Patagonian Chilean
Cordero al palo: stake-roasted lamb.
Curanto en Hoyo
Chiloé Island earth-pit cooking — clams, mussels, sausage, potato, milcao layered with rhubarb-leaf cover over fire-heated stones, steamed underground for hours.
Patagonian Chile is fjords, rainforest, sheep, and the Pacific king crab. The cooking is centered on the Chiloé archipelago, where curanto en hoyo (earth-pit communal feast) layers clams, mussels, sausage, potato, and milcao potato pancakes over fire-heated stones under rhubarb leaves for hours. Further south, centolla (king crab) from Tierra del Fuego waters needs only boiling water and lemon. The flavors are smoky, briny, and built around what the rainforest and the cold sea provide.
The Palate
Start Here
Chiloé earth-pit communal feast — clams, mussels, sausage, potato, milcao steamed over fire-hot stones under rhubarb leaves.
Why start here · The pre-Spanish Patagonian rite — a whole village gathered around an earth pit for hours.
Sweet snow-white king-crab leg meat from Tierra del Fuego, simply boiled with lemon and salsa golf.
Why start here · The Patagonian seafood luxury — meat so sweet it needs nothing but boiling water.
The Pantry
See all 28 ingredients›
Vegetables
Herbs & Spices
Grains & Staples
Sauces & Condiments
How They Cook
Techniques that define this cuisine
See 1 more techniques›
Other regions
Siblings within Chilean — each its own tradition.