Chef Isabel
Cachopo Asturiano
Cachopo is Asturian comfort food with no mystery: two thin veal fillets, jamon, melting cheese, a firm seal, and enough oil to fry it golden without leaking.
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Sukalki
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Sukalki is Vizcaya's beef and potato stew, built on zancarrón, red wine cooked down hard, choricero pepper, and potatoes cracked in late so the broth thickens without turning heavy.
Main Dishes
Spanish
Comfort Food
One Pot
Special Occasion
30 min
Active Time
3 hr 15 min cook•3 hr 45 min total
Yield6 servings
Sukalki is Basque, and in Vizcaya it belongs to the serious stews: beef shin, potatoes, onion cooked down dark, choricero pepper, and wine reduced until it stops tasting sharp. This is cocina de cuchara, spoon food, but not a lazy pot. What makes it sukalki and not just any beef stew is the zancarrón, the gelatin-rich shin, and the potatoes added late, cracked instead of neatly cut so they give starch to the sauce.
The method that decides it is the wine and the onion. Cook the vegetables slowly until they turn sweet, then add the wine and reduce it by half before the meat settles in for its long braise. If you rush that part, the sauce tastes raw and thin, and no amount of simmering later quite fixes it. Once the beef is tender, the potatoes go in for the last half hour. They should hold their shape at the edges and soften enough to thicken the gravy.
If you can't find zancarrón where you are, use beef shin, shank, or well-marbled chuck cut large. Shin gives more body; chuck gives less gelatin and a looser sauce, so uncover the pot near the end if you need to tighten it. Choricero pepper pulp is worth finding, but ñora pulp or a spoon of sweet pimentón with roasted red pepper will get you close enough for a home kitchen far from Euskadi. Siempre sale, si lo sigues.
Sukalki belongs especially to Vizcaya, where beef, potatoes, onion, and choricero pepper became a festive stew for cuadrillas, families, and gastronomic societies cooking together. It is closely tied to Basque cooking competitions at local fiestas, where small differences in wine, tomato, pepper pulp, and the cut of beef are defended with feeling. The name comes from the Basque world of the kitchen and the cooked pot, and the dish sits beside marmitako as another hearty stew shaped by work, weather, and a good appetite.
The technique, the tradition, and the story behind every dish.
Discover Culinary ExplorerIngredients
beef shin or shank
Quantity
1.2kg
cut into 5cm pieces
waxy potatoes
Quantity
800g
peeled and cracked into large chunks
large onions
Quantity
2
finely chopped
carrots
Quantity
2
diced
green pepper
Quantity
1
finely chopped
garlic
Quantity
4 cloves
minced
choricero pepper pulp
Quantity
3 tablespoons
ripe tomato
Quantity
200g
grated
dry red wine
Quantity
500ml
beef stock or water
Quantity
600ml
hot
extra virgin olive oil
Quantity
60ml
bay leaves
Quantity
2
sweet pimentón (optional)
Quantity
1 teaspoon
fine salt
Quantity
12g, plus more to taste
black pepper
Quantity
to taste
| Ingredient | Quantity |
|---|---|
| beef shin or shankcut into 5cm pieces | 1.2kg |
| waxy potatoespeeled and cracked into large chunks | 800g |
| large onionsfinely chopped | 2 |
| carrotsdiced | 2 |
| green pepperfinely chopped | 1 |
| garlicminced | 4 cloves |
| choricero pepper pulp | 3 tablespoons |
| ripe tomatograted | 200g |
| dry red wine | 500ml |
| beef stock or waterhot | 600ml |
| extra virgin olive oil | 60ml |
| bay leaves | 2 |
| sweet pimentón (optional) | 1 teaspoon |
| fine salt | 12g, plus more to taste |
| black pepper | to taste |
Equipment Needed
- •Wide heavy pot or Dutch oven, 28cm
- •Wooden spoon
- •Sharp knife for cracking potatoes
Instructions
- 1
Season and brown
Season the beef with the salt and a little black pepper. Heat the olive oil in a wide heavy pot and brown the meat in batches until it has a deep brown crust on two or three sides. Do not crowd the pot, or the beef steams in its own juices and gives you a pale sauce. Lift the browned beef to a plate.
- 2
Cook the vegetables
Lower the heat and add the onions, carrots, and green pepper to the same oil. Cook slowly for 20 to 25 minutes, scraping the browned bits from the bottom, until the onion is dark gold and soft. Add the garlic and cook 1 minute. This slow base is the sweetness of the stew, so give it the time. Pésalo, no lo adivines, and do not rush the pot either.
If the bottom darkens too quickly, add one spoonful of water and keep stirring. Brown is flavour; black is bitterness. - 3
Reduce the wine
Stir in the grated tomato and cook until it thickens and the oil starts to show again, about 8 minutes. Add the choricero pepper pulp and the pimentón, if using, and stir for 30 seconds. Pour in the red wine, bring it to a strong simmer, and reduce it by half, about 10 to 15 minutes. The wine must cook down now, before the long braise, or the sauce keeps a raw edge.
- 4
Braise the beef
Return the beef and any juices to the pot. Add the bay leaves and enough hot stock or water to come just level with the meat, not to drown it. Bring to a gentle simmer, cover partly, and cook for 2 hours to 2 hours 30 minutes, turning the pieces now and then, until a fork slides into the beef with little resistance. Keep the bubble low and steady.
- 5
Crack the potatoes
While the beef cooks, crack the potatoes: cut halfway into each piece with a knife, then twist so the potato breaks with a rough edge. Add the potatoes when the beef is tender, pressing them into the sauce. Cook uncovered 25 to 35 minutes, until the potatoes are soft at the centre and their rough edges have thickened the gravy.
- 6
Rest and serve
Taste for salt and remove the bay leaves. Let the sukalki rest off the heat for 10 minutes so the sauce settles around the beef and potatoes. Serve in deep bowls with bread for the sauce. Tal como se hace allí, the stew should be glossy, dark red-brown, and thick enough to coat the spoon.
Chef Tips
- •Use beef shin or shank if you can. Zancarrón has collagen that melts into the sauce and gives sukalki its body. Chuck works, but the sauce will be looser and less sticky on the lips.
- •Choricero pepper pulp gives the Basque taste here: sweet, earthy, red, not hot. If you cannot find it, use ñora pulp. At a pinch, blend roasted red pepper with a teaspoon of sweet pimentón, and know it will be softer and less deep.
- •Break the potatoes instead of slicing them cleanly. Those rough edges release starch into the broth, which thickens the stew the old way, without flour.
Advance Preparation
- •Sukalki is excellent made a day ahead. Cool it fully, refrigerate it, and reheat gently with a splash of water if the potatoes have tightened the sauce too much.
- •You can brown the beef and cook the vegetable base several hours ahead, then continue with the wine and braise when you are ready.
Frequently Asked Questions
Nutrition Information
1 serving (about 550g)
Calories
600 calories
Total Fat
29 g
Saturated Fat
9 g
Trans Fat
1 g
Unsaturated Fat
19 g
Cholesterol
120 mg
Sodium
1300 mg
Total Carbohydrates
37 g
Dietary Fiber
5 g
Sugars
7 g
Protein
46 g
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