Main Courses in Córdoba

The main courses of Córdoba's traditional kitchen are built around slow cooking, seasonal ingredients and the specific animal breeds of the province — a cooking tradition shaped by the long summer heat that made extended cooking times practical necessities. Rabo de toro (braised oxtail) is the city's signature main course: the tail cooked slowly for four to six hours in Montilla-Moriles wine, onions, carrots and spices until the collagen breaks down completely and the meat falls from the bone into a sauce of extraordinary depth. The dish has been cooked in Córdoba since at least the 18th century, when the bullfighting tradition was at its peak. Flamenquín cordobés — pork loin wrapped around jamón, rolled in breadcrumbs and deep-fried to a shattering crunch — is the city's most distinctive street food turned restaurant dish. Cordero al estilo de Córdoba (lamb with garlic, thyme and dry sherry) reflects the sheep-raising tradition of the Sierra Morena uplands. These hearty main courses are fundamentally winter dishes for the most part, served in the restaurants of the old centre from October to May.