Hoping to master paella for outdoor parties this summer? Want to learn how to carve jamón serrano in time for picnic season? Join us on Wednesday, May 6, for “How to Prepare a Spanish Feast,” a panel event at the Brooklyn Brewery. Experts from Socarrat and Despaña will explain techniques for both and answer questions about Spanish wine, cooking Spanish dishes and where to buy the specialty ingredients you’ll need to execute the perfect torrija. A mere $5 buys you entry and samples, and if you’re a subscriber, you get in for free.
Socarrat, named for the caramelized crust of rice at the bottom of the pan in a well-made paella, serves up several variations on the dish at their three Manhattan locations. They’ll be demonstrating their house paella, which includes chicken, beef, shrimp, white fish, cuttlefish, mussels, cockles and fava beans. The word paella actually refers to the pan used to prepare the dish and the ingredients inside vary by region. “We believe that as a whole, our menu reflects each of [Spain’s seventeen] regions… We strive to let our ingredients shine through and only have fifteen spices in our entire kitchen,” representative Ashton Mcleod says. Bonus: Paella is naturally gluten-free.
Representatives from Despaña, the specialty food store in SoHo, plan to demonstrate the fine art of carving jamón serrano. Sourced from small-scale Spanish farmers, the hind legs are cured for eighteen months before being sipped to the United States. “The way we Spaniards like to enjoy it most is carved a mano (sliced by hand), which gives us the purest and most complex variety of flavors and textures in one tapas-sized plating,” co-director Angelica Intriago tells us. “In order to slice this style of jamón, one needs to appreciate, learn and take the time out to practice mastering this artful technique.” They’ll be talking you through the entire process and demystifying the knives and knife skills needed for each cut.
Don’t miss this opportunity to drink beer, taste ham and get inspired for your next Iberian Peninsula-inspired feast.
