What used to be a holiday or special occasion dish is now just an order-for-delivery away.
Callos ala Madrileña may be a Spanish dish with humble origins, but growing up in Metro Manila it was something I would usually find on the dining table in the centre of a big celebration. The stew of beef or pork tripe is cooked low and slow for hours, allowing the accompanying trotters or oxtail to soften and thicken the sauce with collagen. The traditional callos must have tripe and I stand firm by this dictum, as I am sure many fans of the dish do. Chickpeas, too, and a good quality, flavourful chorizo or morcilla (Spanish blood sausage). Paprika to season, and then cooks are free to apply their own twist to this classic.
What should one look for in good callos? Tender, clean-tasting tripe. Sauce flavoured richly with paprika and made gelatinous by slow-cooked, tendon-rich meat. Everything else is a matter of preference. Perhaps we have the pandemic to thank since these professional chefs and talented home cooks suddenly have enough time on their hands to prepare this dish that is too tedious to make for most. When in the past I would have to wait for Christmas to come around before I can have my favourite callos at noche buena, I can now just order from one of these experts.
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1. Chef Lauro’s Cuisine
When he’s not busy as sous chef of one of the most popular fine dining destinations in Makati, Lauro Orosa is serving up hearty European style stews that he has conveniently packed in a single serving, ready-to-heat sous vide bags. His callos is something he replicated from memory based on languid lunches with his Spanish-Kapampangan maternal grandmother. Refined and true to tradition, the only personal indulgence is the chef’s use of chorizo Pamplona that adds a salty, meaty bite to this nostalgic dish.