Fried cakes with capon fat

 Fried cakes are an Argentine classic , and also in some neighbouring countries.  Especially those gray days when  the rain starts to fall  and the  cold  lurks . In addition, they are very noble because they go  with everything: with  mate , with  coffee , with  tea  or  cooked mate   ... and they also go with lunch and dinner. Why not?

Some prefer to pour some sugar and others taste them as well as they come out of the pan. It depends on where one eats them, they can be round with a hole in the middle or they can have a slightly irregular rectangular shape.

What does not vary, in general, are the ingredients, although the use of fat to fry them and to use in the mixture is what can differentiate in taste. Here we bring you a very Patagonian recipe, with a classic of the region, which you will not find anywhere:  fried cakes with  capon fat .

First, let's do a little memory, and remember that the capon is the neutered male lamb which, first, is worked for wool. It usually produces between 8 and 9 kilos, two more than the sheep. In the village of Dolavon, in  Chubut , there is a feast that honors the capon, the Keipon Fest , for an ironic way of calling the meat of the popular court.

 In the fields of  Patagonia    , the saint  of  Heras   Fabio Riquelme,  not used vaccine fat, but used capon fat  . When you eat it, you “grease” it, that is, you take out the fat... and use it to make fried cakes is a classic.

Riquelme also recounts that, according to his father's stories, when his grandfather organized “campereadas” by throwing between 3 thousand or 4 thousand capons into the fridges, when they rested to eat and fish, they hipped the animal and used the same leather to knead the fried cakes on it.

 Fried cakes with capon fat 

For this recipe we need two kilos of flour, 50 grams of yeast, a liter of warm water, two tablespoons of coarse salt and melted capon fat: four tablespoons for the mixture of  fried cakes and the amount necessary to cook them. A plus? There are those who are encouraged to cook - and obviously eat - fried cakes with  greaves .

Once we have all the ingredients, we place the flour in a bowl and make a hole in the center. Subsequently, the yeast is added along with the warm water, the salt dissolved in it and 4 tablespoons of melted capon fat.

That is kneaded for about 15 minutes until a uniform consistency is obtained and then left to leaven for about half an hour. If you want to make the recipe with greaves, first you need to grind them and add them to the mixture before starting to knead it.

After thirty minutes, we proceed to stretch the dough on a smooth surface and cut. Finally, we place the cuts in a container with the capon fat - it can also be lamb - previously melted and remove when they become golden.

Now, all ready to try the fried cakes with capon fat. With or without greaves, for breakfast mate, for afternoon coffee or to accompany one of the main meals. To share in those days when the harsh   Patagonian winter   lurks with its cold and  unpious winds   , or on a temperate and sunny afternoon that is also present in that region. Try them any way you like, whenever you like.

It's a before and after! Let's enjoy it!