Chef Isabel
Abanico Ibérico a la Plancha
Extremadura's dehesa gives us this fan-shaped, marbled rib cut: salt it at the last moment, lay it on a fierce plancha, and count in seconds so the centre stays juicy.
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Prueba de Cerdo Extremeña
Created by
Extremadura's matanza tasting dish: small pieces of pork rested overnight in garlic, oregano and Pimentón de la Vera, then fried until browned, juicy and slick with red oil.
Main Dishes
Spanish
Comfort Food
Budget Friendly
Weeknight
20 min
Active Time
25 min cook•12 hr 45 min total
Yield4 servings
Prueba de cerdo is Extremadura's matanza tasting dish, especially in Cáceres: small pieces of fresh pork steeped in the garlic, oregano and Pimentón de la Vera adobo used for chorizo, then fried. Prueba means test. A piece went into the pan while the seasoned meat could still be corrected. The pork is cooked fresh and left in juicy pieces, not cured as sausage. That distinction matters.
The overnight adobo decides the dish. I crush the garlic with measured salt, stir in the paprika, oregano and white wine, then leave the pork covered and cold for 12 hours. That rest distributes the seasoning properly instead of leaving raw garlic here and a mouthful of salt there. Fry one piece first and taste it cooked. Never taste a raw pork marinade. The old purpose of the dish is still the soundest instruction in the recipe.
In Extremadura you'd ask for magro de cerdo, lean pork carrying enough fat to stay juicy. Far from there, boneless pork collar or shoulder is right; loin works, but it dries sooner and needs a shorter cooking time. If you can't find Pimentón de la Vera, use a good sweet smoked paprika and understand that its smoke may be sharper and less rounded. Fry the meat in batches so it browns instead of boiling in its own liquid. My Margin says, "one bite before the full pan." Siempre sale, si lo sigues.
Prueba de cerdo belongs to the household matanza of Extremadura, particularly the province of Cáceres, where families slaughtered and preserved a pig during the cold season. Before the chorizo mixture was packed into casings, a small portion was fried so the salt, garlic, oregano and paprika could be judged and corrected, which gave the dish its name: la prueba, the test. Its red seasoning points to La Vera in northern Cáceres, where peppers are traditionally dried slowly over oak fires because the damp autumn air does not suit drying them in the open sun.
The technique, the tradition, and the story behind every dish.
Discover Culinary ExplorerIngredients
boneless pork collar or pork shoulder
Quantity
800g
trimmed of tough sinew and cut across the grain into 2cm pieces
garlic
Quantity
20g (about 5 medium cloves)
peeled
fine sea salt
Quantity
12g
sweet Pimentón de la Vera
Quantity
14g
hot Pimentón de la Vera
Quantity
2g
dried oregano
Quantity
2g
dry white wine
Quantity
75ml
extra virgin olive oil
Quantity
45ml
divided between the adobo and frying
| Ingredient | Quantity |
|---|---|
| boneless pork collar or pork shouldertrimmed of tough sinew and cut across the grain into 2cm pieces | 800g |
| garlicpeeled | 20g (about 5 medium cloves) |
| fine sea salt | 12g |
| sweet Pimentón de la Vera | 14g |
| hot Pimentón de la Vera | 2g |
| dried oregano | 2g |
| dry white wine | 75ml |
| extra virgin olive oildivided between the adobo and frying | 45ml |
Equipment Needed
- •Kitchen scale
- •Mortar and pestle or fine grater
- •Nonreactive bowl with cover
- •Heavy frying pan, 28 to 30cm
- •Instant-read thermometer
Instructions
- 1
Cut the pork
Trim away tough silver skin, but leave the soft seams of fat that run through the pork. Cut the meat across the grain into even 2cm pieces. Pésalo, no lo adivines: keeping the meat and salt in the stated proportion gives you a properly seasoned adobo without relying on a raw taste.
- 2
Make the adobo
Pound the garlic and salt together in a mortar until you have a smooth paste. Stir in both pimentones and the oregano, then loosen the mixture with the white wine and 15ml of the olive oil. Mix it cold. Pimentón scorched over direct heat turns bitter before the pork ever reaches the pan.
No mortar is necessary if you don't have one. Grate the garlic finely, then press it against a board with the salt using the flat side of a knife. - 3
Marinate overnight
Put the pork in a nonreactive bowl and pour over the adobo. Turn every piece until no pale patches remain. Cover and refrigerate for 12 hours, turning once if convenient. Don't shorten this to an hour: the overnight rest is what makes the seasoning even and gives the dish its proper deep red colour.
- 4
Fry the prueba
Take the pork from the refrigerator 20 minutes before cooking. Heat a wide, heavy frying pan over medium-high heat for 2 minutes, then add 10ml of the remaining oil. Lift out two pieces of pork, letting excess marinade fall back into the bowl, and fry for about 2 minutes on the first side and 1 to 2 minutes after turning. Cut into one and taste it only when fully cooked. It should be savory, smoky and plainly garlicky. This first cooked bite is the prueba.
- 5
Brown in batches
Fry the remaining pork in three uncrowded batches, adding the final 20ml oil between them as needed. Let each batch sit untouched for about 2 minutes before turning, then cook for another 2 to 3 minutes. You want browned edges, a juicy centre and brick-red oil. If the coating turns dark brown, lower the heat at once; that is the paprika burning, not useful browning.
A lively sizzle is right. If liquid floods the pan and the sound goes quiet, there is too much meat in it. Remove half and let the pan recover. - 6
Finish the pan juices
Return all the browned pork and its resting juices to the pan. Scrape in any adobo left in the bowl, lower the heat to medium and let it bubble for 2 full minutes, turning the meat until the raw wine smell disappears and the red oil clings in a thin gloss. The thickest pieces should reach 68 to 70°C. Rest off the heat for 3 minutes, then serve with bread for the pimentón-stained juices.
Chef Tips
- •Pimentón de la Vera is the ingredient that gives this dish its Cáceres surname. Use the sweet one for the body of the adobo and a smaller amount of picante for warmth. If you only have sweet smoked paprika, use 16g of it; the dish will be mild and the smoke may taste less rounded.
- •Choose pork collar or shoulder with fine streaks of fat. Very lean loin is an honest substitute, but cut it into slightly larger pieces and shorten each batch by about 1 minute or it will dry before it browns.
- •Use a 28 to 30cm frying pan and leave space around the meat. Crowding traps the pork's water, and boiled red pork is not the dish we're making.
- •Serve it with country bread or plain fried potatoes. Nothing green needs scattering over it. The red oil, browned pork and bread are enough.
- •A young red from Ribera del Guadiana suits the garlic and paprika without weighing the dish down. For a simpler table, serve the same dry white wine used in the adobo.
- •Refrigerate leftovers within 2 hours and keep them for up to 3 days. Reheat gently in a covered pan with 15ml water, just until hot; a second hard frying makes the pork tough.
Advance Preparation
- •Marinate the pork for 12 hours and up to 24 hours in the refrigerator. Past 24 hours, the garlic becomes harsh and the surface of the meat starts to cure.
- •The garlic paste and measured dry seasonings can be prepared a day ahead, but add the wine and pork together so the full marinating time remains clear.
- •For a weeknight meal, put the pork in its adobo after dinner the night before. The next evening, only the 25-minute frying remains.
Frequently Asked Questions
Nutrition Information
1 serving (about 175g)
Calories
495 calories
Total Fat
37 g
Saturated Fat
11 g
Trans Fat
0 g
Unsaturated Fat
24 g
Cholesterol
130 mg
Sodium
1310 mg
Total Carbohydrates
5 g
Dietary Fiber
2 g
Sugars
1 g
Protein
35 g
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