crushed
1 tsp Badia Black Pepper, ground
1 tsp Badia Thyme leaves
Salt
1 cup fresh lime juice, about 10 limes
1 red onion, sliced thin
1 cucumber, peeled and sliced thin
½ cup culantro, chopped, or cilantro, or 2 tbsp Badia Cilantro flakes
1 to 2 habaneros, minced, or Badia Habanero Hot Sauce to taste
½ tsp Badia Onion Powder

Clean the feet. Rub them with lime and salt, rinse, and blanch 5 minutes in boiling water. Drain.
The boil. Cover with fresh water. Add the halved onion, garlic, black pepper, thyme, and salt. Simmer 2 to 2½ hours, until the cartilage is soft and the meat pulls from the bone. A pressure cooker does it in 45 minutes. Drain and let cool until you can handle them. Cut into pieces, discarding the largest bones if you like, though Colón leaves them.
The marinade. In a large bowl, toss the warm feet with the lime juice, red onion, cucumber, culantro, habanero, onion powder, and salt. The heat of the feet opens them to the lime.
Cold. Cover and refrigerate at least 4 hours. Overnight is what Colón does. Taste before serving and add lime or salt; it should be sharp enough to make you blink.
Serve cold in bowls with the juice, with a slice of bon or coconut bread, on a hot day, at a party, with the music loud.

Arroz con coco

Warm 1 tbsp Badia Minced Garlic in Olive Oil with ½ minced onion in a little oil. Add 2 cups rice, 1 can coconut milk, 1½ cups water, ½ tsp Badia Thyme leaves, ¼ tsp Badia Allspice, ground, salt, and a whole habanero laid on top. Cover, lowest heat, 20 minutes. Rest 10, fluff, and lift the chile out whole. With the saus, with fish, with anything on the coast.

Pueblos de Colón y Bocas del Toro

Colón · Cristóbal · Portobelo · Nombre de Dios · Sabanitas · Bocas Town · Isla Colón · Bastimentos · Old Bank · Almirante · Changuinola · Chiriquí Grande · Río Abajo · El Chorrillo · Guna Yala