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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) 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.
I would love to try this! Two questions: do you use meat with the bone in or is the recipe for boneless? Also, can you use dried peppers (I have some spicy dried that I haven’t used yet).
My husband is itching for me to try this.
Nancy
Nancy: Doesn’t matter. If it’s bone-in, remove bones before you serve. And yes, you can use dried, but this is not supposed to be spicy. Mild peppers are what you want.
This was fantastic. The ingredient list seemed scant at first view but it was amazing. I used dried hen of the woods and dried blank trumpets as my mushrooms. I will be making this again!
An excellent recipe for an otherwise tough roast from an(other) ancient cow elk. Tender and tasty after a 4 hour simmer.
Great dish
That was absolutely insane. We only had 1.5 pound of deer and I didn’t realize how little it was til already browned so we browned 1.5 pounds of ground beef quickly. Even with this more bland meat, it was insane. When they say liquid to 2/3 height of solids, I’d follow it. You want it to be a stew, not a soup. You really don’t need much liquid after the wine and tomatos. I put in probably a 1/2 cup or more of broth. After you scrape off the burnt stuff off the bottom with the wine, you’re on low heat so you just don’t need a ton of liquid. Even so, over rice this was insane. Even our 1 and 3 year olds devoured it. Not spicey at all even with the hot paprika. I’d even try for 2 Tbsp of the hot paprika next time.
This stew is flat out amazing. One of the best I have ever made. Exceptional!
Great recipe, my entire family loves it.
I have made this several times with chicken and chukar. It never disappoints. When oyster season gets here and the nights get cooler, it is my go to!
Just made this with a doe I harvested over the winter. Wow! Excellent stew.
Hank is spot on, this is really the stew of all stews. I’ve made it probably one half dozen times now. The best was back in 2012 with a Wyoming whitetail doe and some guanciale from a local pig farmer.
Pure heaven. Keep on keepin’ on hank!
My first attempt was good but I wasn’t blown away. I used what I had around and I think my roasted peppers were well past prime. As I ate it over the week I reheated it and added wine the meat softened and the flavors seem to come out. I will definitely give this another try – maybe this weekend.
Just made this stew and served it over smashed potatoes with a side of sweet peas and bread and butter. Fantastic. It makes a large batch so I had leftovers for three days which I served over wild rice. Wow!! Excellent.
You need to make this dish…trust me.
Made this today with partridge and enjoyed every bite, Even though I am from Spanish descent had never tried chilindron most definitely a keeper thanks!
Fantastic stew.
I butcher deer with this specific recipe in mind, keeping separately sealed 3 pound portions of the less desirable stuff with a bit of silver skin that would normally go in the grinder. All those nasty bits dissolve into wonderful collagen in this. I would say that the dried mushrooms are decidedly NOT optional.
We didn’t do mushroom. Definitely doing it next time.
Hi is this dish freezer friendly? Probably going to try it with beef and batch cook. Thanks.
Ryan: Yes, this is very freezer friendly. Pressure canning, too.
I love antelope and was disappointed with with last years harvest in that it was tough and a little gamey despite that it was cleaned, skinned and on ice within an hour. So, I looked through my Hank Shaw collection of game cook books and found this one in Buck, Buck, Moose. I tinkered a little by using smoked paprika, added a couple of big carrots chunked up and used slivered dried tomatoes instead of canned. the result was excellent. I think this would work well in my slow cooker too.
I made this with venison shanks and it was totally delicious!!
Made this several times with moose and snowshoe hare, served with crusty bread and it never disappoints! It is my go to winter stew.