Jerez Barbecue: Iberian, marinade and the soul of Jerez on the grill

The Jerez barbecue is not a barbecue with its own name by whim. It is a gastronomic tradition of the Marco de Jerez where the quality of the acorn-fed Iberian pig merges with a marinade that carries the unmistakable stamp of the land: paprika, garlic, Jerez vinegar and —the ingredient that changes everything— Brandy Fundador. The result is a meat with a depth of flavor, an aroma and a texture that cannot be achieved in any other way.

What is the Jerez barbecue and what makes it different

If you ask someone from Marco de Jerez what makes their barbecue special, they won’t talk to you about the grill or the charcoal. They will talk to you about the marinade. From the night before. From the cold rest and the splash of brandy that gives the meat that unmistakable character.

The conventional barbecue starts with meat seasoned at the moment, with salt and pepper at most. The Jerez barbecue starts the day before: the meat is immersed in a wet marinade where each ingredient has a role. The paprika gives color and smoky depth. The garlic perfumes. The oregano brings herbal freshness. The extra virgin olive oil seals the juices. And the Brandy de Fundador acts as an aromatic catalyst: it softens the muscle fibers and leaves in the meat a toasted, slightly sweet and complex aftertaste that intensifies with the heat of the embers.

To this is added the raw material. Without acorn-fed Iberian, there is no Jerez barbecue. The infiltrated fat of the secreto, the presa or the ribs slowly melts over the embers and turns each bite into something hard to forget.

The role of Brandy Fundador in the marinade

Our Brandy Fundador brings to the marinade something that no other ingredient can give: the complexity of a distillate aged in oak barrels by the criaderas and soleras system. When it comes into contact with the meat during marinating, three things happen:

• The alcohol acts as a flavor vehicle, carrying the aromas of paprika and garlic into the fibers.
• The natural sugars of the brandy caramelize on the grill, creating a golden and slightly sweet crust that contrasts with the juiciness inside.
• The notes of vanilla, nuts and toasted wood typical of Fundador blend with the spices, creating a rounded aromatic profile that has no possible imitation.

The star cuts: secreto, presa and ribs

The Jerez barbecue has its clear protagonists. The Iberian secret —the most marbled cut of the carcass, reserved for years by the butchers themselves— is cooked in slices over a high heat and is crispy on the outside and tender on the inside. The Iberian shoulder cut, with its spectacular fat infiltration, is cooked over medium-high heat and served pink at its point. The rib requires patience: indirect heat for half an hour and a blast of embers at the end to caramelize the marinade until the bone comes off by itself.

As an appetizer while the embers heat up, the Jerez skewer sausage is essential. In a matter of minutes on the grill, on country bread, it whets the appetite and prepares the palate for what’s to come.

Jerez marinade with Brandy Fundador: the recipe

For 1 kg of any Iberian cut, these are the ingredients and the process:

Marinade ingredients (for 1 kg of meat)

• 4 large cloves of garlic, crushed

• 2 tablespoons of sweet paprika from La Vera

• 1 tablespoon of dried oregano

• 1 teaspoon of ground cumin + black pepper to taste

• 1 teaspoon of coarse salt

• 5 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil

• 2 tablespoons of Jerez Reserva Vinegar

• 3 tablespoons of Brandy Fundador

Crush the garlic with the salt in a mortar. Add the spices and mix. Incorporate the olive oil little by little and then the Jerez vinegar. Add the Fundador brandy at the end, to preserve its aromas. Cover the meat completely with the marinade and let it rest in the cold for a minimum of 12 hours —24 for the ribs—. Before grilling, drain slightly without cleaning: the adhered marinade is part of the result. Save the leftover for brushing during cooking.

Experience it at Casa Fundador: Barbecue Flavors, Saturday, July 4

If you want to experience the Jerez barbecue in its best version, without lighting a grill, Casa Fundador has an appointment for you. On Saturday, July 4 in the evening, the oldest winery in the Marco de Jerez celebrates “Barbecue Flavors”, a gastronomic experience where you can enjoy meats with character in the Jerez style: marinated Iberian, embers with history and the unique atmosphere of Casa Fundador.