Carne Fiesta Canaria

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •Nonreactive bowl with lid, at least 3 litres
• •Mortar and pestle
• •Fine-mesh sieve
• •Wide heavy frying pan, 28 to 30cm
• •Medium saucepan, about 22cm
• •Instant-read thermometer

Instructions

1. 1

   Cut the pork

   Trim away only the hard exterior fat, leaving the fine marbling that keeps the pork juicy. Cut the meat into even 3cm cubes and place it in a nonreactive bowl. Pésalo, no lo adivines, weigh it rather than guessing, because the measured salt and acid are balanced for this amount of pork.

2. 2

   Make the adobo

   Pound the garlic, fine salt and dried pepper in a mortar until you have a rough paste. Work in the pimentón, oregano, thyme and black pepper, then stir in the wine, vinegar and 30ml olive oil. Add the broken bay leaves. This is the adobo, the seasoned wine-and-vinegar marinade that gives carne fiesta its red colour and sharp, herbal depth.

   Pimentón scorches easily. Mixing it into the cool liquid protects its sweetness now, and draining the pork before frying protects it again later.
3. 3

   Marinate overnight

   Pour the adobo over the pork and turn every piece until coated. Cover and refrigerate for at least 12 hours and no longer than 24 hours, turning it once if you remember. The overnight rest carries the garlic, herbs and vinegar through the meat instead of leaving the seasoning only on its surface.

4. 4

   Drain the pork

   Set a sieve over a bowl and drain the pork for 15 minutes, reserving every drop of adobo. Pick out the bay leaves and keep them with the liquid. Don't rinse or wipe the meat clean, but let the loose marinade run off. Wet pork boils in the pan and turns grey; drained pork browns, and that browning is the method that decides the dish.

5. 5

   Fry in batches

   Heat 40ml of the remaining olive oil in a wide heavy frying pan over medium-high heat. Add one-third of the pork in a single uncrowded layer. Leave it untouched for 2 minutes, then turn and fry for another 4 to 5 minutes, until well browned on several sides. Transfer it to a plate. Repeat twice, adding 30ml oil before each new batch.

   Keep the pan lively but not smoking. Black pimentón tastes bitter, and no amount of wine repairs it. If the garlic flecks darken too quickly, lower the heat slightly.
6. 6

   Reduce the adobo

   Leave about 30ml oil in the pan and discard any excess. Carefully pour in the reserved adobo and bay leaves. Bring it to a full boil for 3 minutes, scraping the browned bits from the base, then return the pork and its resting juices. Lower the heat and simmer uncovered for 8 to 10 minutes, turning twice, until the sauce is glossy and clings to the meat. The centre of the largest piece should reach 75°C. If the sauce remains loose, lift out the pork and boil it for another 2 minutes before returning the meat.

7. 7

   Cook the potatoes

   While the pork rests covered off the heat, put the scrubbed potatoes in a saucepan with 1.5 litres cold water and 150g coarse salt. Bring to a boil and cook uncovered for 20 to 25 minutes, until a thin skewer enters the centre without resistance. If your pot needs more water to cover them, add water mixed with salt at the same ratio of 100g salt per litre.

8. 8

   Wrinkle and serve

   Drain the potatoes completely, return them to the dry pan and set them over low heat for 2 to 3 minutes. Shake the pan often until the skins wrinkle and a fine white salt crust appears. Rewarm the pork gently for 2 minutes and remove the bay leaves. Spoon the carne fiesta and its clinging adobo onto a platter with the papas arrugadas beside it. Serve at once, with bread for the red oil left on the plate.

Chef Tips

• •Pork neck, also sold as collar, has the right fine marbling for this. Well-marbled shoulder is the honest substitute and finishes slightly firmer. Don't use tenderloin; it costs more and dries before the adobo reduces.
• •Use sweet pimentón rather than a heavily smoked one. The pork should taste of garlic, wine, herbs and pepper together, not as though smoke were the only seasoning in the bowl.
• •A pimienta picona has a rounder, fruitier heat than cayenne. If cayenne is what you have, use one small dried pepper and remove its seeds. Adding more won't restore the missing fruitiness; it will only make dinner hotter.
• •The large amount of salt used for papas arrugadas belongs in the cooking water, not on the finished potatoes. Most goes down the sink. Keep the skins intact so the flesh doesn't drink the brine.
• •A young Listán Negro red from the Canaries suits the browned pork and sharp adobo. A dry Canarian white works too, especially if it's the same wine used in the marinade.
• •Refrigerate leftovers within 2 hours and keep them for up to 3 days. Reheat gently in a covered pan with 15ml water so the reduced adobo loosens without becoming oily.

Advance Preparation

• •Marinate the pork 12 to 24 hours ahead. Don't take it beyond a full day, because the vinegar begins to make the surface soft and mealy.
• •The pork can be fried and finished in its adobo several hours before the meal. Cool it promptly, refrigerate it, then reheat gently while the potatoes cook.
• •Cook the papas arrugadas shortly before serving. Their dry, wrinkled salt crust is best on the day they're made.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 340g)