Bowl of Beef Cardán Soup
(click to enlarge)

Beef Cardán Soup


Bolivia   -   Caldo de Cardán
Makes:
Effort:
Sched:
DoAhead:  		 4-1/2 qt
****
15 hrs
Yes		 This is the hangover cure soup of Bolivia. Unlike most other such soups, it is based not on Calf Feet and Tripe, but on Calf Feet and Bull Penis. It's not often made at home. See also Comments.
There are hundreds of bistros in Bolivia specializing in this soup, which is thought to be an aphrodisiac as well as a hangover cure. It's a bit of a project, but you can spread it out over a couple of days.




1
1
1-1/4
1
-------
1
7
7
5
4
-------
ar
1/2
1
1
-------
ar
-------
10


#
#
#
#
----
#
oz
oz
oz
oz
----

c
T
t
----

----
med


Beef "Pizzle" (1)
Calf Foot (2)
Beef (3)
Lamb / Chicken (4)  
-- Vegies
Potato (5)
Turnip
Onion
Carrot
Celery
--------------
Water
Rice (6)
Salt
Oregano
-- Garnish
Parsley
-- Serve With
Boiled Eggs
Bread Rolls
llajwa (7)
Do Ahead   -   (12 hrs - 20 min work)
  1. Wash the PIZZLE and FOOT. Place them in a pot with water to cover well. Bring to a boil for a couple of minutes. Pour out into a clean sink. Wash the pot and rinse the meats well. Return to the pot with water to cover and return to a boil.
  2. When boiling, transfer the Pizzle and Foot to a slow cooker, and pour in the liquid. Set to High. When it starts to bubble, set it to Low and let it cook for 10 hours until the Pizzle is tender enough to eat. See also Cooking Times.
  3. Fish Pizzle out of the Liquid and cut into serving pieces, not much more than 1 inch long or they'll be difficult to handle. Cut Calf Foot tendons (if you have removed them at 4 hours) and mix in. Set aside.
  4. Strain the liquid, discarding all bones and mushy solids. Let settle - then defat using your gravy separator. Hold Pizzle Broth until ready to cook meat.
  5. Boil EGGS, peel and cool.
Cook Meats   -   (2 hrs - 20 min work)
  1. Cut BEEF into about 2 inch cubes. Remove excess fat from LAMB. Place them in a pot with water to cover well. Bring to a boil for a few minutes. Pour out into a clean sink. Wash the pot and rinse the meats well.
  2. Return Meats to the pot. Pour in Pizzle Broth and add cold Water to cover. Return to a boil and simmer until meats are tender (1-1/4 to 1-3/4 hrs).
  3. Fish out the Meats and strip from any bones that were included.
  4. Strain the Broth and let settle - then defat using your gravy separator.
Vegies   -   (20 min)
  1. Peel POTATOES and TURNIP. Cut both into about 1 inch cubes, or as desired. Hold both in cold water until needed.
  2. Quarter ONIONS lengthwise and slice medium crosswise. Cut CARROTS into 1 inch lengths and CELERYinto 1/2 inch lengths. Mix all.
  3. Chop PARSLEY medium for Garnish.
Final   -   (40 min)
  1. Drain Potato mix.
  2. In a 5 quart pot, place all Vegies and Rice. Pour in the Combined Broth and 1 cup more Water for the Rice. Bring to a boil and simmer until Potatoes are tender and Rice cooked, about 20 minutes.
  3. Stir Meats and Pizzle mix. Season with Salt and Oregano. Bring back up to a boil briefly and serve.
  4. Serve hot, with an Egg in each bowl along with Meats, and plenty of Vegies and Broth. See Serving for further details.
NOTES:

  1. Beef "Pizzle":

      You won't be finding this in your local supermarket, but most larger Chinese or Southeast Asian markets (except Philippine) will have it in the frozen food cases. For details, see our Beef "Pizzle" page.

  2. Calf Foot:

      This ingredient is included in most hangover cure soups (and in Armenia is often the only ingredient). For details see our Calf Feet page.

  3. Beef

      Weight is boneless. If you use cuts with bones, compensate the weight. Some recipes call for two cuts, usually Tapa de Cuadril (Round) and Pecho (Breast), and some just call for Pecho. The nearest North American cut is Brisket. Use whatever cuts you want.

  4. Lamb or Chicken:

      about half the cooks use Lamb, and the other half toss in a whole Chicken (for this recipe that would be a half Chicken). Personally, I use Mutton or Goat, which I can get in convenient chunks at a lower price. They're bony so I use about 1-3/4 pounds. In Bolivia they may use Llama.

  5. Potatoes:

      White rose or similar waxy potatoes work well. Avoid Yukon Gold type potatoes as they disintegrate into mush if cooked a little long. For details see our Potatoes page.

  6. Rice:

      Mostly Long Grain white rice is used in South America. Thai Jasmine will work fine.

  7. Llajwa:

      This is the salsa / hot sauce of Bolivia. It's delicious and very easy to make by our recipe Llajwa / Bolivian Salsa.

  8. Cooking Times:

      Pizzle is not meat, it is all tough vascular tissue which takes very long cooking. I prefer to pull the Calf Foot at about 4 hours and pull out the tendons while they are still fairly firm, returning them to the pot when the Pizzle is done. The rest goes back into the pot immediately.

  9. Serving:

      In Bolivia, this soup is made in vast quantity, usually in several 40 quart pots. Broth is ladled into large wide bowls. Large chunks of the various meats are placed in the bowls, and they are sent out to the tables. The meats may or may not include bones. I have no intention of making that much, and I don't serve quite that way, so I cut my meats relatively small. I omitted the Egg in the photo because pure white things tend to mess up a photo.

  10. Variations

      Some recipes call for 1/2 pound Salt Dried Beef (Charque). Some call for Tunta (freeze dried potatoes (Chuño)) as well as fresh potatoes.

  11. Comments

      In Bolivia this soup has a strong reputation as an effetive aphrodisiac, "Bolivian Viagra". I did not notice any such effect, and nor have American tourists in Bolivia who have tried it. Bolivian medical authorities say it is strictly a placebo effect - you have to believe in it for it to work. The Pizzle is like little sausages in the soup, fairly firm but gelatinous, and with little flavor of their own. Caldo de Cardán is, in effect, a fairly light and pleasant beef soup, but of strong curiosity value - and a good soup for Halloween parties.
  12. U.S. measure: t=teaspoon, T=Tablespoon, c=cup, qt=quart, oz=ounce, #=pound, cl=clove in=inch, ar=as required tt=to taste
aom_carda1 171008 inet var   -   www.clovegarden.com
©Andrew Grygus - agryg@aaxnet.com - Linking to and non-commercial use of this page is permitted.