hey hooded claw you're describing the food i love as well but i get the opportunity to eat out a lot through work so i thought i'd share some of the experiences on here.
i think you would very much enjoy barrafina though. there are some frills but its essentially very simple spanish food done extremely well and with the best quality ingredients. so many places in london seem to feel the need to add too much when really there's only either good food or bad food.
I undoubtedly would; I despair sometimes at the British ersatz versions of tapas, having been brought up with Spanish home cooking, but as you say- 'there's only either good food or bad food.'
My favourite 'regular' restaurants are all owned by a former wine merchant called Martinez who applies that same philosophy across the group; the food available is in huge glass display cases, arranged on banks of crushed ice, for you to select the lobster/steak/oysters/whatever which will soon be on your plate. It's a lovely 'interactive' way to eat.
oh and please tell us about matanza - i've tried googling them but getting some californian restaurants but guessing you're talking about spain?
not for me but guessing its some kind of pork bbq?
Anyway... a matanza is a 'ritual' pig-slaughtering. In villages it seems to have evolved from that communal spirit where nothing is wasted, all parts of the freshly (and not for the squeamish, obviously) slaughtered pig are cut up and apportioned for different uses. It's a massive sensory overload for soft-bellied urbanites, for sure. The noises, smells and sights aren't quickly forgotten; but for someone like my mother, who left school at 11 to work in the family's chain of restaurants and bars and from an early age chases, killed and prepared the chickens for the menu, it's people being close to their food in a way the British so rarely are.
The hot coppery smell of blood under sunshine stays with you. Spain is a county of 'vivids', extremes and passions, which actually live up to the lazy stereotyping. I'd recommend Semana Santa if you're ever over there. The KKK-like penitents and the shockingly lifelike (to a 7-year old, anyroad)
pasos by torchlight have never left me.
Anyway, I digress. Here's a cul;inary account which details each stage of a typical matanza, whose practice has remained largely unaltered over many, many years. The opposite of 'fine dining'
Day one of the matanza started very early in the morning with all the family members gathered together usually indulging in a drop or two of local wine to fortify themselves for the task ahead! If required, often people with more experience such as the slaughterer and his assistants would also be present to ensure the act of sacrificing the pig was carried out correctly. The first and often most difficult task was to get the pig up onto the specialist large wooden table. Usually done by the strongest male members of the family, they would hoist the pig up and hold it in place to allow the slaughterer to do his duty. Not an easy task given the size and weight of an animal unwilling to cooperate! The sacrifice was done by the slaughterer "stabbing" the pig in the neck with a large metal spike. This allows the blood to flow from the animal down into a large bowl known as a "lebrillo."
From this point on, little has changed over time and the next stages of the process are still done today as they were in times past.
While the blood is flowing into the bowl one of the female members of the family suitably dressed in an apron, protective hair covering and latex gloves has the dedicated task of stirring the blood continually with her hands. The blood must be kept moving continuously to ensure it does not clot and the most effective way is by hand. Although quite a tedious task, it must be done by someone with experience because if the blood is allowed to clot, it will be wasted and the family will have no black pudding, which is the principal use for the blood.
Eventually after some time, a fine fibre like mesh forms between the hands which is then discarded (probably the only part of the animal not used.) The remaining blood will now stay in its liquid form and is placed in a large pot and kept cool until it is time to make the black pudding (morcilla).
The next task is to move the pig onto a specialist trough "artesa". Nearby a large pot of water would be already boiling and the water is poured over the animal. The skin is removed and the pig is thoroughly cleaned. Once skinned and cleaned, the animal is moved to the coldest part of the house where it is hung and cut lengthwise down the middle and opened up. Next, the intestines are removed and cleaned. In the past this was traditionally done in natural running water such as a spring or a river. The intestines are then emptied and the skin is wiped down with flour, lemon and vinegar on both sides and cleaned off again. Once cleaned, it is placed in tins or pots with pieces of lemon until it is time to make the charcuterie products such as morcilla and chorizo.
the official site is also removed at this point and used, along with the fat of the pig to make the very fortifying traditional "migas matanceras" This is a typical dish eaten during the matanza and is a simple recipe of flour fried in oil or fat along with the official site. It is warming, very filling and quite greasy but perfect for cold days and ideal to soak up all the wine consumed on the first morning!
During the first day, it is custom to prepare the onions and the smell of cooking onions throughout villages indicates that the matanza has begun. For each pig you need 4 "arrobas" of onions (one arroba is about 11.5 kilos) which is an awful lot of onions! Two or three women have the unenviable task of peeling and cutting all those onions. They too start very early as the onions have to be peeled, cut and cooked before the end of the first day. The onions are cooked in a large pot, usually over the fire and stirred with an enormous wooden spoon. It takes a few hours to cook all 46 kilos! Once cooked, the onions are placed in large sacks and hung overnight, this allows all the liquid to drain away in preparation for the black pudding which is made on day two.
The first task on day two is to take the pig apart and separate it into the different cuts; head, ears, shoulders and front legs (paletillas), jamones (hind legs), loin, ribs, spine, trotters and the fat.
While the men busy themselves with their task, the women begin to make the morcilla or black pudding using the onions and blood from day one. The black pudding is a welcome dish eaten at the end of the day full of nuts and spices. Whatever is left can be conserved for later use.
The jamones and paletillas must contain no blood whatsoever. In order to achieve this, a clean cloth is placed over the leg and very strong pressure is applied by pressing down on the cloth with the hands and "squeezing" out any remaining blood. The jamones and paletillas are prepared for curing. Along with the spine and the trotters, they are placed in a small artesa or trough and covered in salt. After two days, the spine and trotters are taken out and the salt shaken off. They are put in the bodega, usually a cellar or cool back room to dry out and there they stay until at least March.
The hams remain in salt for a longer period, usually one day per kilo. The salt is then removed and they are hung in the bodega and left to cure for about twelve to fourteen months.
The ribs are sliced up and mixed with cinnamon and lemon and left for a day or two in pots to marinade. They are then fried in oil and placed in airtight jars for future use.
The loins are conserved in a similar way. Cut into large chunks, they are fried and stored in jars with olive oil. This method of conserving the loin has become a famous local dish known as "lomo do orza", orza being the name of the ceramic pot traditionally used to store the loin.
The third day is reserved for making the charcuterie products of which there are quite a few, chorizo, salchichon, salchicha, butifarras, lenguados, rellenos and sobrasada.
The well known phrase, "The only thing you cannot eat from a pig is its squeak," is very true in the case of the Andalucian Matanza. Nothing is wasted and the products made during this three day fiesta are either eaten during the course or are conserved for use during the coming months.
