The cachopo revolution has arrived in Madrid
When someone is asked about what is a chub, the idea is more or less clear, two fillets of meat, usually veal, which are battered and fried. In addition, they hide Serrano ham and cheese inside. The result? A spectacular bite, crunchy and delicious. So far all clear.
The modern history of the cachopo dates back to the 70s. in Oviedo, the Pelayo restaurant and the pioneer Fernando Martín added to their menu this dish that he prepared his grandmother Hemerina. It was quite a sensation. Not only because of its flavor, but also because of its size, which allowed it to be a dish shared by groups of friends or family. Since then, this dish is no longer just Asturian heritage, but also It has crossed borders to reach a good part of the country.
Stuffed with cecina, chistorra or as if it were a pizza
Although there are many who experiment using other types of meat and even fish and shellfish, most opt for the classic recipe. Until now, because it is born The Cachopu Factory, the gastronomic evolution of a classic dish and it is done by Raza Nostra.
Since it was born, Raza Nostra has positioned itself as a traditional butcher shop, but always betting on innovation and high-quality meat, also promoting the consumption of native and Spanish breeds. But, How do they go from cuts of meat from different animals, preparations and hamburgers, to the cachopo?
We spoke with Carlos Rodriguez, CEO of the company, who tells us how it all started. “We are always thinking about how we can innovate in meat products. It already happened with the hamburgers, with more than 30 varieties of Hamburger Nostra. The Cachopu Factory project emerged in the midst of a pandemic”, explains to Traveler.es and continues “my family is Asturian and as we have a long tradition of eating it, I thought the cachopo was a perfect product to make it evolve”.
So they began to think about what this delicious innovation was going to be. "On one side, we had to think about the meat, which our butchery manager took care of, Manuel Medina. On the other, in everything else, the fillings and the batter”, points.
A spectacular bite, crunchy and delicious
They had the perfect person for this second leg of the project, the chef Iñaki Bretal, with a Michelin star at the O Eirado da Leña restaurant in Pontevedra. “He's a long time friend and we love how he cooks. He was in charge of all the technical part of the product at the gastronomic level”, emphasizes Carlos Rodriguez.
Now they just needed a place to make and sell them. “We also had the site because there was a space within the Chamartín market itself, specifically in the Raza Nostra store, where we made pop-ups about the different races. It was in disuse so we rehabilitated it and turned it into a kind of workshop for people to see how we make the products.”
This is how The Cachopu Factory was born. With just three weeks of life, it already triumphs among all those who try it, because In addition to being able to take it home, you can taste it on the spot at the Barra de Juan, also the market, from Monday to Friday between 2:00 p.m. and 4:30 p.m.
But, what makes them so special and revolutionary? As Jack the Ripper said, let's go by parts. We have already said that the cachopo is so big that most of the time it can hardly be cooked with the utensils we have at home. That was the real challenge, getting it down to a nicer size. “The restaurant cachopo is usually a huge product and we wanted to adapt it to homes, we did not want to put the customer in a hurry when it came to frying it”, they tell us
The gastronomic evolution of a classic dish at the hands of Raza Nostra
Said and done. The largest is about 30-31 cm, weighs 500 grams and is designed for two people. The best? It fits perfectly in a large frying pan. they follow him the cachopines, as they are called in Asturias, in an individual format; and for those undecided or wanting more, they have launched the mini cachopus, which are snack cachopos to play a little and be able to try different flavors.
Their experience with meat led them to choose the best pieces and cuts, which would allow obtaining tender fillets. If these meats already were, they managed to take them to the next level.
Iñaki Bretal maintains that “For the meat marinade I wanted something natural, without anything chemical. We wanted to achieve that, starting from pieces that are already tender, give them more flavor but without masking the fillings”. So they opted for the easiest and most traditional, soak it in milk, just like the Portuguese do with cod.
"The cachopo seemed like a perfect product to make it evolve"
If for pizza the secret is in the dough, for the perfect cachopo, sometimes it is in the batter. And at The Cachopu Factory they embroider this part. “No ordinary breadcrumbs served us”, Iñaki contributes, to which Carlos adds "The batter is what we have worked on the most, it is not easy to find one that is crunchy and does not absorb much oil."
The result? "A mixture of various breads, various cereals and textures, some thinner and others thicker so that they are crispy." Being such a versatile product, they have also created a different batter, perfect to prepare it in the oven in about 15 minutes, in addition to batters for celiacs and lactose-free options upon request.
What is truly surprising in this case is the stuffing. Have you ever thought that you would try a stuffed cachopo as if it were a pizza? Or one with petazetas? Maybe one of pulled pork? There is something for everyone. The Cachopu Factory now has 16 flavors, some of them less surprising and promise that evolution will be constant. What is common to all is that it is balanced recipes, for which they use the best raw material and follow the abc of the cachopo: good meat, crispy batter and stuffing.
Since traditional flavors, such as Asturian, for which they use veal, Iberian shoulder and two types of cheese, a melting emmental and Vidiago, even one that they have baptized as Lo Petas, with beef, emmental, black pudding, pine nuts, apple, La Foya blue cheese and nothing more and nothing less than Peta Zetas. There is more. Foie and grated truffle, boletus, a sea and a mountain, that incorporates shrimp and guanciale, another with cured meat and blue cheese...
The Cachopu Factory now has 16 flavors
“I was inspired by very different flavors. Some as if it were the stuffing of a croquette, another as a pizza, the Brooklyn cachopo, to highlight Hamburger Nostra and even shot home with the Galician, pork shoulder with turnip greens, spicy chorizo, Brezain cheese and sweet Vera paprika ”, finishes chef Iñaki Bretal. “We also have some made with Duroc pork and we do not rule out doing it with some different type of meat”, Carlos Rodriguez finishes off.
Her ambition of him? Give very good service in the market, that everyone knows your product and reach all of Spain between 24/48 hours. Long live the cachopu.