How to prepare the canarian paw roast

 

The pata asada canaria, also known as jamón canario, is one of the most popular typical dishes of the Canary Islands.

There are few restaurants and bars in the archipelago where you cannot enjoy this exquisite recipe in a sandwich or a tapa. It is also very common to find it in the many parties and celebrations held on the islands.

A Canarian roast leg, a typical dish of their gastronomy

The traditional Canarian "pata asada

The most traditional way of presenting the roast leg is sliced and accompanied by boiled vegetables, with fresh watercress bouquets around it.

The slices have a pink colour with some fat on the edges, to which some salt is usually added.

The sauce from the canary roast leg is extracted, and is augmented with a few spoonfuls of broth and some glasses of wine, being served in a separate sauce dish.

The dish can also be decorated with the rinds (the part of the roast leg that is most exposed and has been left with a darker colour and crunchy texture).

Other very common accompaniments of the roast leg are the salad, the roast potatoes in the same sauce as the leg and the wrinkled potatoes with mojo.

It can be eaten hot, cold and even during the days following the roast.

Typical Canarian dish, roast leg

How to prepare roast leg

Anyone who has visited the Canary Islands will know, or will have tasted, this popular dish, present in almost all of the archipelago's restaurants.

The Canary Islands' pata asada has many similarities with Andalusian mechámeat, but it has a taste of aromatic herbs and spices that make it unmistakable.

The recipe for Canarian pata asada requires a preparation time of between 50 and 60 minutes for each kilo of pork used.

In the following we use a 1200 gram lean piece of ham, so it will be enough to have it in the oven for about an hour and a quarter to make it perfect and very juicy.

Roast leg meat, sliced

Ingredients

The ingredients for the preparation of this recipe for Canarian paw roast for 6 people are the following:

  • -1 kilo and 200 grams of lean ham.
  • -Fresh rosemary in the amount you like.
  • -Fatty salt.
  • -Ground black pepper.
  • -Black peppercorns.
  • -Fine herbs.
  • -Organic.
  • -Garlic.
  • -Paprika.
  • -Tomillo.
  • -White wine.
  • -Water.
  • -Extra virgin olive oil.

A tray with succulent Canarian roast leg

Steps to prepare pata asada canaria

The steps you must follow to prepare a juicy canarian paw roast are the following:

  1. 1. Preheat the oven to 200 °C , with heatat the bottom and at the top, and without a fan.
  2. 2. While the oven is heating up, prepare a mash in a mortar with chopped and peeled garlic, oregano, thyme, paprika and salt. Crush it until you get a paste. Then add the oil and continue mixing.
  3. 3. Set aside the mash and get ready to prepare the leg. Make cuts all over the lean meat and cover it with the previously prepared meat, filling in the holes made with the knife.
  4. 4. Placethe leg on a tray or baking dish , making sure it is deep, and mix water and white wine in a small cup until it reaches the edge.
  5. 5. Pour the contents of the cup into the dish or tray and maintain the oven temperature of 200 °C during the first hour of cooking. From then on, lower it to 180 °C for the duration of cooking.
  6. 6. After one hour in the oven, add a new cup of water and white wine so that the dish always has liquid and the leg absorbs the juices.
  7. 7. During that first hour it is convenient to put aluminum foil on top to prevent it from burning.
  8. 8. When the leg is ready, turn off the oven and let it rest for a quarter of an hour , with the door closed.
  9. 9. Once you have taken it out of the oven, bathe it with the juice left in the dish after cooking, and you can serve it.

Canarian roast leg, well sliced

In the Canary Islands it is common to serve the roast leg filleted with some tabasco, accompanying it with some bread.

However, the ways of serving this popular dish are very varied, either as a main dish, accompanied by cooked rice or wrinkled potatoes, in a sandwich or arepas, as a cold meat, as an aperitif, cold, hot... It is one of the most versatile dishes of the Canarian gastronomy.

As for the pairing, what less than serving the roast leg with some of the magnificent red wines of the land that, although less famous than the whites, have nothing to envy in terms of quality. Red wines from the Gran Canaria, Lanzarote or Tacoronte-Acentejo designations of origin will be perfect for the occasion.

Detail of the dish of Canarian roast leg, at Marca Canaria

The Canary Island roast leg is a dish that cannot be missing from your menu when you visit the archipelago. You can enjoy this recipe at any time of the day or night, and it will allow you to accompany it with the best delicacies of the land.

 

Source photos: canariasenred.com, margalletita yummi, tenerifesurprise.es, cocinaparaunoendosmetroscuadrados.com and Gobierno de Canarias.

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