Chef Isabel
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Culinary Explorer
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Perdices en Escabeche
Created by
Castilla-La Mancha keeps partridge tender in a quiet bath of olive oil, white wine vinegar, garlic and bay, then lets a night's rest turn sharpness into the clean, deep flavor of escabeche.
Main Dishes
Spanish
Make Ahead
Comfort Food
Special Occasion
25 min
Active Time
1 hr 20 min cook•25 hr 45 min total
Yield4 servings
Perdices en escabeche are Castilian, above all of Castilla-La Mancha: lean partridge gently cooked with olive oil, white wine vinegar, garlic, bay, onion, carrot and pepper, then left beneath that liquor until every bite carries it. This isn't a roast bird with vinegar poured over afterward. The cooking and the keeping are one job.
The method that decides it is the barest tremble, followed by a full night's rest. Let the escabeche boil hard and the lean breast tightens before the legs soften. Cook it covered, turn the birds once, and stop when the thigh joint yields and the meat is safely cooked through. Then cool the partridges under their liquor. By the next day the vinegar has rounded, the garlic has softened, and the oil carries everything through the meat. I make this before I need it because impatience contributes nothing useful here.
If partridge is beyond reach, use eight whole quail and cook them for only 20 to 25 minutes. A Castilian kitchen knows that as codornices en escabeche, quail in escabeche. The meat is milder and the portions smaller, but the preserving method remains true. No hace falta haber pisado España. Use sound birds, clean wine vinegar and a gentle heat. In the Margin beside mine, I wrote only this: the second day, not the first. Siempre sale, si lo sigues.
Perdices en escabeche belong especially to Castilla-La Mancha, where red-legged partridge has long been hunted across the open country of La Mancha and the Montes de Toledo. The vinegar-and-oil liquor allowed a successful hunt to feed the household over several days, with the birds kept beneath the escabeche in an orza, a glazed earthenware storage jar. The word escabeche entered Iberian cooking through Arabic al-sikbaj, a sour meat preparation, while Castile made the method its own with local game, wine vinegar, garlic, bay and olive oil.
The technique, the tradition, and the story behind every dish.
Discover Culinary ExplorerIngredients
whole oven-ready partridges
Quantity
2 (400 to 500g each)
giblets removed
fine sea salt
Quantity
12g
divided
freshly ground black pepper
Quantity
1g
extra virgin olive oil
Quantity
200ml
divided
yellow onions
Quantity
300g
sliced 5mm thick
carrots
Quantity
180g
peeled and sliced 5mm thick
garlic cloves
Quantity
8
unpeeled and lightly crushed
bay leaves
Quantity
3
fresh thyme sprigs
Quantity
5g
whole black peppercorns
Quantity
4g
dry white wine
Quantity
250ml
white wine vinegar
Quantity
180ml
about 6% acidity
water
Quantity
250ml
| Ingredient | Quantity |
|---|---|
| whole oven-ready partridgesgiblets removed | 2 (400 to 500g each) |
| fine sea saltdivided | 12g |
| freshly ground black pepper | 1g |
| extra virgin olive oildivided | 200ml |
| yellow onionssliced 5mm thick | 300g |
| carrotspeeled and sliced 5mm thick | 180g |
| garlic clovesunpeeled and lightly crushed | 8 |
| bay leaves | 3 |
| fresh thyme sprigs | 5g |
| whole black peppercorns | 4g |
| dry white wine | 250ml |
| white wine vinegarabout 6% acidity | 180ml |
| water | 250ml |
Equipment Needed
- •Heavy nonreactive casserole with lid (24 to 26cm)
- •Kitchen tongs
- •Instant-read thermometer
- •Sturdy kitchen shears
- •Snug glass or glazed ceramic storage container (about 2L)
Instructions
- 1
Prepare the partridges
Check the cavities, remove any remaining feathers and pat the birds completely dry. Season them inside and out with 8g of the salt and all the ground pepper. Leave them for 20 minutes while you slice the vegetables. Pésalo, no lo adivines: the remaining 4g of salt belongs in the escabeche.
For wild-shot partridge, feel carefully along the breasts and legs for pellets, then trim away bruised or bloodshot flesh. Farmed birds won't need this inspection. - 2
Brown them lightly
Heat 60ml of the olive oil in a heavy 24 to 26cm casserole over medium heat. Add the partridges and brown them lightly for 8 to 10 minutes, turning until the skin is evenly golden. Don't chase a dark crust. Escabeche wants a clean, pale liquor, not the taste of scorched skin. Lift the birds onto a plate.
- 3
Soften the vegetables
Lower the heat and add the onions, carrots and garlic to the same casserole. Cook for 10 to 12 minutes, stirring now and then, until the onion is translucent and the carrot begins to bend but neither takes much color. Add the bay, thyme and peppercorns and cook for 1 minute, just until the garlic and herbs smell full.
- 4
Build the escabeche
Pour in the white wine and let it bubble gently for 3 minutes to lose its raw edge. Add the remaining 140ml olive oil, the vinegar, water and reserved 4g salt. Bring the liquor only to a quiet simmer and stir once. Taste a cooled spoonful. It should seem sharper than a finished sauce because the bird and the night's rest will soften it.
- 5
Braise at a tremble
Return the partridges to the casserole, breast side down, nestling them among the vegetables. Cover and keep the liquid at the barest tremble for 25 minutes. Turn the birds breast side up, cover again and cook for another 25 minutes. Check the thickest part of the breast and the inner thigh: both must reach 74°C, and a skewer pushed into the thigh joint should meet little resistance. An older wild bird may need another 10 to 20 minutes. Don't raise the heat. Hard boiling dries the breast before patience has softened the legs.
If using eight whole quail instead, brown them in batches and braise for 20 to 25 minutes in total, turning once. Check for 74°C at the inner thigh. - 6
Cool under the liquor
Let the birds settle in the casserole for 20 minutes. Transfer them and all the vegetables to a snug glass or glazed ceramic container, then pour over every drop of escabeche. The birds should sit beneath the liquor; use a clean small plate to hold them down if necessary. Set the container in a cold-water bath until lukewarm, refrigerate uncovered until cold, then cover. Leave it for at least 24 hours, preferably 48.
Get the escabeche into the refrigerator within 2 hours of leaving the heat. Vinegar gives flavor, but this household recipe still requires refrigeration. - 7
Rest and serve
Take the escabeche from the refrigerator 30 minutes before serving. Lift out the partridges and divide each bird into two portions with sturdy kitchen shears, or separate the breasts and legs. Arrange the meat with the softened carrot, onion and garlic, then spoon over enough liquor and green-gold oil to gloss every piece. Serve cool, not numb from the refrigerator, with bread for the escabeche.
Chef Tips
- •Partridge is best bought through the autumn and winter game season. A properly dressed frozen bird is a sound choice elsewhere; thaw it for 24 hours in the refrigerator, then dry it thoroughly before seasoning.
- •Use white wine vinegar with a clean grape flavor, not distilled white vinegar. Sherry vinegar is deeper and darker, but it can overpower a small game bird here. If it's all you have, use 130ml sherry vinegar and raise the water to 300ml.
- •Eight quail are the honest substitute for four main-dish servings. Their meat is milder and cooks in half the time, so they make codornices en escabeche, a proper Castilian dish in its own right, rather than pretending to be partridge.
- •Serve this with plain country bread and, if you want wine, a young dry Airén from La Mancha. The wine's freshness sits well beside the vinegar without turning the meal heavy.
- •Keep the birds beneath their liquor in a covered nonreactive container at 4°C or colder. Eat within 4 days and always use clean utensils. The old orza kept food because it had to; your refrigerator does the safer work now.
Advance Preparation
- •Cook the complete dish at least 24 hours before serving. Forty-eight hours is better: the vinegar rounds, the aromatics settle and the lean meat takes in the escabeche.
- •The vegetables can be sliced earlier the same day and refrigerated. Thaw frozen partridges slowly in the refrigerator for 24 hours, never on the counter.
- •Remove the finished escabeche from the refrigerator about 30 minutes before the meal. Serve it cool or at room temperature, without reheating.
Frequently Asked Questions
Nutrition Information
1 serving (about 410g)
Calories
745 calories
Total Fat
61 g
Saturated Fat
11 g
Trans Fat
0 g
Unsaturated Fat
47 g
Cholesterol
95 mg
Sodium
1270 mg
Total Carbohydrates
15 g
Dietary Fiber
3 g
Sugars
6 g
Protein
34 g
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