Un Puertoriqueño Bachelor Party Dinner (2024)

Our new friend Taylor was asked to be his brother's best man. As is tradition, he was in charge of the bachelor weekend planning. He inquired about an intimate dinner party that would take place at a rental in Beacon, NY. He mentioned that they are Puerto Rican and would love a tasting menu that was a little more elevated than going to a restaurant. Many of them were moving from their 20's to their 30's, this upcoming wedding marked a big life change in their friend group.

When we arrived, the whole posse was sweating out on the basketball court. As we grilled outside, the sun set, and Alex broke out wines for each course of the meal. It was a pleasant surprise: they paired so well with our menu.

The Bachelor Party Menu

For the weekend, we brought along Sam Pagan as our sous chef, who is also Puerto Rican. Her knowledge along with recipes from Von Diaz guided our menu. Our opening amuse bouche was a large sheet of communal chicharron with lime and selected hot sauces from Heatonist.

Freshly grilled duo of pintxos or small skewers with our churrasco skirt steak and chicken seasoned with sazón. We laid them on a bed of lightly dressed Allwell Greens bok choy and pickled carrot. The vegan substitute was marinated "beef" from Lily's Vegan Pantry.

We paired saucy yucca con mojo with mofongo (mashed plantains with garlic) and wild colossal shrimp from Fulton Fish Market. The vegan alternative was a big grilled artichoke heart.

Our main course was a hybrid of Puerto Rican and Filipino cultures with adobo pulled pork and arroz con giandules (seasoned rice with pigeon peas). We explained the cultural cousins of adobo, in the Philippines it is a braising style for proteins with soy sauce and vinegar. In Puerto Rico, it is a spice mixture of coriander, cumin, onion, garlic, oregano, and our friend MSG. We implemented both styles with a large pork shoulder that was braised and slightly smoked.

For dessert, we sliced up homemade rum cake with Luxardo cherries. Sam shared her recipe for vegan chocolate cake with us, a moist slice with powdered sugar.

A Bachelor Party Tip

When the weather's nice and you've got the space to play outdoors, try the Finnish game Mölkky. Taylor introduced the game and invited us to join for a few rounds. It's a combination of strategic tossing and lawn bowling. Fun fact: the wooden pins are known as "skittles" in Europe and are the early inspiration for modern 10-pin bowling. If you enjoy Mölkky, we are also huge fans of the Swedish game Kubb, too.

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