Venezuelan Hallacas Recipe

Learn how to make Venezuelan hallacas step by step with this recipe shared in this article.  Write down the ingredients right now and follow the preparation of this typical Venezuelan food for Christmas. You will get some delicious Venezuelan hallacas for 100 people. In the event that you want more or less quantity, you will only have to adapt the proportions of ingredients by making a rule of 3.

Depending on each region, Venezuelan Christmas hallacas are made differently. In some homes, the stew is cooked together with the dough, and in others, it is cooked beforehand. In the same way, the ingredients of the hallacas change, as we can find them with or without pork, with or without capers, with chicken meat or with seafood. The possibilities of Venezuelan hallacas are endless and, at the end of the day, each family adapts its recipe to its tastes. However you make them, we guarantee that you will love them and you will find in them the best flavors and textures of Christmas.

Ingredients to make Venezuelan Hallacas:

For the stew

• 4 kilograms of meat
• 4 kilograms of pork
• 1 bottle of wine
• 1½ kilograms of paper
• 150 grams of capers
• 1 cup of cornmeal (120 grams)
• 3 cups of onoto oil
• 2½ kilograms of onion
• 8 kilograms leek
• 900 grams of chives
• 300 grams of red paprika
• 300 grams of green paprika
• 12 sweet peppers
• vinegar to taste
• 4 bouillon cubes
• Seasonings to taste (salt, pepper, cilantro, parsley, among others)

For the mass

• 3 cups of oil
• 9 tablespoons of onoto seeds
• 9 kilograms of precooked cornmeal
• 12 liters of water
• To decorate
• 24 bell peppers cut into strips
• 100 stuffed olives
• 12 onions in wheels (optional)
• 400 raisins
• 4½ kilograms of boiled and shredded chicken

To assemble the hallacas

• 6 cups of oil
• 9 tablespoons of onoto seeds
• 9 kilograms of banana leaves, roasted and cleaned

How to make Venezuelan Hallacas:

Every hallaca begins with the preparation of the stew. To do this, cut the beef and pork into large portions. Chop the sweet pepper, the paprika, the leeks and the onions from the stew into small cubes. Also take the opportunity to chop the herbs that you use optionally, such as parsley and cilantro.

Sauté the onion, capers, sweet pepper, paprika and leek in a very large pot. Add the meat from the stew, as well as the brown paper, the vinegar and the wine, and boil everything in water for at least 2 hours so that the flavors are well concentrated. Salpiment to taste.  When the cooking is finished, mix the cornmeal with water and pour it into the preparation so that it thickens.

Tip: if you prefer, you can also add garlic to the Christmas hallacas stew.

While the stew is cooking, prepare the hallacas dough with the cornmeal. Mix the oil and the onoto (achote) seeds in a pot, heat, strain and reserve. Pour the water into a pot and add the corn flour, as well as the oil with the onoto. Knead very well until the dough is uniform, smooth and with a good color.

Once you have the stew and the dough ready, it’s time to assemble the hallacas! Take a large banana leaf and spread a teaspoon of onoto oil on it. Now, roll out a small ball of the hallaca dough until it is thin. The thickness of the hallaca depends on the taste of each person, but we recommend that they not be so thick or the flavor of the filling will be lost.

Tip: we advise you to wash the banana leaves before using them.

Add the ingredients. First, add the stew and then decorate your hallaca with the olives, raisins, onion, paprika and chicken already boiled and shredded. Close each hallaca by folding the banana leaf in half horizontally and then fold a second time with the remaining leaf. Take the vertical ends of the sheet and fold them over the hallaca. Wrap the hallaca with other smaller banana leaves to reinforce it. Tie the hallacas by making a grid-shaped knot as you can see in the photograph. In a large pot, cook the Venezuelan hallacas for about 40 minutes. Take them out, let them rest for about 10 minutes and enjoy. Hallacas are always better the next day!

Tip: Store the remaining hallacas in the freezer and, before consuming them, thaw them in boiling water for about 20 minutes.

Venezuelan hallacas and other typical Christmas foods

There are few recipes as beloved in Venezuela as the hallacas. They are a true typical Christmas food that brings joy to all the homes where they are prepared and, although they are a bit difficult to make, they are a tradition that always cultivates beautiful memories with the loved ones with whom they are prepared.

But in addition to the hallacas, no Christmas dinner would be complete without these other typical Venezuelan Christmas dishes and recipes , prepare them and live a 100% Venezuelan Christmas no matter where you are:

• Chicken salad
• Ham bread
• Cream punch
• Baked shank