Chef Isabel
Baifo Asado Canario
Baifo Asado Canario is kid goat barrado, rubbed with garlic, pimentón, vinegar, cumin, and oregano, then roasted gently before a sharp red mojo browns the edges and wakes the pan juices.
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Caldereta de Cordero Extremeña
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Caldereta de Cordero Extremeña is shepherds' lamb stew, built from browned lamb, slow sofrito, wine, and the lamb's own liver pounded into the sauce at the end.
Main Dishes
Spanish
Comfort Food
Special Occasion
One Pot
25 min
Active Time
1 hr 50 min cook•2 hr 15 min total
Yield6 servings
Caldereta de Cordero Extremeña belongs to Extremadura, sheep country, and it tastes of that plain truth: lamb on the bone, garlic, onion, wine, bay, thyme, and pimentón de la Vera, the smoked red pepper that gives the sauce its colour and depth. What makes it caldereta and not just another lamb stew is the majado, the mortar paste, made with the lamb's own liver, garlic, fried bread, and pimentón, stirred in near the end until the broth turns thick enough for bread.
The method that decides it is patience in two places. First brown the lamb properly, so the sauce has a dark base before the onion ever goes in. Then cook the sofrito, the slow onion and pepper base, until it is soft, sweet, and almost jammy. Rush that and the stew tastes thin. Add the pimentón off the fierce heat, because burnt pimentón goes bitter and there is no fixing it after.
If you are far from Extremadura, ask for lamb shoulder, neck, or shank pieces on the bone. Boneless lean lamb will cook, yes, but it won't give the same sauce. If the butcher has no lamb liver, use one chicken liver and know the paste will be milder. No hace falta haber pisado España. You need good lamb, real pimentón de la Vera, and a mortar, or a small bowl and a heavy spoon if that's what you have.
My Margin beside this one says only: add the majado late. If it boils hard for too long, the liver turns coarse and bossy. Stir it in, let the stew settle into itself, and bring bread to the table. Siempre sale, si lo sigues.
Caldereta de cordero is tied to Extremadura's pastoral cooking, especially the shepherds and transhumant flocks that moved through the dehesa, the oak pastureland where sheep, pigs, and working people shared the same hard economy. The dish uses the animal plainly, with tougher lamb cuts simmered tender and the liver returned to the pot as a thickener instead of being wasted. Pimentón de la Vera, dried and smoked in the northern Cáceres valleys, gives the stew its Extremaduran signature rather than a generic red colour.
The technique, the tradition, and the story behind every dish.
Discover Culinary ExplorerIngredients
bone-in lamb shoulder, neck, or shank pieces
Quantity
1.5kg
cut into 5cm chunks
lamb liver
Quantity
120g
trimmed
extra virgin olive oil
Quantity
80ml
day-old rustic bread
Quantity
1 slice, about 40g
garlic cloves
Quantity
6
3 whole, 3 minced
onions
Quantity
300g
finely chopped
red bell pepper
Quantity
150g
finely chopped
ripe tomato
Quantity
200g
grated, or 150g canned crushed tomato
sweet pimentón de la Vera
Quantity
2 teaspoons
hot pimentón de la Vera (optional)
Quantity
1/2 teaspoon
dry white wine
Quantity
200ml
lamb stock or water
Quantity
500ml, plus more if needed
bay leaves
Quantity
2
dried thyme
Quantity
1 teaspoon
chopped parsley
Quantity
1 tablespoon
fine salt
Quantity
10g, plus more to taste
freshly ground black pepper
Quantity
1/2 teaspoon
| Ingredient | Quantity |
|---|---|
| bone-in lamb shoulder, neck, or shank piecescut into 5cm chunks | 1.5kg |
| lamb livertrimmed | 120g |
| extra virgin olive oil | 80ml |
| day-old rustic bread | 1 slice, about 40g |
| garlic cloves3 whole, 3 minced | 6 |
| onionsfinely chopped | 300g |
| red bell pepperfinely chopped | 150g |
| ripe tomatograted, or 150g canned crushed tomato | 200g |
| sweet pimentón de la Vera | 2 teaspoons |
| hot pimentón de la Vera (optional) | 1/2 teaspoon |
| dry white wine | 200ml |
| lamb stock or water | 500ml, plus more if needed |
| bay leaves | 2 |
| dried thyme | 1 teaspoon |
| chopped parsley | 1 tablespoon |
| fine salt | 10g, plus more to taste |
| freshly ground black pepper | 1/2 teaspoon |
Equipment Needed
- •Wide heavy casserole or cazuela, 30cm
- •Mortar and pestle
- •Tongs
- •Wooden spoon
Instructions
- 1
Season the lamb
Pat the lamb dry and season it with the 10g salt and the black pepper. Leave it at room temperature for 20 minutes while you chop the vegetables. Dry meat browns; wet meat stews in its own water before the pot has even begun.
- 2
Fry the majado pieces
Warm the olive oil in a wide heavy pot over medium heat. Fry the bread slice until golden on both sides, then lift it into a mortar. Add the 3 whole garlic cloves and the lamb liver to the same oil and cook the liver just until browned outside and still a little pink inside, 2 to 3 minutes. Put the garlic and liver in the mortar with the bread.
Do not cook the liver hard here. It will return to the stew later, and overcooked liver makes the sauce grainy. - 3
Brown the lamb
Raise the heat to medium-high and brown the lamb in batches in the same oil, 4 to 5 minutes per batch, turning until the edges are well coloured. Do not crowd the pot. Set each batch aside in a bowl, keeping every drop of juice. This browning is not decoration; it is the dark backbone of the sauce.
- 4
Cook the sofrito
Lower the heat to medium-low. Add the onion and red pepper to the pot with a pinch of salt and cook for 18 to 22 minutes, scraping the browned lamb bits from the bottom. Add the 3 minced garlic cloves and cook 1 minute. Stir in the grated tomato and cook until the mixture is thick, dark, and sweet-smelling, 8 to 10 minutes more. This is the sofrito, the slow base; rush it and the caldereta tastes thinner.
- 5
Add pimentón and wine
Take the pot off the direct heat for a few seconds and stir in the sweet pimentón, and the hot pimentón if using. Return the lamb and its juices to the pot, add the wine, and bring it to a lively bubble for 2 minutes, scraping the base clean. Pimentón de la Vera gives the stew its Extremaduran smoke and red oil, but scorched pimentón turns bitter, so give it care.
- 6
Braise until tender
Add the stock or water, bay leaves, and thyme. The liquid should come about two-thirds up the lamb, not drown it. Bring to a simmer, cover partly, and cook gently for 1 hour to 1 hour 20 minutes, turning the pieces once or twice, until the lamb is tender enough that a fork slides in easily but the meat still holds its shape.
- 7
Pound the majado
While the lamb finishes, pound the fried bread, fried garlic, liver, parsley, and 3 or 4 spoonfuls of the stew liquid in the mortar until you have a thick, smooth paste. If you use a small food processor, pulse only until thick, not whipped. The majado should look like a dark red-brown cream, not crumbs floating in broth.
- 8
Thicken the sauce
Stir the majado into the pot and simmer uncovered for 10 to 12 minutes, shaking the pot now and then so the sauce thickens evenly around the lamb. Taste for salt. The sauce should coat a spoon and leave a red pimentón oil shining at the edges. If it is too tight, add a little water; if too thin, simmer a few minutes more.
- 9
Rest and serve
Turn off the heat, cover the pot, and let the caldereta rest for 10 minutes. Remove the bay leaves and serve in deep bowls or straight from the cazuela, with bread for the sauce. Tal como se hace allí, plainly and well.
Chef Tips
- •Use bone-in lamb shoulder, neck, or shank. The bones and connective tissue give body to the sauce, which lean boneless lamb cannot do. Pésalo, no lo adivines, especially with the liver and pimentón.
- •Pimentón de la Vera matters here. Sweet is the base; hot is optional. If all you have is ordinary smoked paprika, the stew will still work, but it loses the clean Extremaduran depth that makes the dish itself.
- •If you cannot get lamb liver, use one fresh chicken liver, about 60g, and add an extra 20g fried bread to the majado. The flavour will be gentler and less lamb-rich, but the sauce will still thicken properly.
- •This stew wants bread more than potatoes. If you serve potatoes, boil them simply on the side so they do not steal the sauce from the lamb.
- •It is better after resting. Make it in the morning for supper, or the day before, then reheat it gently with a splash of water so the liver-thickened sauce does not catch.
Advance Preparation
- •The lamb can be salted and refrigerated up to 12 hours ahead; bring it out 30 minutes before browning.
- •The finished caldereta keeps 3 days covered in the refrigerator. Reheat gently over low heat with a splash of water, shaking the pot rather than stirring hard.
- •Do not add the majado days ahead to an unfinished stew. Cook the stew fully, add the majado, simmer it in, then store it as a finished dish.
Frequently Asked Questions
Nutrition Information
1 serving (about 360g)
Calories
600 calories
Total Fat
44 g
Saturated Fat
15 g
Trans Fat
0 g
Unsaturated Fat
29 g
Cholesterol
200 mg
Sodium
930 mg
Total Carbohydrates
14 g
Dietary Fiber
3 g
Sugars
5 g
Protein
36 g
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