Chef Juliana
Baião de Dois com Carne de Sol e Queijo Coalho
You think this is Nordeste magic. It's not. It's rice, beans, carne de sol, queijo coalho, and a pot taught in the right order.
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Carne de Sol com Macaxeira
Created by
You don't need courage here. You need to boil the macaxeira until it cracks, brown the carne de sol without crowding the pan, and let real butter do its honest work.
Main Dishes
Brazilian
Comfort Food
Weeknight
Special Occasion
25 min
Active Time
45 min cook•1 hr 10 min total
Yield4 servings
You look at carne de sol and think, isso não é pra mim. Too regional, too specific, too much history sitting in one pan. Good. Now we take that fear apart, because cooking isn't a gift, it's something you learn, and this plate is more method than mystery.
This is comida de verdade from the grammar of the sertão: salt to preserve, dry air to stretch the meat, cassava to fill the plate, onion and fat to bring it all back to life. That isn't backward poverty food. That's intelligence, the kind built by people who had to make dinner last and still make it taste like home. I teach the home kitchen version, with respect to the sertanejos who carry the tradition better than I ever could.
The method is simple. You taste the meat so you know how salty it is. You simmer the macaxeira until the pieces split at the edges, because cassava that resists the fork has no business on your plate. You brown the beef in manteiga de garrafa a little at a time, because a crowded pan steams the meat grey instead of giving it those deep amber edges. Then onion goes into the same pan and picks up everything stuck there, because those brown bits are flavor, not a mistake.
Put it beside arroz soltinho, feijão from scratch, and couve refogada, and a gente has the pê-efe doing what it has always done: rice, beans, a piece of meat, something green. Not fancy. Better than fancy. Dinner solved.
Carne de sol is associated with the Brazilian Nordeste and the sertão, where salting and drying meat helped preserve it before refrigeration and stretched slaughtered animals across more meals. It is not the same as carne seca or charque: carne de sol is usually more lightly salted and less dry, while carne seca and charque are saltier, drier, and need longer soaking. With macaxeira, also called mandioca or aipim depending on the region, it became a plate tied to cattle routes, fairs, home kitchens, and the practical intelligence of the interior.
The technique, the tradition, and the story behind every dish.
Discover Culinary ExplorerIngredients
carne de sol
Quantity
700g
cut into 2-inch pieces
water
Quantity
6 cups, plus more if needed
macaxeira, mandioca, or cassava
Quantity
900g
peeled and cut into large chunks
salt
Quantity
1 teaspoon, plus more only if needed
manteiga de garrafa
Quantity
3 tablespoons
divided
neutral oil (optional)
Quantity
1 tablespoon
onions
Quantity
2 large
thinly sliced
garlic
Quantity
3 cloves
minced
black pepper
Quantity
1/4 teaspoon
cilantro or parsley (optional)
Quantity
2 tablespoons
chopped
lime wedges (optional)
Quantity
as needed
| Ingredient | Quantity |
|---|---|
| carne de solcut into 2-inch pieces | 700g |
| water | 6 cups, plus more if needed |
| macaxeira, mandioca, or cassavapeeled and cut into large chunks | 900g |
| salt | 1 teaspoon, plus more only if needed |
| manteiga de garrafadivided | 3 tablespoons |
| neutral oil (optional) | 1 tablespoon |
| onionsthinly sliced | 2 large |
| garlicminced | 3 cloves |
| black pepper | 1/4 teaspoon |
| cilantro or parsley (optional)chopped | 2 tablespoons |
| lime wedges (optional) | as needed |
Equipment Needed
- •Heavy 4-liter pot
- •Wide heavy skillet, 30 cm if possible
- •Tongs
- •Colander
Instructions
- 1
Taste the meat
Cut a tiny sliver of the carne de sol and cook it quickly in a dry skillet or microwave until firm, then taste it. If it tastes pleasantly salty, go on. If it makes your mouth shout, soak the pieces in cold water for 30 minutes, drain, and taste again. Carne de sol should season the plate, not punish it.
If what you bought is carne seca or charque, stop pretending it's the same thing. Soak it 8 to 12 hours in the fridge, changing the water 2 or 3 times, then simmer until tender before searing. Different ingredient, different job. - 2
Simmer the cassava
Put the macaxeira in a heavy pot with 6 cups water and 1 teaspoon salt. Bring to a boil, then simmer until the pieces are tender and starting to crack at the edges, 20 to 30 minutes. A fork should slide in without negotiation. If the center stays hard and glassy, keep cooking, because undercooked cassava is stubborn in the mouth and will make you think the recipe failed.
Remove the tough fibrous strand from the center of each cooked piece if you see one. It pulls away easily once the cassava is tender, and nobody needs that little rope at dinner. - 3
Dry the pieces
Drain the macaxeira well and spread it on a plate for 5 minutes so the surface dries a little. Pat the carne de sol dry too. Wet food hits hot fat and splutters instead of browning. A dry surface gives you color, and color is where the flavor starts.
- 4
Brown the beef
Warm 1 tablespoon manteiga de garrafa in a wide heavy skillet over medium-high heat. Add the carne de sol in one loose layer, working in batches if needed, and brown until the edges turn deep amber, about 2 to 3 minutes per side. Don't crowd the pan. I know, you want to dump it all in and get on with your life. Crowd it and the meat releases water, the heat drops, and you're steaming grey beef instead of dourar.
- 5
Brown the cassava
Move the browned meat to a plate. Add 1 tablespoon manteiga de garrafa to the same skillet, then add the drained macaxeira in chunks. Let the flat sides take on golden spots, turning gently so they don't break into mash. This step gives the cassava a little crust while the inside stays soft and creamy. That's the point: edges with bite, middle that gives in.
- 6
Crisp the onion
Move the macaxeira to the plate with the meat. Lower the heat to medium, add the last 1 tablespoon manteiga de garrafa and the sliced onions. Cook, stirring now and then, until the onions soften, turn golden at the edges, and pick up the brown bits from the pan, 8 to 10 minutes. Add the garlic for the last minute, just until you smell it. Burnt garlic is bitter and bossy, and it'll take over the whole pan.
- 7
Bring it together
Return the carne de sol and macaxeira to the skillet and toss gently with the onions and black pepper. Warm everything together for 2 minutes, just until glossy and coated. Taste before adding salt, because the meat may already have done the job. Finish with cilantro or parsley if you're using it, and serve with lime wedges if you like that bright bite.
- 8
Make the plate
Serve as a generous home portion, with the onions over the top and the buttery pan juices spooned around the cassava. For a proper pê-efe, put it beside arroz soltinho, feijão, and couve refogada. The plate works because each part carries the other: rice catches the juices, beans make it a meal, greens cut the richness, and the meat and macaxeira bring the sertão right to the table.
Chef Tips
- •Buy carne de sol from a Brazilian or Northeastern market if you can. It should smell clean and meaty, not sour, and it should feel firm but not rock-hard. If it's as dry as a board, you're probably holding carne seca or charque.
- •Manteiga de garrafa is worth using here because it has that nutty, clear-butter flavor that belongs with the dish. Honest shortcut: use clarified butter or ghee if that's what you have. It won't taste exactly the same, but it will brown well. A seasoning packet won't help you. It will just shout salt over the food.
- •Frozen peeled cassava is a good Tuesday shortcut. It saves the peeling and still gives you real food. The cost is texture: some bags cook softer and break more easily, so drain gently and brown in bigger pieces.
- •If your cassava won't soften after 40 minutes, it may be old or woody. Then we cook something else next time, because I won't let a tired root make you think you're the problem.
- •Leftovers make a serious lunch. Chop the meat and cassava smaller, warm them in a skillet with onion, and serve with rice and beans. No little plastic tray pretending to be dinner.
Advance Preparation
- •If the carne de sol is very salty, soak it 30 minutes to 2 hours in cold water in the fridge, changing the water once. Taste a cooked sliver before deciding.
- •The macaxeira can be boiled up to 2 days ahead. Keep it covered in the fridge, then pat dry before browning so it takes color instead of steaming.
- •Cooked carne de sol with macaxeira keeps 3 days in the fridge. Reheat in a skillet with a spoonful of water and a little manteiga de garrafa so the cassava loosens without drying out.
Frequently Asked Questions
Nutrition Information
1 serving (about 460g)
Calories
900 calories
Total Fat
32 g
Saturated Fat
14 g
Trans Fat
1 g
Unsaturated Fat
17 g
Cholesterol
165 mg
Sodium
1950 mg
Total Carbohydrates
94 g
Dietary Fiber
6 g
Sugars
7 g
Protein
57 g
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