As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.
Chilindron is a Spanish stew, and is one of my favorite dishes, so versatile that it stands outside the normal categories of venison, upland birds, etc.
Chilindron (chill-in-DRONE) Â is dominated by roasted red peppers, paprika and onions. Most recipes also call for rosemary, olive oil, garlic, some tomatoes, good stock and wine.
The stew originates in Aragon, a part of central Spain. I first heard about this stew in the late, great Penelope Casas’ Delicioso! The Regional Cooking of Spain, but I’ve since read about a dozen other recipes for this classic in other Spanish cookbooks.
It is rich, woodsy, and bright, a perfect combination of the “red food” many of us crave (spaghetti sauce, chili, etc – think about the colors in your favorite foods and you’ll find many of them are reddish) with the slightly austere, piney flavors that mark European wild game cooking.
I make this stew every few weeks I love it so much; it is one of the few “standards” I will repeat on a regular basis.
As for what meat to use, the Spanish stew typically features lamb or chicken. This hints at the range this stew possesses. I have made chilindron with good results from chicken, pheasant, rabbit, beef, venison and antelope, wild boar and pork. There is no reason you cannot toss in whatever you like.
I suppose you could even make a vegetarian version with mushrooms. When switching from light to dark meat, switch from white to red wine, too. Other than that, I use this basic recipe.
I also have a recipe for a similar Spanish stew – caldereta – that’s thicker and cooks longer, making it well suited for meats with a lot of connective tissue, such as a venison neck roast.
Chilindron, a Spanish Stew
Ingredients
- 3 pounds chicken, pheasant, lamb, venison or rabbit, in serving pieces
- 2 large onions, sliced root to tip
- 10 cloves chopped garlic
- 2 tablespoons sweet paprika
- 1 tablespoon hot paprika
- 1 jar (15 ounces or so), or 5 roasted red sweet peppers, chopped
- 1 cup crushed tomatoes
- 2 cups red or white wine
- Stock if needed (whatever goes with your choice of meat)
- 1/2 cup diced cured meat: Bacon, pancetta, ham, etc.
- 1 tablespoon chopped fresh rosemary
- 4 bay leaves
- 1/2 cup chopped fresh parsley
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- Salt and pepper
- Large handful of dried mushrooms (optional)
Instructions
- If using, put the mushrooms in a container just large enough to hold them and pour hot water over them. Cover and set aside.
- Salt the meat and set aside for 20 minutes at room temperature. Use this time to chop the veggies.
- Pat the meat dry and pour the olive oil in a large Dutch oven or other heavy pot that has a lid. Heat the pot over medium-high heat. Brown the meat on all sides in batches. Do not overcrowd the pot. Set the meat aside in a bowl when browned. Take your time and do this right. Add more oil if needed.
- When the meat is browned, add the onions and stir to bring up some of the browned bits on the bottom of the pan. Sprinkle the onions with a little salt. Cook until they begin to brown, then add the garlic, the cured meat and the mushrooms, if using. Cook until fragrant, then add the meat back to the pot and mix well.
- Pour in the wine and turn the heat up to high. Stir and boil furiously until the wine is half gone. Turn the heat back down to medium and add the tomatoes, the roasted red peppers and all the spices and herbs (except the parsley). Stir well. The level of liquid should be about 2/3 the way up the sides of the meat. If it is low, add the stock. I typically need about 2 cups.
- Cover and cook at a bare simmer — just barely bubbling — until done. How long is that? Depends on the meat. Rarely is any meat done within an hour, but I’d check a store-bought chicken then. I find pheasants and rabbits take about 90 minutes, boar, pork and hares about 2 hours, and venison and beef up to 3 hours or more. Use your judgment.
- Right before serving, test for salt and add some if needed. Add black pepper and the parsley and stir well. Serve with mashed potatoes, rice, polenta or bread. Simple sauteed greens are a good accompaniment. A big red wine is also a must, ideally something Spanish, like a Rioja.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Hank, would this work with skinned Canada goose breast cut into stew meat?
Mike: Probably, but I’ve never tried it. I think it would be better with Canada goose legs, and then strip the meat from the bones when it’s tender.
A new favorite for sure. The more diverse the meats, the better. Also gets better on day 2 or 3
This recipe is amazing
Without a doubt the most amazing venison stew we have ever tasted. Our children request it often, and we are happy to oblige.
Made this last night with chicken, as one of the kids doesn’t like venison, it was way better than I ever expected! The leftovers today was even better, cant wait to make in again, with venison next time. I didn’t have hot paprika so I subbed smoked, I will pick some up for next time.
Made this for my husband’s birthday, with venison. Was wonderful served with saffron rice. Great flavor that was amazing the next day too! Five stars from everyone ages 6 – 76.
Happened upon this recipe totally by accident and decided to try it because we had all of the ingredients on hand (including rosemary and dried ‘shrooms and a big quantity of particularly good paprika) and you said we could use any kind of meat.
No wild game here. Just a 3-plus pound slab of eye of round, the only kind of beef we’re allowed to eat these days because of health reasons. It’s the kind of lean, unmarbled meat that needs plenty of tenderizing, and braising with wine is one good way to do it. (We probably should have omitted the pancetta, but decided to go ahead and use a 2-ounce package anyway. It’s Christmas Eve fer Chrissake.)
I did the meat in three batches and developed quite a thick fond in the process. The onions dissolved the fond and were simply fantastic while cooking.
I had half a bottle of schmancy merlot to use up, exactly two cups’ worth. I had two 12-ounce jars of roasted red peppers and decided to err on the side of excess.
It’s simmering right now and smells just heavenly. A visitor told us he noticed the aroma a fair distance from the house, which is all closed up right now.
The aroma and taste tests while it’s cooking are reminiscent of the authentic Hungarian goulash we used to make, which used fatty cuts of meat and caraway in addition to paprika and no wine. And potatoes, which have become a no-no in our diet along with carbs in general. But the heavy sweet paprika aroma carries the day.
Verdict to come after we eat. Guessing it needs about another hour and a half to finish tenderizing the meat.
###
Wow. Tender meat melts into rich sauce with a touch of the spoon. Mash it up and it would make the most awesome sloppy joes. (We’re not allowed to eat processed white bread anymore, alas.) It almost has the tang of a barbecue. Divine just as a soup. Thank you.
This an amazing dish, watched Hank Shaw make it on MeatEaters and decided to give it a try. Still sitting at the dinner table and taking in all the compliments for making such an flavorful dish. I did add my own twist to the original recipe, added a half dozen petite potatoes and some Tony’s seasoning for more flavor at the end prior to serving. Thank you Chef Shaw for the thorough step by step instructions, will be a part of our regular home made dishes during winter.
This recipe is the bee’s knees. It is wildly popular any time I make it and I will try to optimize my butchering process to ensure enough stew meat for many batches to get through the winter. Only complaint would be that I find the time estimates for this and many other HAGC recipes to be a bit quicker than I ever pull off, even after 4 or 5 times making it.
Outstanding. Rich. Made with steak cubed. Simmered for 3 hours and meat was still a little dry. But the sauce was so incredible tasty. Used smoked and sweet paprika, dried porcinis, perfect flavor.Next time I would make red pepper chunks larger bc they melted with the longer simmer. Served over polenta squares with sauteed green beans on the side.
Fed it to dinner guests who had never had venison. They raved about it and want more venison.
Thank you for such a great recipe.
Fantastic. I used only hot paprika, and it was spicy but not overpowering. I also added in two cups of white beans at the end to make this a “one pot dish.” It worked perfectly. For the meat, we used a boneless leg roast off of a white tail. I braised it for about five hours at 350-degree in a cast iron pot. Awesome recipe.
This recipe was divine! Exceedingly rich in mouth-feel and in the belly. And by chance, I happened to have a wonderful Ty Caton Petite Verdot that paired perfectly with this decadent meal.
Second time I’ve used venison in preparing a meal, and third time for eating venison. Far and away this exceeded expectations.
Looking forward to trying some of your other venison recipes.
Made this for the first time with a venison roast and a venison steak cut up. It was absolutely delicious. I was a little afraid of the amount of paprika at first, I left out the hot paprika, but it was subtle. I also cut back on the onion and garlic, but that’s just my taste preference. Definitely adding this to the favorites list!
I have a groundhog in the freezer. Not sure what to do with it. Would you do Chilindron with it, or do you have other ideas?
Cynthia: This is a good use for a groundhog!
What are your thoughts on making this with squirrel?
Matt: I think it’d be great!
Have made this recipe twice now. Once with elk and most recently with bear. I tend to add more wine (who needs measurements?) and let is simmer for a good while. Each time has been wonderfully received. I like having it over some creamy garlic mashed potatoes.
Wow, just served this made with northern California wild boar. Served over polenta, garnished with minced rosemary sour cream and chopped Spanish olives. Yum
https://photos.app.goo.gl/oUNFQO0uLDXmJkW73
This is a great recipe which has become a staple in our house. I am about to make a large batch using elk and dried chanterelles to serve for a dinner with 30 guests. I serve it over cooked and cooled polenta, which is then sliced and heated in a grill pan to get nice grill marks. The reason for four stars and not five is there is one major flaw in the recipe–in steps 4 and 5. Adding wine(especially red wine) to the meat and boiling it down to remove alcohol and concentrate flavors, is a recipe for dry meat. This is especially true when dealing with wild game. Instead of adding the meat back in step 4, you should add the wine and reduce it before adding the meat back into the mixture. Otherwise this is a wonderful recipe. Thank you.
Fantastic. This is a go-to for me now too. Made it today with pheasant and used all the ingredients indicated in the recipe Used bay and rosemary from my garden. I love Spanish flavours.
Recipe says “2 in large onions”. Is that 2 large onions or some number of 2-inch onins? BTW – I loved the “4 leaves bay”, reminded me of a joke where the punch line was “1 boat, tug”
Ed: Damn recipe system. Yeah, it means 2 large onions. Lemme fix that.