Chef Isabel
Androlla Gallega con Cachelos y Grelos
Androlla is Galician winter food from the eastern mountains: smoked pork rib and skin, cured with pimentón, boiled slowly until tender, then served with cachelos and greens.
Culinary Explorer
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Chosco de Tineo Asturiano
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Chosco de Tineo is western Asturias in one sausage: pork shoulder and tongue seasoned with pimentón and garlic, oak-smoked, then simmered whole and sliced warm.
Appetizers & Snacks
Spanish
Comfort Food
Special Occasion
Dinner Party
5 min
Active Time
1 hr 45 min cook•2 hr 10 min total
Yield6 servings as an appetizer
Chosco de Tineo is Asturian, from the western council of Tineo, and it isn't just any smoked sausage. It is pork shoulder and tongue, seasoned with pimentón, garlic, and salt, stuffed into a natural casing, smoked over hardwood, then cooked whole before slicing. The tongue is what gives it its firm, particular bite. The smoke is what marks it.
The method that decides the dish is the simmer. Don't boil it hard. Put the chosco in cold water, bring it up gently, and hold it below a fierce boil until the casing tightens and the meat inside turns tender. Rush it and the casing can split, spilling the fat and pimentón into the pot. Keep it steady, then rest it before slicing so the juices stay where they belong.
If you can buy real Chosco de Tineo, especially IGP, do that. Sourcing wins here. If you're far from Asturias, use the closest honest thing: a good smoked Spanish pork sausage made with shoulder, or a piece of smoked lacón with cooked pork tongue served alongside. It won't have the same cut face or snap, and I won't pretend it does, but the pimentón, garlic, pork, and smoke will point you in the right direction. Siempre sale, si lo sigues.
Chosco de Tineo belongs to the western Asturian mountains, especially the council of Tineo, where the household matanza preserved the pig with salt, smoke, and time. Its traditional mixture of pork shoulder and tongue, seasoned with pimentón and garlic and stuffed into a natural casing, made a rich embutido for feast days and winter tables. The protected name Chosco de Tineo keeps it tied to that comarca and to the smoking that gives the sausage its character.
The technique, the tradition, and the story behind every dish.
Discover Culinary ExplorerIngredients
whole Chosco de Tineo
Quantity
1, about 700g to 900g
cold water
Quantity
2 litres, or enough to cover by 5cm
bay leaf
Quantity
1
waxy potatoes
Quantity
600g
peeled and cut into large chunks
extra virgin olive oil
Quantity
1 tablespoon
for serving
coarse salt
Quantity
to taste
| Ingredient | Quantity |
|---|---|
| whole Chosco de Tineo | 1, about 700g to 900g |
| cold water | 2 litres, or enough to cover by 5cm |
| bay leaf | 1 |
| waxy potatoespeeled and cut into large chunks | 600g |
| extra virgin olive oilfor serving | 1 tablespoon |
| coarse salt | to taste |
Equipment Needed
- •Heavy pot large enough to hold the sausage flat
- •Tongs or two spoons for lifting
- •Sharp slicing knife
Instructions
- 1
Rinse the casing
Rinse the chosco under cool water and wipe away any surface soot or loose bloom. Do not pierce the casing. That casing is holding the fat, pimentón, and meat juices together, and once you make a hole they leave the sausage for the pot.
- 2
Start cold
Put the chosco in a heavy pot and cover it with cold water by about 5cm. Add the bay leaf. Set the pot over medium heat and bring it up slowly, with only small bubbles beginning at the edge. Starting cold lets the heat move through the sausage evenly instead of shocking the casing.
- 3
Simmer gently
Lower the heat and cook at a gentle tremble for 1 hour 30 minutes to 1 hour 45 minutes, depending on the size. The water should move, not roll. If it starts to boil hard, lower the heat at once. This is the whole trick: gentle cooking keeps the casing whole and the sliced meat juicy.
- 4
Cook potatoes
During the last 25 minutes, add the potato chunks to the same pot if there is room, or cook them separately in salted water. They should be tender but not collapsing. Potatoes are plain on purpose here; they catch the smoky pimentón fat from the sausage.
- 5
Rest before slicing
Lift the chosco out carefully and let it rest on a board for 10 to 15 minutes. Slice it into thick rounds, about 1cm, with a sharp knife. Serve warm with the potatoes, a small thread of olive oil over the potatoes, and coarse salt if they need it.
Chef Tips
- •Buy Chosco de Tineo IGP if you can find it. The protected version keeps the proper mixture of pork shoulder and tongue, the natural casing, and the Asturian smoking that make this dish itself.
- •Do not treat this like a fresh sausage for frying. It is cooked whole in water, then sliced. A frying pan gives you scorched casing and tough meat before the centre is properly warmed.
- •For a cook far from Spain, the nearest honest plate is smoked Spanish pork sausage with a little cooked pork tongue alongside, or smoked lacón with boiled potatoes. What changes is the texture: you lose the tongue-studded slice and the tight casing, but you keep the pork, smoke, garlic, and pimentón.
Advance Preparation
- •The chosco can be simmered a few hours ahead and kept whole. Rewarm it gently in hot water before slicing.
- •Leftover slices keep covered in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. Warm them gently in a covered pan with a spoonful of water, or serve at room temperature with bread.
Frequently Asked Questions
Nutrition Information
1 serving (about 235g)
Calories
540 calories
Total Fat
36 g
Saturated Fat
12 g
Trans Fat
0 g
Unsaturated Fat
24 g
Cholesterol
105 mg
Sodium
1500 mg
Total Carbohydrates
19 g
Dietary Fiber
2 g
Sugars
1 g
Protein
35 g
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