Puchero Canario for its culinary fans

Lets go to the Puchero Canario,  is what people say, as it has become such a popular event for eating out in general, known beyond Tenerife, by the way.
It's a dish whose recipe certainly goes back much further than the last Saturday of January 1979. That's when a woman who lived by the palm of the cattle fairground of La Florida invited its livestock herders for lunch for the first time. Needless to say,  more of the trades people as well as neighbors followed suite. Many of the latter started to help very soon.

Puchero Canario a one of a kind slow food stew of Canary and Tenerife Cuisine served by Casa Pedro El Crusantero in Santa Ursula

The above presentation is slightly different from the one that I prefer in Puerto de la Cruz.

What is this Canary Island dish all about?

It is a stew that is cooked slowly and which is prepared a day before it is served. It's made with different meat, poultry as well as a Chorrizo sausage for extra taste.
Fresh Vegetables are added depending on their cooking times.

La Florida Orotava for best cabbage which portrayed in C/de Los Guanches is many times the size of its proud owner's head next to it

The dish has several plus points. It looks appetizing, is hearty, tasty, healthy and appeals to the weight conscious, as they can see what they select. Also, the stew stock with the bulk of its fat is separated for the Escaldon de Gofio. 

A mammoth Puchero Canario party on January 25

Chef helpers at the Puchero preparation at the event of La Florida of La Orotava, one of which adds parsley to the stew

Men are stirring the Escaldon de Gofio in a huge wine barrel where steam almost covers their faces

Some of the 60 pots used at the La Florida Puchero event with different chores depicted

A whooping army style sixty two pots of stainless steel  were needed to cook the slow-food for 7000 kg of Puchero Canario. 

This yearly attraction of Tenerife cuisine is best washed down with a good red wine of the region. 

Puchero Canario de la Florida with a piece of corn inside and added Escaldon de Gofio in some cases

Puchero served in La Florida Orotava with strips of meat on top

Then, there's the alternative the Escaldon de Gofio which looks rather like a mesh. It's made with its stock, as nothing must go to waste. Indeed,  the milled Gofio grains bind some strips of meat together. Purple onion chunks and Coriander herb Mojo may be added depending on the chef's taste.

Both Puchero and Escaldon are put onto serving platters while the cooking goes on

Serving of Puchero Canario and Escaldon de Gofio by a long table counter behind the folk band

Pots continue to cook on the fenced-in gigantic kitchen square

How make the best of the Puchero event?

Take one of the special buses by 10a.m. in Puerto Cruz or Orotava that have white sign posts that read La Florida. Arrive way before lunch at its event, when the fog clouds have not started  by its TF21 route. Walk all along the C/ de Los Guanches past the cooking grounds to the cattle fair where folk musicians play a part.

Always click gallery photos to enlarge them...

Breathtaking La Florida de La Orotava mountain view surroundings with grazing horses by the cattle fairgrounds

Folk band La Florida Orotava under a rustic roof set-up above the cattle fairground

Street stalls Puchero Canario event of La Florida Orotava in C/ de Los Guanches. Take-away meat skewer street stalls and seating to see from the lower cattle grounds

Take photos of the breath taking surroundings of La Florida Orotava. Have some coffee or Saboroco at  Cafeteria Paraiso Calle Guanches no.30. Service at its bar was excellent with me. Have some lunch of barbecued food at some of the street stalls instead of cueing up too early for the stew of the day.

The road toward La Florida Orotava shortly after the bus terminal of the special Titsa service

By La Florida Orotava bridge over the Ravine Barranco del Pino or del Hondo

Barranco del Pino La Florida ocean view in the morning

Rather go for the latter after four p.m. to avoid agonizing time like 1,5 hours with me to stand in one spot in the cue waiting for ages until the long row finally moved on.  By the way, Puchero Canario has been of tourist interest since 2019.

Events besides the gigantic La Florida lunch

Fiestas de la Florida La Orotava poster for the period of 2020 January 17 to 26

This culinary Tenerife event a part of the Folk Fiestas de Antonio Abad and the Virgen de la Esperanza attracts thousands of people. It starts several days prior with sports competitions, folk dances, Lucha Canaria and ancient card game contests.  It is followed by the pilgrimage Romeria that is dedicated to the before-mentioned saints. A Romera queen, street musicians and floats are as usual. Needless to say, the Cabildo President and important politicians of La Orotava, Puerto de la Cruz and more dignities are regular guests.

Vital data for the Puchero Canario event

• Calle La Palma
• Plaza D.Hernando Perdomo Mesa 
• 38311 La Florida of La Orotava 
• Tenerife Spain
• Getting there to the traffic circle Los Pinos de la Florida : With special Titsa bus lines 373 and 345 from Orotava and El Puerto details of which find

Go to an excellent Puchero Canario Restaurant in Puerto de la Cruz where you also find my favorite Puchero recipe for it

From Puchero Canario back to Tenerife events  

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