TXORIZOA SAGARDOTAN (CIDER-BRAISED CHORIZO)

SOURCE: MARTI BUCKLEY. BASQUE COUNTRY: A CULINARY JOURNEY THROUGH A FOOD LOVER’S PARADISE.

Still apple cider has been pivotal to Basque culture and culinary heritage for more than four centuries. Basque seafarers, who drank three quarts of the barrel-stocked elixir daily, were sought-after for their imperviousness to scurvy or “the spoil of the mariners” during long-distance voyages. From small-scale orchard refineries, vintage cider houses in the Basque countryside would modernize into sagardotegia by injecting restaurant hospitality to buffer the pleasures of alcohol drinking. Regardless of one’s appetite, the meal begins with a pintxo of chorizo skewers tenderized by the acidity of the cider and served with a loaf of crusty bread on the side, an earnest incentive for the guests to stay and anticipate any other titillating delicacies the sagardotegi has to offer.

Ingredients

1 link Spanish or Basque chorizo, weighing about 9 ounces/250 grams

2 cups/480 mL cider, preferably Basque cider

1 loaf of crusty baguette, sliced into 1-inch/2.5-cm pieces

Specific Equipment

Sharp knife

Medium-sized saucepan

Large spoon

Serves 4

Instructions

1. Cut off the twine from the end of the chorizo with a sharp knife. Slice the link crosswise into 1-inch/2.5-cm pieces.

2. Combine the chorizo and the cider in a medium-sized saucepan and bring to a boil over high heat. Boil the cider for 5 minutes. Lower the heat to medium and let the cider simmer. Simmer the chorizo for 20 to 25 minutes or until the cider has reduced to a third of its volume and the chorizo is tender at the prick of a knife.

3. Spoon the chorizo and and the liquid into a serving platter. Serve with baguette slices and toothpicks.