Casquería may not be photogenic enough for the times we live in, but it is a fundamental part of Madrid’s gastronomy. Their appearance (and smell in many cases) means that redfish are only praised by those who have eaten a sandwich in a fryer (never in a verbena) before they even have the use of reason. Getting used to them when you grow up is more complicated, but as C. Tangana foresaw, making the traditional flag may bring them back to the menus of the most modern restaurants, albeit in a different format.
what are they? Fried guts. From what? It has been changing over the centuries, the most common (although they are not very common) are the lamb ones. Like many other dishes, it is born out of misery. The guts that were discarded in the old slaughterhouse were collected and fried by people who had nothing else and eventually became popular, especially in the southern part of the capital.
Although the great survivors of the casquería are corns and calluses there are other dishes that are still common on the menus of Madrid restaurants: oxtail, ear or tongue are just a few examples.
Enriqueta House
The history of this fried fish restaurant is the history of hens in Madrid. The great-great-grandmother of the current owners had a stand at Puerta de Toledo in 1909, back then it was typical for the Mujeres to sell them fried next to the old slaughterhouse in the area. In 1956 they established themselves in the premises they still keep today, on the other side of the Manzanares River, as a tavern and frying place.
In the 60’s the hens lived their peak and frying houses like his multiplied. Now they are survivors of the most typical fried casquería.
Portion of hens: 12,5€
Calle del Gral. Ricardos, 19 (Marqués de Vadillo)
La Tasqueria
La Tasquería has turned casquería into haute cuisine worthy of a Michelin star and a sun from the Repsol Guide. The tripe, pig’s trotters, pig’s feet, pig’s snout and tail served at La Tasqueria are a twist on traditional recipes. In this restaurant they manage to make them attractive both for those whose palate is accustomed to these flavors and for those who discover with them this type of flavor and texture.
Tasting menu from: 55€
Calle del Duque de Sesto, 48 (Goya)
Ricardo House
Casa Ricardo opened its doors in 1935 and its menu and decoration do not seem to have changed since then. Tradition permeates everything and the star dishes are very well defined: callos a la madrileña, oxtail and migas manchegas. Other classics of the casqueria that have remained untouched in its menu are the grilled or sherry lamb sweetbreads and kidneys, pig’s trotters and bull’s criadillas.
Portion of oxtail: 20,8 €
Fernando el Católico Street, 31 (Chamberí)
Casa Kike
Casa Kike is a restaurant in Imperial that meets all the requirements of a reliable neighborhood bar where you can also eat well. The oxtail, almost always advertised on its blackboards, is one of its main attractions and one of the reasons why its large terrace on the Paseo de los Melancólicos is packed every weekend. Kike, the charismatic owner, is probably the other reason for its success.
Average price: 15 per person.
Paseo de los Melancólicos, 43 (Imperial)
Saline
In Salino they wanted to give a twist to the casquería and present the hens in a new format. Chef Javier Aparicio explains it this way in the press release: “We like to ask ourselves why some typical dishes have fallen into ostracism and we try to version them with today’s standards. We already did it with torreznos or cod fritters and this time we wanted to recover the gallinejas, something very typical of Madrid, but which paradoxically is difficult to find”. The crispy, defatted redfish are accompanied by a corn taco with avocado, mango and chipotle.
Taco de gallinejas: 5,5€ per unit.
Calle de Menorca, 4 (Ibiza)