Write: Monica Uriel. Journalist
Considered the restaurant that offers the best meat in the world, El Capricho is a sanctuary of the ox Built in a wine cellar. From now on, before eating, it offers visits to the oxen farms that allow you to understand the secrets of its quality. The person in charge of all this circular project in the province of León, José Gordón, was a pioneer in Spain, in the 90s, of the appropriate techniques for maturing beef. An animal that was previously discarded or only used to make jerky. On two farms close to the restaurant with a total area of 140 hectares, he has 400 oxen. For a month now they can be covered on a guided tour in what constitutes a unique experience. Here, in this huge space, these animals live, in a beautiful and quiet place, without roads or noise, without antennas or power lines and with lots and lots of space. They are accompanied by holm oaks, a "delicacy" for them, explains José as he accompanies us.
Well-being is cumulative, one of the maxims of El Capricho
The ox "transmits peace, nobility and serenity", says José Gordón. While he acknowledges having a "special connection" with these animals, whom he visits every day. He works with 15 native, ancient Iberian breeds, some in danger of extinction, that have not been genetically modified. They come here, to spend a long stay, from Cantabria, Asturias, León, Galicia and northern Portugal.
One of his maxims is that "well-being is cumulative", as well as that the way what you eat is treated, that's how it will be. Here they are fattened slowly, not quickly. They feed on dry grass full of aromatics (thyme, lavender), which is more assimilated in the body. These animals do not take antibiotics and as an example of cleanliness there is a person who takes care of their hooves. The stations marked in this area are a plus. Harsh winters cause cells to pull fat in and infiltrate fat into muscle. Here they say that one of the most important ingredients is "time", which is what makes the meat nourish itself with subcutaneous fat.
Ox meat over six years old
By law, an ox must be slaughtered when it is over four years old, and in El Capricho the average is six years old. Animals have been sacrificed up to 17 years old. An animal can consume up to 2.000 euros a year in feed. It is "a project thought from love, not from profitability and performance," says José, who likes to "look for excellence, quality." From the farm to the slaughterhouse there are 15 kilometers and there are stables where they can sleep the night before slaughter so that "they lose the stress they may have had due to the transfer." Just before slaughter they are given a warm shower. José would like the animal “to die as dignified as possible. And it's more sad than me, it's not going to hurt anyone, ”he points out.
Beef meat, fine and tasty
The beef meat is described as “fine, delicate and tasty, long on the palate. It's not powerful, it's elegant. More power has that of the cow”. The cecinas have a natural drying room, in what used to be a cellar dug underground, where they are for between two and three years. They are animals from more than six years old to 12. "A real madness, 20 years for a product," says José, who points out that all this time can be seen in the "complexity" of the product.
Everything here is, like its name, a whim, given to him by his grandfather after years of work digging up the mountain by hand to build three wine cellars. 60 years ago when people went to buy wine they were offered tortillas. José, who saw the tradition of grills in the Basque Country, began to grill meat when he returned. Some Asturians who came here for the summer suggested that he buy an ox to eat his meat. And so he started this project in which "I have only allowed myself to be carried away by my passion and my intuition".
El Capricho, sanctuary of the ox, where the best meat in the world is eaten
Even this temple of meat, in Jiménez de Jamuz (León), built in one of the more than 200 caves in the town, is visited by chefs from all over the world. The restaurant has been recognized by international media and by the documentary "Steak (R) Evolution" as the best meat in the world. In the kitchen “one of the keys is the cutting and tempering of the meats. We temper the fat and accompany it with the meat. The meat comes out several hours before the chamber and is tempered in the upper part of the grill.
Meat is the great protagonist of the dishes on its two tasting menus -"Art in meat" is its motto-. Among them, the long-cured gran reserva jerky and the hip and caviar tartare, as well as the beef chop, triumph. There is no lack of a 100% artisanal black pudding and a grilled marrow. The winery has 1.700 wine references from all over the world, one of the largest in Spain. Very close to the restaurant, José recently opened a small rural hotel, Hospedaje Doña Elvira, in case you don't want to take the car after dinner.
