Pepián is a thick meat stew from Guatemala. It is one of the oldest and most recognizable dishes of Guatemalan cuisine having as its origin the influences from Guatemala’s colonial past and indigenous cuisine.
For the Recado / Sauce
Prep the Chicken
1. Place the whole chicken in a large pot and fill it with water to cover it. Add the salt.
2. Turn the burner to high, and bring the water to a boil. Lower the heat to medium and let the chicken cook for about 45 minutes.
3. When done, remove the chicken from the pot and set the broth aside to cool.
4. When cool to the touch, shred or cut the chicken into bite-size pieces and return to the pot with the chicken broth. Traditionally, we only shred the chicken breast, and keep the thighs and legs of the chicken whole (bone-in)
Prep the Vegetables
1. Wash and trim the ends of the fresh string beans, leaving them whole.
2. Peel and cut the carrot, guisquiles or chayote squash and the potato into small cubes. Start gently boiling the vegetables in their own pot until desired softness.
Make the Recado Base Sauce
1. On a hot cast-iron pan, griddle, or comal set to medium-high, dry roast the ancho and guajillo chiles for 1 or 2 minutes. Set them aside in a bowl.
2. Dry roast the tomatoes, tomatillos, onions, garlic, and anise. The garlic and anise will deepen in color, give off an aroma and be ready before the rest of the ingredients. Take them out and add them to the chiles in the bowl. (the optional 1/4 cup of cilantro can also be slightly dry roasted)
3. Add the tomatoes, tomatillos, and onion to the bowl when they start to blister, blacken, and get fragrant.
4. Place the dry-roasted chiles, tomatoes, tomatillos, onion, garlic, and optional anise in a saucepan. Set the heat to medium-high. Add water to cover and bring to a boil. When it boils, turn off the heat, add the optional 1/4 cup of cilantro, and set the saucepan aside to cool.
5. Adjust the heat of the cast-iron pan, skillet, or comal to low. Dry roast the pumpkin seeds for about 5 minutes. When they start to give off a smoky aroma, they are ready. Set them aside in your bowl.
6. Dry roast the sesame seeds for 3 to 5 minutes, until they turn pale gold. Keep an eye on them: they can go from toasted to burnt quickly. Add them to your bowl.
7. Scoop out the chiles, tomatoes, tomatillos, onion, garlic, and optional anise and cilantro from the saucepan—and place them in a blender. Pour about 1/2 cup of their liquid into the blender.
8. Add the toasted pumpkin and sesame seeds.
9. Blend—until the mixture completely disintegrates. You will have an orange-reddish, nutty, and full-flavored recado sauce.
10. Strain the recado sauce in batches through a colander. Throw away the tiny scraps of vegetables, seeds, and spices left behind in your colander. You don’t want them in your sauce.
Putting It All Together
1. Stir the recado into the pot with the chicken and broth, mixing them well. Set the heat to medium-high. When the stew comes to a boil, reduce the heat to medium-low.
2. Let the stew simmer and reduce for 10 to 15 minutes, uncovered. For a thicker sauce, see the chef note below.
3. Add the string beans, carrot, guisquiles or chayote, and potato to the pot. Gently simmer for about 15 minutes more.
4. Chop the 1/2 cup of cilantro and add to the pot as well. Set some aside as a garnish.
5. Serve with white rice and hot tortillas.
For the Recado / Sauce
Prep the Chicken
1. Place the whole chicken in a large pot and fill it with water to cover it. Add the salt.
2. Turn the burner to high, and bring the water to a boil. Lower the heat to medium and let the chicken cook for about 45 minutes.
3. When done, remove the chicken from the pot and set the broth aside to cool.
4. When cool to the touch, shred or cut the chicken into bite-size pieces and return to the pot with the chicken broth. Traditionally, we only shred the chicken breast, and keep the thighs and legs of the chicken whole (bone-in)
Prep the Vegetables
1. Wash and trim the ends of the fresh string beans, leaving them whole.
2. Peel and cut the carrot, guisquiles or chayote squash and the potato into small cubes. Start gently boiling the vegetables in their own pot until desired softness.
Make the Recado Base Sauce
1. On a hot cast-iron pan, griddle, or comal set to medium-high, dry roast the ancho and guajillo chiles for 1 or 2 minutes. Set them aside in a bowl.
2. Dry roast the tomatoes, tomatillos, onions, garlic, and anise. The garlic and anise will deepen in color, give off an aroma and be ready before the rest of the ingredients. Take them out and add them to the chiles in the bowl. (the optional 1/4 cup of cilantro can also be slightly dry roasted)
3. Add the tomatoes, tomatillos, and onion to the bowl when they start to blister, blacken, and get fragrant.
4. Place the dry-roasted chiles, tomatoes, tomatillos, onion, garlic, and optional anise in a saucepan. Set the heat to medium-high. Add water to cover and bring to a boil. When it boils, turn off the heat, add the optional 1/4 cup of cilantro, and set the saucepan aside to cool.
5. Adjust the heat of the cast-iron pan, skillet, or comal to low. Dry roast the pumpkin seeds for about 5 minutes. When they start to give off a smoky aroma, they are ready. Set them aside in your bowl.
6. Dry roast the sesame seeds for 3 to 5 minutes, until they turn pale gold. Keep an eye on them: they can go from toasted to burnt quickly. Add them to your bowl.
7. Scoop out the chiles, tomatoes, tomatillos, onion, garlic, and optional anise and cilantro from the saucepan—and place them in a blender. Pour about 1/2 cup of their liquid into the blender.
8. Add the toasted pumpkin and sesame seeds.
9. Blend—until the mixture completely disintegrates. You will have an orange-reddish, nutty, and full-flavored recado sauce.
10. Strain the recado sauce in batches through a colander. Throw away the tiny scraps of vegetables, seeds, and spices left behind in your colander. You don’t want them in your sauce.
Putting It All Together
1. Stir the recado into the pot with the chicken and broth, mixing them well. Set the heat to medium-high. When the stew comes to a boil, reduce the heat to medium-low.
2. Let the stew simmer and reduce for 10 to 15 minutes, uncovered. For a thicker sauce, see the chef note below.
3. Add the string beans, carrot, guisquiles or chayote, and potato to the pot. Gently simmer for about 15 minutes more.
4. Chop the 1/2 cup of cilantro and add to the pot as well. Set some aside as a garnish.
5. Serve with white rice and hot tortillas.
💡 Chef’s Notes:
There are many variations of this recipe as with any traditional recipe. Have fun with it. Experiment according to your desired tastes. Use the vegetables of your choosing, for example.
For a thicker sauce, dry roast 1 cup of breadcrumbs until browned. Add to the blender. Blend with water until smooth. Slowly add the breadcrumb mixture to the pot with the chicken, broth and sauce while simmering. Some may prefer adding flour or cornstarch instead to thicken the sauce.
In the video, you will also see the chef adding cilantro to the pot of boiling chicken. That’s optional, of course but she has been making Pepián her whole life, so there is that. If you like cilantro, try it out.