Santander Hominy Stew (Mute Santandereano)
A deeply comforting Santander stew where dried hominy and red beans simmer for hours with pork, beef and chicken until everything turns soft and the broth goes thick and golden. Potatoes melt in at the end to round it out — a bowlful of this is a full Sunday meal.
Servings
Ingredients
Nutrition
Per serving
Steps
Soak corn and beans
The night before, put the dried hominy and the dried beans in two separate bowls, cover each generously with cold water and leave at room temperature overnight. Keep them separate because the hominy swells much more than the beans and needs more room.
- 300 g dried hominy corn
- 200 g dried red beans
✅ Done when: the grains have plumped up and roughly doubled in size
Build the broth
Drain the soaked hominy and beans and set them aside separately. In a large, heavy pot, combine the pork ribs, beef, chicken, onion, garlic, the white parts of the scallions, cumin, achiote and the water. Bring to a boil, skim off the grey foam that rises, then lower the heat to a gentle simmer (about 90°C/194°F) for 45–60 minutes.
- 500 g pork ribs
- 500 g beef
- 500 g chicken thighs
- 1 large onion
- 6 cloves garlic
- white parts scallions
- 1 tsp cumin
- 1 tsp achiote
- 3 litres water
✅ Done when: the meats are cooked through and starting to soften, and the broth tastes savoury
Simmer hominy and beans
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Add the potatoes
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Season and finish
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Serve
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Soak corn and beans
The night before, put the dried hominy and the dried beans in two separate bowls, cover each generously with cold water and leave at room temperature overnight. Keep them separate because the hominy swells much more than the beans and needs more room.
- 300 g dried hominy corn
- 200 g dried red beans
✅ Done when: the grains have plumped up and roughly doubled in size
Build the broth
Drain the soaked hominy and beans and set them aside separately. In a large, heavy pot, combine the pork ribs, beef, chicken, onion, garlic, the white parts of the scallions, cumin, achiote and the water. Bring to a boil, skim off the grey foam that rises, then lower the heat to a gentle simmer (about 90°C/194°F) for 45–60 minutes.
- 500 g pork ribs
- 500 g beef
- 500 g chicken thighs
- 1 large onion
- 6 cloves garlic
- white parts scallions
- 1 tsp cumin
- 1 tsp achiote
- 3 litres water
✅ Done when: the meats are cooked through and starting to soften, and the broth tastes savoury
Simmer hominy and beans
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Add the potatoes
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Season and finish
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Serve
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The Story Behind the Dish
Mute Santandereano grew out of the farming households of Santander, where dried corn and beans from the harvest were stored for months and stretched into a filling meal with whatever meat was on hand — pork from the family pig, beef, and chicken from the yard. The long, slow simmer was simply what it took to turn tough, dried pantry staples into something soft and nourishing.
It became the dish of Sunday gatherings and market days, cooked in enormous pots to feed large families and visiting relatives, and it is still treated that way today: a dish worth setting aside half a day for.
⭐ Why It's Famous
It is famous as the ultimate Santander comfort food — a single pot that combines grains, legumes, potatoes and three kinds of meat into a broth so rich it needs nothing more than a spoon and good company.
💡 Fun Fact
Many Santander families keep a 'mute pot' — a very large pot used only for this dish — because the long list of ingredients and hours of simmering are meant to be made in bulk, not in small batches.
Santander department, Colombia
7.12°N, -73.12°W
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