Bocadillo de Chistorra Navarra

Bocadillo de chistorra is Navarra's bread-and-sausage lunch, plain as a market counter and very good when you don't fuss with it. Chistorra is thin, fresh, fast-cured pork sausage, red with pimentón and garlic, and the bread is not decoration. It catches the fat. That's the dish.

The method that decides it is the heat. Cook the chistorra over medium heat until the casing tightens, browns in spots, and gives up its red oil into the pan. Too fierce and the skin burns before the inside is hot. Too timid and the fat stays trapped. Split the barra, lay it cut-side down for a moment in that pimentón oil, then tuck the sausage in. Siempre sale, si lo sigues.

If you can't find chistorra where you are, look for txistorra or the thinnest fresh Spanish chorizo you can buy, not dry slicing chorizo. A thicker fresh chorizo will need a slower cook and the bite will be heavier, but it will still give the bread that red oil. No hace falta haber pisado España. You do need the right sausage and bread with a crust that can stand up to it.

In the Margin beside this one I wrote only this: no sauces. The sausage has the salt, the garlic, and the pimentón. Ketchup, cheese, salad, all of that makes another sandwich. This one is Navarra, tal como se hace allí.