That a popular dinner is declared of Regional Tourist Interest means that it must have some crumb and, also, history. And the Fiesta de la Caldereta de Hoyo de Manzanares, in which about 1,000 kg of stew with bread is distributed for free and has centuries of tradition behind it, meets the requirements to have been awarded this title in 2011.
The Gran Cena de la Caldereta of this town will be held this Thursday, September 5 at 22:30h in the Plaza Mayor of Hoyo de Manzanares and, to get an idea of the work behind it, the cooking begins at 17h in the Plaza del Caño.
As a result, every year some 5,000 servings of free caldereta for neighbors and visitors are usually distributed, accompanied by their bread roll.
The secret recipe of the caldereta
The custody of the recipe falls on the Sanz family, cooks for generations of the Association La Caldereta, to whom we must attribute the merit of having recovered this tradition.
Only they know the exact proportion of ingredients to prepare the stew and the dressing, which “includes a secret ingredient that gives this stew its characteristic flavor“, according to the town council. The (approximate) recipe for this popular stew is as follows:
- 1,500 kilograms of lidia meat cut into small pieces
- 26 strings of garlic
- 50 arrobas of red wine
- Olive oil
- A secret blend of spices known only to members of the Sanz family
- 8,000 rolls of bread
- 8,000 buns
- 29 cauldrons of 50 kilos
- A secret blend of spices known only to the members of the Sanz family
- 1,000 kilos of holm oak firewood
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The origin of the festival
The caldereta is a festival with many years of history: the first evidence of its celebration dates back to 1767. However, it is thought that its origin could date back even to the thirteenth century.
Over time it has evolved into the current celebration. This format “dates back to 1951 and commemorates that the young men of the town used to buy and cook a young bull for their mothers, sisters, girlfriends and/or wives,” reports the Ayuntamiento hoyense.
On the other hand, as a curiosity, the celebration has its own song: a version of Clavelitos in which the lyrics are modified to dedicate it to the caldereta.
Fiestas de Hoyo in honor of the Virgen de la Encina
La Gran Cena de la Caldereta is held as part of the Fiestas de Hoyo de Manzanares, dedicated to Our Lady La Virgen de la Encina: a festivities that start today and will run until Monday, September 9.
The program features multiple and varied activities, among which are festivals, concerts, tournaments and even a pyro-musical show in which more than 120 drones will participate. The complete program is available at this link.
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