Perdiz a la Toledana

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •Heavy lidded casserole or Dutch oven, about 28cm
• •Kitchen twine
• •Fine tweezers for pin feathers
• •Instant-read thermometer
• •Food mill or fine-mesh sieve

Instructions

1. 1

   Prepare the partridges

   Inspect each bird carefully. Pull out any pin feathers with tweezers and, if the partridges are wild, feel along the flesh for shot. Wipe the cavities clean rather than rinsing the birds, then pat every surface thoroughly dry. Tie the legs together with kitchen twine so the birds keep their shape. Season them inside and out with 10g of the salt and leave them for 20 minutes.

   With wild birds, check the cavities, breasts and thighs under a strong light. Lead or steel shot can hide close to the bone, and nobody wants to discover it with a tooth.
2. 2

   Brown them deeply

   Set a snug 28cm heavy casserole over medium-high heat and add the olive oil. Pat the birds dry once more. Brown them in two batches so the pot stays hot, turning until the breasts, backs and thighs are a deep, even gold, about 8 to 10 minutes per batch. Lift them to a plate. This browning gives the pale braising liquid its dark, savory backbone.

3. 3

   Sweeten the onions

   Lower the heat and add the sliced onions with 2g of the remaining salt. Scrape up the browned bits and cook the onions gently for 25 to 30 minutes, stirring now and then, until soft, reduced and dark gold. Add the crushed garlic and cook for another 3 minutes. Don't hurry the onion. Pale onion gives a wet, sharp sauce; properly softened onion gives it body and sweetness without flour.

4. 4

   Build the braise

   Add the bay leaves, peppercorns and thyme. Pour in the white wine and vinegar, scraping the base of the pot clean, then let the liquid bubble briskly for 3 minutes so its raw edge softens. Return the partridges breast-side down, together with any juices from the plate. Pour in the 200ml water. In a snug casserole, the liquid should reach roughly one-third to halfway up the birds.

   The fit of the pot matters. If the casserole is too wide, the liquid evaporates before the legs soften; if it is too small, the birds boil. They should sit in one close layer without being wedged together.
5. 5

   Braise at a tremble

   Bring the liquid just to a simmer, cover tightly and lower the heat until only an occasional bubble breaks the surface. Cook for 60 minutes, then turn the birds breast-side up. Continue until a thin skewer enters the thickest part of a thigh without resistance and the leg moves freely at its joint. Allow 75 to 100 minutes in total for young farmed birds, or 1 hour 45 minutes to 2 hours 30 minutes for mature wild partridge. The thickest part of the thigh must reach at least 74°C without the thermometer touching bone.

   Tenderness decides when they are done, not the color of the meat. Partridge remains darker than chicken even when fully cooked. If the legs still resist, cover the pot and give them another 20 minutes at the same low heat.
6. 6

   Finish the sauce

   Lift the tender partridges to a warm platter and cover loosely. Discard the bay and thyme. Pass the onions, garlic and cooking liquid through a food mill, or press them firmly through a fine sieve, returning the smooth sauce to the casserole. Simmer uncovered for 5 to 10 minutes, skimming excess fat, until the sauce is glossy and coats the back of a spoon while still pouring easily. Taste and add the final 2g salt only if the sauce needs it.

7. 7

   Rest and serve

   Return the partridges to the sauce and let them rest off the heat for 10 minutes. Remove the twine and serve one whole bird per person, with the sauce spooned generously over the breast and around the plate. Put good bread beside it. The sauce is not decoration; it is half the dish.

Chef Tips

• •Red-legged partridge is the bird of the dish. Look for whole birds weighing 350 to 450g, fresh during the autumn and winter season or properly frozen. Farmed partridge is milder and tender sooner; wild partridge gives a darker sauce and may demand the full braising time.
• •Chukar is the closest substitute for a cook far from Spain because its size, leanness and flavor are nearer to red-legged partridge than ordinary chicken. Use four birds of the same weight. If farmed, begin checking at 75 minutes and expect a slightly gentler game flavor.
• •Use white wine vinegar at roughly 6% acidity and measure the 75ml. Pésalo, no lo adivines, weigh it, don't guess. Balsamic vinegar makes the sauce sweet and muddy, while cleaning vinegar can be dangerously strong and has no place in a cooking pot.
• •Cook with a dry, plain white wine, an Airén from La Mancha is well suited. Avoid a sweet or heavily oaked bottle because reduction magnifies both sugar and wood. At the table, a restrained Garnacha or Tempranillo from Méntrida has enough fruit for the game without fighting the vinegar.
• •The braise should make occasional quiet bubbles, never churn. If the liquid falls below one-quarter of the birds before they are tender, add 50ml hot water, cover again and keep the flame low.
• •Refrigerate leftovers in their sauce within two hours and keep them for up to three days at 4°C or colder. Reheat covered and gently until the thickest part of each bird reaches 74°C; boiling the sauce will dry the breasts.

Advance Preparation

• •The birds can be cleaned, trussed and salted up to 8 hours ahead. Keep them uncovered on a tray in the refrigerator, then pat them dry before browning.
• •The complete braise is better made one day ahead. Cool the birds in their sauce, refrigerate within two hours and lift away any firm surface fat the next day.
• •To reheat, place the birds and sauce in the covered casserole and warm over the lowest heat for 20 to 30 minutes, turning once, until the center reaches 74°C. Add 30 to 50ml water if the sauce has thickened too far overnight.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 360g)