In Andalucía many restaurants will offer, as part of their menu, a dish called “carne en salsa”. Literally translated this is “meat in sauce”. In Andalucía this will be, pretty much without exception, pork. The dish will be served as a tapa in tiny terracotta dishes with a small piece of crusty bread, or you can order a media ración (a half portion) or a ración (a full portion). Full and half portions would most likely be served with chips (fries) or perhaps potatoes or rice and main dishes are usually shared with several different dishes ordered and everyone digging in.
This is a loose interpretation of the dish, it wouldn’t usually have potatoes or chorizo included when it’s cooked, so leave them out if you want to be more authentic. If you have an earthenware dish to cook it in, go for it. The gentle cooking in these pots does something good special to the flavour. I used my slow cooker (then warmed it through in my Cazuela to serve), but this can be cooked on the stovetop or in the oven if you prefer.
Ingredients (to serve 4-6 as a main course)
- 1kg pork shoulder diced into bite sized cubes
- 2 fresh chorizo sausages, sliced
- About 500g potatoes, peeled and cubed
- 1 onion, peeled and finely diced
- 3 cloves of garlic, peeled and sliced
- 2 peppers (any colour) diced
- 400g tinned tomatoes
- A pinch of saffron threads or half a teaspoon of turmeric
- 1 tablespoon of sweet pimentón
- ½ teaspoon of hot pimentón (optional)
- About 10 sprigs of thyme and a bay leaf
- Salt and pepper
- 2 large tablespoons of tomato purée
- A glass of red or white wine (about 125ml)
- A good slug of dry sherry (optional)
- 125ml approx of chicken stock (extra if you cook in a conventional oven or stovetop)
- 2 heaped teaspoons of cornflour (optional)
- Flat leaf parsley, finely chopped, to garnish
Put the pork, chorizo, potato, onion, garlic, pepper, tomatoes, saffron (or turmeric), pimentón, thyme and bay leaf into your cooking pot or slow cooker. Season with the salt and pepper and mix.
Mix the tomato purée with the wine, stock and sherry and pour over the pork and vegetables. In the slow cooker cook on high for about 4 hours until the meat is very tender. On the stovetop bring to a gentle simmer and cook, half covered for about 2 hours or until the meat is tender for about 2 hours. Check frequently, you may need to add a little extra stock. In the oven, cook at a medium low heat for about 3 hours, covered, until the meat is tender. Check every 45 minutes and add extra liquid if needed.
When you’re almost ready to serve, if the liquid is too runny for your liking, add two heaped teaspoons of cornflour to a little cold water and stir in. Return the dish to the heat for about 20 minutes (slow cooker or oven) and 5 minutes (stove top) until thickened. Taste and adjust seasoning if necessary, garnish and serve with plenty of lovely crusty bread.
Chica Andaluza 
That’s perfect comfort food!
For this cold weather!
Definitely – hot smoked pimentón required 😉
ooh, I might do this one for Sunday lunch! 🙂
It’s a great one to prepare ahead then head off out for a walk!
I would love a huge bowl of that!
Yes we remember it well. Will be having it again in Spain in a couple of weeks. Love to read your blog.
Ooh not long now until your trip!
😀😀
This sounds delicious and perfect for winter.
It is indeed!
I absolutely love dishes like this – as does my Pete – oh how I am missing him. He will be home in about 3 weeks. Can’t wait!
Have a beautiful day Tanya.
🙂 Mandy xoxo
Oh no, that’s a long wait until he’s back 😐
Yip. We have to take the good with the bad. Will be treasured time when he is home though. xo
I’m not worried about authenticity when there is an addition of potatoes or chorizo – might get Daddy to give this a go in the slow cooker – much love, Lynn x x
Hope you enjoy it as much as we did!
That is a ribsticker..( I don’t think I’ve ever used that phrase before) but it is..:)
Perfectly describes it!
Bookmarking this one, T! It looks divine! xxx
Hope you enjoy it!
Looks gorgeous- one for the slow cooker for me! Xx
So glad we both love our slow cookers so much!
I wish I had read this before I went shopping! It will be added to next weeks list though – it looks fabulous AND cooks in the slow cooker. Do you know if leftovers freeze?
They do freeze well but the potato is pretty soft second time round so you may prefer to leave it out and cook some separately to serve! Hope you enjoy it if you make it 😀
I will report back with The Managements opinion 😀
Feeling a bit nervous now!
I don’t think I care about being authentic, your version sounds delicious just the way it is.
Made this for lunch today and it was fabulous. Definitely to be added to the winter recipe rotation 😃
So very pleased you enjoyed it!
Just the remaining smell lingering in the house made the (very small) effort worthwhile. Thank you for sharing the recipe.
Oh, I am sure to prepare this, Tanya, in the weeks ahead. Winter has finally arrived and this is just the dish I enjoy. First it heats up my kitchen and then it warms me up at the table. Authenticity matters little when I dish tastes as good as this one surely does. Thanks for sharing!
Hello Chica.
I think I’m going to ask for a ‘slow-cooker’ for Christmas, as many of your guests seem tomention it for this recipe! Slow cooker for a slow cook (that’s me!)
Regards. Marie.
I really love my slow cooker. . It’s so useful!
Omg i really wanna eat this one xD
Wow I’m going to make this one, thankyou for sharing this recipe 🙂
Hope you enjoy it!
Saving the recipe, thank you very much!