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The dish
What castrato is
Mutton with a bold flavour, much loved in L’Aquila.
Arrosticini are made from castrato, it is true. But eating a castrato chop is something else: more rustic, more flavourful. For the people of L’Aquila (just them, not all of Abruzzo) it is a real delicacy, although those not used to its strong taste may find it a little too intense.
Nothing beats the smell of castrato cooking over embers. When we go home at the weekend, a good grill-up is never missing: it is an inexpensive dinner, full of flavour and very easy to make.
What you need
Ingredients
Serves 4.
- 1.2–1.5 kg castrato chops
- Coarse salt
- Rustic bread for bruschetta
- Garlic and extra virgin olive oil
Step by step
Method
- Take the meat out of the fridge at least half an hour before, so it reaches the grill at room temperature.
- Prepare a hot bed of wood or charcoal embers with no flames.
- Lay the chops on the hot grill and cook them for 5–7 minutes per side, turning them only once.
- Season with coarse salt towards the end of cooking.
- Meanwhile toast the bread on the grill, rub it with garlic and drizzle with oil: bruschetta is the must-have side.
From our home kitchen
Tips
- Castrato loves simple cooking: no marinades, just embers and salt.
- If the taste seems too strong, choose chops from younger animals and trim off the excess fat.
- Castrato also makes an excellent sauce for gnocchi and «pecora alla cottora», slow-cooked without tomato, with potatoes.
- The right wine is a Montepulciano d’Abruzzo.
Beware of imitations: castrato is sold by butchers outside the region too, but the good stuff, say the people of L’Aquila, comes only from their mountains.
Gallery
Photos
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Tradition
History and trivia
The L’Aquila basin is a land of pastures and transhumance: for centuries flocks travelled the drove roads (tratturi) from the mountains down to Apulia. Mutton has always been at the heart of local cooking.
Castrato is a male sheep castrated when young: its meat is more tender and less pungent than that of an adult sheep, but keeps the bold flavour the people of L’Aquila love.
Did you know? «pecora alla cottora» is a shepherds’ dish: the meat was slow-cooked in a copper cauldron (the «cottora») with herbs and potatoes during the long days on the pastures.