Caldereta de Venado Extremeña

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •Non-reactive bowl or food-safe bag large enough for the marinade
• •Fine sieve
• •Heavy lidded casserole or cast-iron pot, 6 to 7 litres
• •Wide frying pan, if the casserole is too narrow for efficient browning
• •Kitchen tongs

Instructions

1. 1

   Marinate the venison

   Put the venison in a non-reactive bowl or food-safe bag with the wine, 4 crushed garlic cloves, 2 bay leaves, thyme, oregano, and whole peppercorns. Turn the meat until every piece is coated, cover, and refrigerate for 12 to 24 hours. Turn it once if the wine does not completely cover it.

   Do not leave the venison in the wine longer than 24 hours. The outside begins to turn soft and mealy before the marinade has done anything useful deeper inside.
2. 2

   Drain and dry

   Set a sieve over a saucepan and drain the venison, keeping the wine but discarding the garlic, bay, herbs, and peppercorns. Spread the meat over a rack or clean tray and pat every piece thoroughly dry. Bring the strained marinade to a full boil for 5 minutes, skimming the surface, then set it aside. Marinade that has held raw meat must be boiled before it returns to the stew.

3. 3

   Brown in batches

   Season the dry venison with 10g of the salt and all the ground pepper. Heat 50ml of the olive oil in a wide, heavy casserole over medium-high heat. Brown the meat in four batches, leaving space between the pieces, for 3 to 4 minutes per batch. Turn each piece only after a dark crust has formed, then lift it to a bowl. Add a little of the remaining oil if the pot becomes dry.

   Crowd the casserole and the meat releases water faster than it can evaporate. It goes grey, and the stew loses the dark roasted flavor the pot needs.
4. 4

   Build the sofrito

   Lower the heat to medium-low and add the remaining oil, the onions, both peppers, and 4g of the salt. Cook for 20 minutes, stirring often and scraping up the browned residue, until the vegetables are very soft and dark gold at the edges. Add the 6 chopped garlic cloves and cook for 1 minute. Add the tomato and cook for another 15 minutes, until the sofrito is thick, sweet, and almost dry, with the oil showing around its edges. That slow reduction removes the tomato's raw sharpness; rush it and the sauce stays thin.

5. 5

   Wake the pimentón

   Take the casserole off the heat, add the pimentón, and stir for 20 seconds. Return the venison and any juices from its bowl, then immediately pour in the boiled marinade. Add the remaining bay leaf and 250ml of the water. The liquid should come almost to the top of the meat without drowning it. Add a little more water if your casserole is especially wide.

6. 6

   Braise very gently

   Bring the liquid just to a simmer, cover with the lid slightly ajar, and lower the heat until only an occasional bubble breaks the surface. Cook for 1 hour 30 minutes, turning the meat gently every 30 minutes. Begin checking at that point. The venison is ready for the potatoes when a fork enters a piece but still meets some resistance. If it remains firm, continue for another 15 to 30 minutes before adding them.

7. 7

   Break in the potatoes

   Cut each potato chunk most of the way through, then twist the knife so the final edge breaks irregularly. This is chascar las patatas, and the rough surface releases enough starch to bind the sauce. Add the potatoes, the remaining 4g salt, and enough of the remaining water to bring the liquid halfway up them. Press them into the gravy without stirring the meat about.

8. 8

   Finish and rest

   Simmer uncovered for 35 to 40 minutes, moving the casserole by its handles once or twice, until the potatoes are tender and the venison yields easily to a fork. If the sauce is thin, lift out the meat and potatoes and reduce it for 5 to 10 minutes. If it is too thick, add water 30ml at a time. Remove the bay leaf, taste for salt, and rest the caldereta for 20 minutes before serving. The gravy should be glossy and cling to the meat, not run like soup.

Chef Tips

• •Buy shoulder or neck, not loin. The expensive tender cuts become dry during a long braise, while the working cuts soften and give the gravy its body. Pésalo, no lo adivines: trimmed weight matters because venison can lose a good deal of sinew.
• •Use pimentón de la Vera dulce, the region's sweet smoked paprika. If it is unavailable, use another good sweet smoked paprika, but expect a flatter smoke and less of the resinous depth that marks an Extremaduran pot.
• •Use fresh tomatoes only when they are ripe and fragrant. Good canned whole tomatoes are the sound choice through the rest of the year; crush them yourself and cook the sofrito until no watery edge remains.
• •If venison is unavailable, use the same weight of lamb shoulder and reduce the first braise by about 30 minutes. The pot becomes caldereta de cordero, sweeter and fattier, which is a proper Extremaduran dish in its own right.
• •A young Ribera del Guadiana red made from Tempranillo works in the pot and at the table. Use a dry, sound wine with fruit and moderate tannin. Cooking does not rescue a wine that already tastes spoiled.
• •Wild venison must come from a responsible, inspected source and remain properly chilled. The long braise cooks it thoroughly, but good handling begins before the casserole.

Advance Preparation

• •Marinate the venison for 12 to 24 hours in the refrigerator. The vegetables can be chopped during the final 30 minutes of marinating.
• •The finished caldereta is better after one night in the refrigerator. Cool it promptly, cover, and refrigerate for up to 3 days, then reheat gently until the meat and gravy are bubbling throughout.
• •If making it ahead, stop the potatoes just short of completely tender. They finish as the stew cools and reheats without breaking into the sauce.
• •The venison and sauce can be frozen without the potatoes for up to 3 months. Add freshly broken potatoes while reheating, once the meat is nearly hot.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 600g)