We Venezuelans, even in times economically challenging like the ones we're living nowadays, try to make hallacas in December to share with family and friends, and who knows, perhaps with someone you don't know because Christmas time is about loving and caring ❤️

Our Paria Peninsula, Tierra de Gracia (Land of Grace or Grace Land, but not The King's House in Memphis, hehe) shows all the taste of the Caribbean in their cuisine, which likes to mix sweet and savory flavors. I learned to make hallacas with my father and to this day, I keep this recipe. When people try these hallacas, they find something nice and different about them, and I tell them that those are hallacas Güireñas (Güiria is the state where my father's hometown is (Rio Salado)). These I learned to make from my father when I was a child.

No suspense. I'll tell you right away.

Like everyone else is supposed to do it, we make the pork and beef stew a day before (also add hen sometimes). When you remove the huge cooking pot from the heat, it has a lot of broth, red with annatto (achiote).

And the day after, when we are supposed to assemble the hallacas, the intensely flavored broth has filled the meat chunks making them juicy.

Now, what are the differences?

Difference #1: Add homemade cane honey

Besides all the ingredients that Venezuelan hallacas commonly have, we add homemade cane honey to the pork and beef stew.

And Difference #2: Make the corn dough with annatto oil and cane honey (unlike other hallaca doughs, here the hen broth, seasoned broth, or sofrito are not needed, though you may add some).

Difference #3, sometimes, is that we add slices of hard boiled eggs and sliced steamed potatoes when we're assembling the hallacas. But this time, as we were going to have other dishes, I was asked to make little hallacas (200 gr e.), which doesn't leave room for more than the stew and the basic seasonings.

Our dish on Christmas Eve: Baked chicken with fresh tangerines, vegetable and fruit salad with mustard seeds, ham bread, all homemade by my sisters and I

...And below you can see how the first hallacas I made this year looked; they were 400 gr hallacas with all the fillings--and a different dough, made with hen broth.

Making hallacas is a lot of work, but when you've been making them alone for ten years, like me, you get used to it and get so organized that you don't want anyone to get in your way, hahaha. I just let them help me tie and cook them. These last two steps are taken care of by my husband. My son used to do it, but he doesn't live in the country anymore.

INGREDIENTS

(for 50 200 gr hallacas approx.

For the first preparations:

• 150 gr annatto seeds (achiote)
• 1 lt corn oil
• 1 piloncillo to make cane honey
• 3 cups water

For the dough:

• 8 cups corn flour (I used PAN)
• 1 cup cane honey
• 1 cup annatto (achiote) oil
• 2 tablespoons salt
• 12 cups warm water

For the stew:

• 2 kg chopped pork
• 1 kg chopped beef
• 2 cups wine
• 1 1/2 cup cane honey
• 1 cup annatto (achiote) oil
• Same weight of meats in vegetables: 2 parts onion, 1 part: sweet chili peppers, red and green bell peppers, leak, spring onion
• 200 gr capers
• 300 gr raisins
• 500 gr red bell pepper stuffed olives

Extra seasonings:

• fresh onion rings
• fresh red bell pepper juliennes
• red bell pepper stuffed olives
• raisins

• Enough smoked plantain leaves to wrap
  (I bought 3 kg for 60 200gr hallacas)
• Cotton thread (pabilo) to tie the hallacas

Let's Make Delicious "Hallacas Güireñas"

FIRST PREPARATIONS: cane honey and achiote oil

I made these the day before I make the stew.

To make cane honey, I break the piloncillo into small chunks and let them melt in water. I let the mixture cook until it turns into a light syrup.

As for the annatto oil, I let the seeds simmer for 5 minutes or so, stirring until the seeds give away all their beautiful red color. I need to keep the heat low, as the oil must never boil.

THE DOUGH

Making a big quantity of corn dough is easy if you mix all the liquids first, including warm water and the salt. I like using P.A.N.

Once I have an homogeneous mixture, I start adding the flour and mixing with my hands.

The dough must rest for a couple of hours before kneading again, and then it will be ready to use in the hallacas.

THE STEW

This time, I bought chopped meats, pork and beef.

Cane honey and Sagrada Familia wine for cooking must be at hand. They will provide sweetness and a delicious aroma and aftertaste that really stays.

I like to wash all vegetables well.

Then I chopped them not too finely, not coarsely.

A first half of the copped onion goes first into the cooking pot to fry in hot along with the chopped beef. Then I add paprika, and bay leaves. And after a couple of minutes, I add the capers and raisins, plus the vegetables left, except the remaining half of chopped onion and half of the chopped leak and spring onion.

Adding the leak and spring onion at the end, before removing the pot from the heat, provides de stew with more flavor and body, as it will cook again inside the hallacas once we boil them.

After an hour, I add the pork, cane honey, wine, and salt. This wine (Sagrada Familia) is quite sweet; along with the salt, they add to the Caribbean taste of the stew.

And half an hour later, I add all the remaining vegetables. I add the olives at the very end and let them cook with the remaining heat.

The stew must cool completely before using it to fill the fight or refrigerate.

ASSEMBLING

One must have everything needed at hand before starting!

The smoked plantain leaves must be clean and without stems. I clean them very well with a kitchen towel, first with bleach water and then with vinegar water.

The leaves are placed in double layers to prevent the contents of the hallaca from escaping into the boiling water and making a mess when one of the sheets is broken.

the surface is painted with achiote oil. Then place the dough and flatten it very well with your fingers, until it has a thickness that almost allows you to see the bottom. Next, place the stew and the "seasonings": red bell pepper stuffed olives, raisins, onion rings, and juliennes of red pepper.

Wrap and tie!

Tie them well.

In a pot big enough, pour enough water as to cover the hallacas and add salt (one heaping tablespoon per liter). Heat the water first before putting the hallacas inside.

As soon as you put the hallacas inside, the water will lower it's temperature. When it starts boiling again, let them cook on full heat for 40 minutes. Remove them from the water immediately and let them cool until lukewarm before opening and eating them.

You can refrigerate them for several days. If you freeze them, they can last for months.

Hallacas are synonym of family and communion because everyone comes together to prepare them. I've made them by myself this time; I hope someday I make them again with all the family, including my beloved and only son who has been away for seven Decembers now.

Happy Holidays to All! 🎄❤️

My father and I

All text and images are my own. I have taken the pictures with my Redmi 9T cell phone. And if any GIFs here, I've used GIPHY for all them.

Thank you so much for your visit :)

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