Caldereta Extremeña de Cerdo Ibérico

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •Wide heavy casserole with lid, 5 to 6 litre capacity
• •Mortar and pestle or small blender
• •Kitchen scale
• •Tongs or slotted spoon

Instructions

1. 1

   Season the pork

   Pat the pork dry and season it with 12g of the salt and all the black pepper. Leave it for twenty minutes while you prepare the vegetables. Dry meat browns; wet meat boils in its own water, and there is no mystery in that.

   Cut the pork into pieces of roughly equal size. Small scraps dry out before the larger pieces become tender.
2. 2

   Start the majado

   Heat the olive oil in a wide, heavy casserole over medium heat. Fry the bread cubes and 4 whole garlic cloves for 3 to 4 minutes, turning them until evenly golden, then lift them into a mortar or small blender. Season the liver with 2g salt and brown it in the same oil for about 1 minute per side. The middle may remain rosy because it cooks again later. Add the liver to the bread and garlic.

3. 3

   Brown the pork

   Raise the heat to medium-high. Brown the pork in three batches so the pieces have room, about 5 minutes per batch, turning until they carry a deep brown crust on several sides. Transfer each batch to a bowl and keep every drop of juice. If the pan crowds, the temperature falls and the pork goes grey.

4. 4

   Cook the sofrito

   Lower the heat and add the onions, red pepper, and remaining 2g salt to the casserole. Cook gently for 20 minutes, stirring often, until the vegetables are very soft and the onion is deep gold. Add the 2 chopped garlic cloves and cook for 1 minute. Stir in the tomato and cook for another 15 to 18 minutes, until the sofrito is dark, sweet, almost dry, and the oil shows at its edges. This is the step that decides the stew. Don't rush it.

5. 5

   Add pimentón and wine

   Take the casserole off the heat and stir in the sweet pimentón and the picante pimentón, if using, for 20 seconds. Return it to the heat, pour in the wine, and scrape the browned meat juices from the base. Boil for 4 to 5 minutes, until the wine has reduced by about half. Pimentón scorches quickly, so the brief moment away from direct heat keeps it smoky and sweet instead of bitter.

6. 6

   Braise until tender

   Return the pork and its collected juices to the casserole. Add the bay leaves, thyme, and 600ml hot water. The liquid should come nearly, but not completely, over the meat. Bring it to a gentle simmer, cover with the lid slightly ajar, and cook over low heat for 75 to 90 minutes. Turn the pork once or twice. Add up to 100ml more hot water only if the base threatens to catch. The meat is ready when a fork enters easily but the pieces still hold together.

7. 7

   Pound the picada

   Remove 150ml cooking liquid and add it to the reserved liver, fried bread, and garlic. Pound or blend until completely smooth, with no visible grains of liver. Stir this majado back into the casserole and simmer uncovered for 15 to 20 minutes, stirring gently near the base, until the sauce coats the pork and a spoon drawn through it leaves a brief path. The final simmer cooks the liver through and removes any raw edge.

   The finished sauce should be thick enough to cling, not stiff like gravy. Loosen it with a spoonful of hot water if the picada tightens it too far.
8. 8

   Rest before serving

   Remove the bay leaves, take the casserole off the heat, and let the caldereta rest uncovered for 20 minutes. A little pimentón-stained oil will gather at the edges and the sauce will settle around the meat. Serve with plain boiled or fried potatoes, or good country bread for the sauce. Tal como se hace allí, nothing decorative is needed.

Chef Tips

• •Ask for Ibérico shoulder, collar, or aguja with visible seams of fat. Lean loin is the wrong cut and will tighten before the sauce is ready. Away from Spain, well-marbled ordinary pork shoulder is the honest substitute; its fat tastes less sweet and nutty, but it braises properly.
• •Use pimentón de la Vera, the smoked paprika of Extremadura. Sweet is the base, with a gram of picante if you want a quiet heat. If you can only find good sweet smoked paprika, use the same weight and expect less depth.
• •Use ripe fresh tomatoes only when they smell of tomato before you cut them. In winter, canned whole tomatoes are the sensible Extremaduran-kitchen answer. Drain off excess juice, crush 250g, and cook them until the sofrito is nearly dry.
• •Pork liver gives the majado its proper mineral depth. Chicken liver works if that is what your butcher has, but the sauce will be milder and slightly softer. Don't omit both liver and bread; without them, this is a thin pork braise, not the same caldereta.
• •Serve it with a young red from Ribera del Guadiana or a dry local white. Keep the wine straightforward and pour the same sort of dry white into the pot. Sweet or heavily oaked wine makes the sauce clumsy.

Advance Preparation

• •Make the entire stew one day ahead if you can. Cool it promptly, cover, and refrigerate for up to 3 days. The pork and pimentón settle overnight and the sauce becomes rounder.
• •Reheat gently over low heat, stirring near the base and adding 30 to 60ml water if the sauce has set too thick. Do not boil it hard or the pork will break apart.
• •The finished caldereta can be frozen for up to 2 months. Thaw it overnight in the refrigerator and reheat slowly; stir well so the picada returns to a smooth sauce.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 450g)