Spanish recipe

Cocido Madrileño

Name: Cocido Madrileño
Prep time: 8 h 30 min
Cook time: 4 h
Total time: 12 h 30 min
Yield: 6
Cuisine: Spanish cuisine
Ingredients: 300 g dried chickpeas; 400 g beef shank; 300 g bone-in chicken thighs; 150 g pork belly or streaky bacon; 150 g Spanish chorizo; 150 g onion morcilla or other Spanish morcilla; 200 g marrow bones, rinsed; 80 g Serrano ham end or cured ham bone; 600 g green cabbage, cut into wedges; 500 g waxy potatoes, peeled and halved; 200 g carrots, peeled and cut into large pieces; 150 g yellow onion, peeled and left whole; 150 g turnip, peeled and halved; 2 cloves garlic, thinly sliced; 120 g fine soup noodles; 20 ml extra-virgin olive oil; 4 L water, plus more for soaking and the sausage pot; 8 g fine salt, plus more only after tasting

Madrid’s long-simmered cocido builds one pot into three traditional servings: noodle soup first, chickpeas and vegetables second, then the tender meats and sausages. Chickpeas soak overnight, the broth is skimmed carefully, and strongly coloured sausages cook separately to keep the main broth clear.

Madrid, Spain

Prep: 8 hr 30 min
Cook: 4 hr
Total: 12 hr 30 min
Servings: 6

Madrid cocido served in separate courses with broth, chickpeas, vegetables and mixed meats — **Real finished-dish photograph**Photograph by SmntSource page · Original file · CC BY-SA 4.0Cropped, resized, and compressed by Recipe Nest Vault.

Ingredients

300 g
dried chickpeas
400 g
beef shank
300 g
bone-in chicken thighs
150 g
pork belly or streaky bacon
150 g
Spanish chorizo
150 g
onion morcilla or other Spanish morcilla
200 g
marrow bones, rinsed
80 g
Serrano ham end or cured ham bone
600 g
green cabbage, cut into wedges
500 g
waxy potatoes, peeled and halved
200 g
carrots, peeled and cut into large pieces
150 g
yellow onion, peeled and left whole
150 g
turnip, peeled and halved
2 cloves
garlic, thinly sliced
120 g
fine soup noodles
20 ml
extra-virgin olive oil
4 L
water, plus more for soaking and the sausage pot
8 g
fine salt, plus more only after tasting

Method

01
Soak the chickpeas overnight
Cover the chickpeas with at least three times their volume of lukewarm water and soak for 8 hours. Drain and rinse before cooking; discard the soaking water.
Cooking-step illustration, not a photograph
02
Start and skim the meat broth
Put beef, chicken, pork belly, marrow bones and ham in a very large pot with 4 L cold water. Bring slowly to a boil over 20–25 minutes, skimming grey foam as it rises, until the surface looks clean.
Cooking-step illustration, not a photograph
03
Add chickpeas and long-cooking vegetables
Add drained chickpeas, carrots, whole onion and turnip. Return to a gentle simmer, partially cover and cook for 2 hours 30 minutes, keeping only small bubbles at the surface. Skim fat occasionally and add hot water only if ingredients become exposed.
Cooking-step illustration, not a photograph
04
Cook chorizo and morcilla separately
During the final hour, put chorizo and morcilla in a separate saucepan, cover with water and simmer gently for 20 minutes. Drain and keep warm. Cooking them separately prevents paprika and blood sausage from darkening the main broth.
Cooking-step illustration, not a photograph
05
Add the potatoes and finish the main pot
After the 2 hours 30 minutes, add the halved potatoes and simmer 25–30 minutes more until the chickpeas are creamy-tender, potatoes are tender through and beef can be pierced easily. Taste the broth and add up to 8 g salt only as needed.
Cooking-step illustration, not a photograph
06
Cook and sauté the cabbage
While the potatoes cook, simmer the cabbage in a separate pot of water for 25 minutes until tender. Drain well. Heat 20 ml olive oil with sliced garlic for 45 seconds, add the cabbage and sauté 4–5 minutes; keep warm.
Cooking-step illustration, not a photograph
07
Make the noodle soup
Lift meats, chickpeas and vegetables from the main pot into warm dishes. Strain 1.5 L broth into a clean saucepan, bring to a boil, add the 120 g fine noodles and cook 4–5 minutes until just tender. Keep the remaining broth hot for moistening the other servings.
Cooking-step illustration, not a photograph
08
Serve in three vuelcos
Serve the noodle soup first. Next serve chickpeas with carrots, turnip, potatoes and garlic cabbage, moistened with a little broth. Finally slice the beef, chicken, pork belly, chorizo and morcilla and serve with the marrow bones. Keep all three courses hot.
Cooking-step illustration, not a photograph

Practical notes

Tips

Keep the pot at a lazy simmer rather than a hard boil so beans, meat and vegetables stay intact while the broth develops.
Add ingredients according to how long they need: long-cooking meats and legumes first, tender vegetables and sausages later.

Common mistakes

Salting heavily before cured meats have seasoned the broth can make the finished stew too salty; adjust near the end.
Stirring delicate beans aggressively breaks their skins and muddies the broth; move the pot gently instead.

Substitutions

For regional beans that are unavailable, choose a similarly large, thin-skinned dried white bean and soak it fully before cooking.
When replacing a cured meat or sausage, match both smoke level and saltiness, then season the broth only after tasting.

Storage

Cool leftovers promptly and refrigerate within 2 hours at 0–4°C for up to 3 days. Reheat only the portion needed until piping hot throughout.

Cultural context

The defining Madrid service is the three vuelcos: broth with noodles, then chickpeas and vegetables, then meats. Keeping the components separate turns one long-cooked pot into a sequence of courses rather than a single mixed bowl.

Sources and photo credit

This standardized method was independently rewritten after cross-checking the references below. Recipe Nest Vault does not claim that the credited photographer cooked from this exact version.

Recipe references

Cocido madrileño — Photograph by Smnt; CC BY-SA 4.0.

Step illustrations: Original illustrations created by Recipe Nest Vault with OpenAI image_gen.

Back to Spanish recipes

Cocido Madrileño

Ingredients

Method

Soak the chickpeas overnight

Start and skim the meat broth

Add chickpeas and long-cooking vegetables

Cook chorizo and morcilla separately

Add the potatoes and finish the main pot

Cook and sauté the cabbage

Make the noodle soup

Serve in three vuelcos

Sources and photo credit

Recipe references

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