Carne Guisada al Estilo Chigre

The chigre is one of the cornerstones of Asturian gastronomy. Or at least of Asturian drinking culture. Which may be the same thing. The longer I live here the more muddled the distinction between the two becomes. That muddle is not helped by “bars” that have excellent home-style food. Nor by “restaurants” that you go to solely to drink. An example of the prior is this recipe – Carne guisada al estilo chigre – Stewed beef, cider-bar style.

I originally came across this recipe in Platos Tipicos de Asturias. That is the seminal regional cookbook compiled by Maria Luisa Garcia in 1971. Since then I have sampled variations on it in a wide variety of locations. I have also cooked it a fair few times as well. There are a couple things to consider when making it. Let’s look at the ingredients one by one.

To Veal or not to Veal

Asturias is wild for veal. Spain in general likes veal a lot more than America, but Asturias cranks it up to a fever pitch. I personally dislike for a variety of reasons. The chief objection I have is that it is mostly used terribly incorrectly. Absolutely never should veal be slow cooked, stewed, or cooked with strongly flavored ingredients of any kind. Veal is a very lean, delicately flavored meat. It requires the gentlest of touches in order to coax out the inherent flavors. That touch is impossible in a stew. Stews are for tough, flavorful, muscular cuts of meat. In my opinion, this stew is immeasurably improved by substituting proper cubed stew beef for the ternera.

Spicy or Not Spicy

A number of recipes for this carne guisada contain a guindilla. Now given that the Spanish word guindilla is the generic for chili pepper, this isn’t much help. Not even the RAE Dictionary sheds any additional light on the subject. It calls it “a small very spicy pepper”. In most parts of Asturias, this usually means a dried cayenne pepper, but it varies.

That said, both ‘small’ and ‘spicy’ are incredibly subjective, particularly in a place where some brands of ketchup get sold next to imported hot sauces. I will, in good American fashion, take this to mean “use whatever pepper you prefer”. Add some red bell pepper diced up to give the dish color. Or toss in a Dragon Ball round peppers floating in its own oil. Trust yourself, an go with the spiciness level you enjoy.

Ingredients

• 800g Stew Beef, cut into chunks
• 1 large White Onion, diced
• 4 cloves Garlic, minced
• 200 ml sidra natural, or other still cider
• 20 ml neutral cooking oil
• sea salt, to taste
• white pepper, to taste
• smoked paprika, to taste

Instructions

1. Place the 800g of stew beef into a mixing bowl, add your salt, pepper, and paprika to taste, toss and set aside.
2. Put 20 ml of cooking oil in your dutch oven and heat over high heat until shimmering.
3. Once the oil is hot, add your beef to the dutch oven and stir until browned on all sides.
4. Reduce heat to medium-low, and add all remaining ingredients. Stir once or twice and cover.
5. Every 15-20 minutes, lift the lid and check on your progress. You want the onion and garlic to soften and disintegrate, not caramelize or burn. Lower the temperature a bit if you see this happening.
6. If the liquid evaporates before the stew is finished, add a bit more.
7. After an hour or so, the beef should be fork tender and the sauce almost gone. Remove from heat and allow to stand for 10-15 minutes before plating.

Notes

• This dish is often served alongside boiled cachelos (Kennebec potatoes grown in neighboring Galicia)
• I prefer it served simply with some slightly warmed crusty bread.