Picada Colombiana (Colombian Picada Recipe)
Make a Picada Colombiana at home: the ultimate fried food party platter with lots of different meats, crispy Patacones and arepas! This Colombian Picada Recipe includes 5 Colombian Sauces for the best picada ever! This recipe makes enough servings for 6 people but can be halved or even doubled!
Ingredients
For The Chicharron
- 2 lb (900 g) pork belly for Colombian chicharron (cut into 1-inch or 2.5 cm pieces)
- Salt
- 2 bay leaves (optional)
- 1-2 cloves garlic (optional)
- 3 allspice (optional)
For The Arepas
- 1 and 1/2 cups (180 g) white pre-cooked corn flour (like Harina PAN)
- 1 and 1/2 cups (375 ml) water
- 2 tbsp (30 g) butter or lard (plus more butter for frying the arepas)
- 5 oz (140 g) queso fresco
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
For The Patacones
- 2 green plantains
- Oil or lard for frying (sunflower, canola, vegetable oil, peanut oil work)
For The Chorizos/Sausages
- 2 lb (900 g) chorizos of choice from these: Antioquian Chorizo, Santarrosano, Morcilla, Butifarra or any Colombian chorizo/sausage you like.
For The Sauces (Make the Ones You Like)
- 1 batch Salsa Verde (Green Sauce)
- 1 batch Salsa de Ajo (Garlic Sauce)
- 1 batch Colombian Aji
- 1 batch Hogao
- 1 batch Pineapple Sauce
Instructions
- Make the sauces. I recommend making your sauces 1 day ahead of time and store them covered in your refrigerator so they get more flavorful and you already have them ready for dipping, the only sauce I recommend making the day of is the garlic one because it can get a bit too garlicky overnight!
- Make the Chicharron. Add water to a saucepan or skillet, bring to a boil, then add salt and a pinch of baking soda for extra crispiness! Chop the pork belly and add to the water with the garlic, bay leaves and allspice. Boil for 20 minutes then remove any extra water and keep cooking for another 20 minutes or until golden and crispy on all sides. While the Chicharron cooks, make the Arepas and Patacones.
- Make the Arepas. In a large bowl, add the flour, water, butter or lard, cheese, and salt. Mix until a dough forms, the texture should be similar to that of Play-Doh without being sticky. Divide into 5 balls or 10 mini ones then shape into 1-inch thick (2.5 cm) discs and fry in a hot skillet in about 1/2 inch (1 cm) of butter until golden and crispy on both sides.
- Heat the oil or lard for the Patacones. In a large skillet over medium heat, add the oil or lard and heat until hot. While the oil heats, peel and cut the plantains.
- Fry The Plantains. Chop the two ends off each plantain, make an incision on the plantain peel from top to bottom and peel then cut the plantains into 1/2-inch (about 1.5 cm) parts. Add the plantain cut-side down into the oil and fry until bright yellow (about 1-2 minutes) then flip and fry until bright yellow again and remove from the oil.
- Make the Patacones: Using the back of a 1 cup measuring cup or the back of a plate, mash the plantain until about 1/4-inch (about 1/2 cm) thick and return to the hot oil, fry until golden (about 1-2 minutes) flip and fry until golden again then place onto a plate lined with paper towels to absorb any extra oil. Once you’re done frying, keep some of the oil for the chorizos.
- Fry the Chorizos. Cut the chorizos and sausages in 1/2-inch thick (1 cm) rounds and fry in hot oil. You can also fry these in a skillet without any extra oil, if you’re not into deep-fried chorizos and want to keep them a bit lighter!
Notes
Serving Ideas: Serve this Picada with some cold beers, Micheladas, Coconut Lemonade, Colombiana soda, Maracuya Juice or Mango Juice!
Nutrition
Calories: 1381kcalCarbohydrates: 45gProtein: 36gFat: 116gSaturated Fat: 48gPolyunsaturated Fat: 11gMonounsaturated Fat: 44gTrans Fat: 0.4gCholesterol: 242mgSodium: 457mgPotassium: 648mgFiber: 3gSugar: 2gVitamin A: 1090IUVitamin C: 40mgCalcium: 217mgIron: 3mg
Did you make this recipe?Please leave a comment and star rating on this post and tag @DamnSpicyyy on Instagram & hashtag it #itsdamnspicy!
