Carne en Salsa

Meat slowly braised in wine with vegetables and spices is as much a part of gaditano cuisine as fried fish. Guisos de carne en salsa come in many varieties. Guiso and Estofado are used interchangeably to describe these dishes. However, I understand they are subtly different methods. An “estofado” refers to a way of cooking where all the ingredients are cooked from raw, together with very little in the way of added liquid; the pot is always covered to retain the steam. A “guiso” however, relies on a braising liquid such as wine or stock and is allowed to cook slowly without the pot lid. Sometimes the ingredients may be browned in advance. The method relies on reduction to thicken the sauce.

Our first experience was a Guiso de Matanza offered to us at a restaurant where we normally ate Pescaito Frito (Casa Manolo). It was made with pork, pig’s liver and heart. The sauce was a rich dark brown colour flavoured with cloves and oregano. We were amazed and wiped up every bit of the sauce with bread. From that point we were keen to try other guisos.

The obvious choice was Carne al Toro – an increasingly popular offer in most bars in the province of Càdiz. It is made with beef and slow cooked with wine and vegetables. Rabo de Toro made with oxtail is also cooked in a similar way.

A similar treatment is given to pig’s cheeks served as Carrillada. All these guisos are invariably served with fried potatoes. I bought some pig cheeks from Carniceria Sanchez in El Mercado de Abastos to make this dish. (See featured image)

Game are often given a similar treatment; we have tried wild boar (Jabali) and venison (Venado). It tends to be richer and uses red wine, as do the beef stews. The pork dishes tend to use  white wine.

The Venta La Cabrala at Benalup serves a wonderful Jabali en Salsa.

Guiso de Jabali at La Cabrala, Benalup