The cachopo prepared at the Los Arcos restaurant, in Cangas de Onís (Asturias), has just become the best in the country. He has done so after winning the contest organized by the Regulatory Council of the I.G.P. Asturian Veal and which was held this Monday at Salón Gourmets in Madrid.
Carlos Peruyera, head chef at Los Arcos, faced twelve other finalists, the vast majority from restaurants in Asturias, where this preparation originates. With the name “Cachopo style nature”, the winning recipe is prepared with beef tenderloin, cream cheese from Los Beyos, Iberian ham and smoked cheese from Pría.
Subsequently, it is breaded with panko, a Japanese breadcrumb that is crunchier than traditional breadcrumbs. Once the cachopo is fried, Peruyera places a veil of Joselito cured bacon on top, so that it falls apart and adds shine and flavor to the preparation. In the restaurant, where it is served with fries and a wild eel cream, it costs 25 euros.
Sautéed beef with garlic and baked potatoes, chorizos in cider, Asturian fabada or goat from the Picos stewed with patatinos stuffed with wild mushrooms are other dishes prepared in this leading house in eastern Asturias.
A professional jury has been in charge of choosing the winner of the National Contest “In search of the best cachopo made with Asturian Veal PGI”, a decision for which the presentation, breading, originality, filling, point of the meat and the flavor of the cachopo. The winner has been rewarded with 1,200 euros, while the second and third place winners have received €500 and €300, respectively.
But, regardless of the financial amount of the prize, this contest gives great notoriety to the winning establishment, which usually sees its sales increase substantially.
The Fonte Villoria Cider House, in Lugones (Asturias) has achieved second place, while the also Asturian Casa La Nicia Restaurant, in Ules, third.
The rest of the finalists were Casa Repinaldo (Candás), Bodegón Asturleonés (León), El Rinconín del Perlito (Avilés), La Puerta de Cimadevilla Sidrería (Oviedo), Restaurante el Mono de que lee (Oviedo), Restaurante El Regueirín ( Cudillero), El Trompeta Bar Restaurant (Cádiz), Lucomo Restaurant (Nueva de Llanes), Río Astur Sidrería (Gijón), Taberna Asturiana Zapico (Toledo) and Sidreria Fonte Villoria (Lugones).
