Chef Isabel
Cachopo Asturiano
Cachopo is Asturian comfort food with no mystery: two thin veal fillets, jamon, melting cheese, a firm seal, and enough oil to fry it golden without leaking.
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Carne Mechá a la Andaluza
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Carne mechá is Andaluz, especially loved around Cádiz and Sevilla: a larded beef round browned well, braised slowly in wine, then served cold in thin slices with its own sauce.
Main Dishes
Spanish
Make Ahead
Special Occasion
Comfort Food
35 min
Active Time
2 hr 30 min cook•7 hr 5 min total
Yield6 to 8 servings
Carne mechá a la Andaluza is the cold sliced roast of western Andalucía, the one you find on a family table before anyone sits down properly. In Cádiz it is often beef round, redondo de ternera, pierced and threaded with strips of tocino or bacon so the lean meat stays juicy through the long braise. That larding, mechar, is what makes it this dish and not just another pot roast.
The method that decides it is simple: brown the meat hard enough to give the sauce depth, then braise it gently and let it cool in its own juices. Slice it hot and you lose the point. Slice it cold and thin, and the fat you threaded through the meat does its work, giving you clean slices with a soft line of richness inside.
If you are far from Andalucía, use a good beef eye round or top round and unsmoked streaky bacon. Spanish tocino is best, but bacon works if it is not sweet and not heavily smoked; the sauce will taste a little more cured and smoky, so go easy with the salt. No hace falta haber pisado España. Tie it well, cook it slowly, chill it fully. Siempre sale, si lo sigues.
Carne mechada belongs to the home cooking of western Andalucía, especially Cádiz and Sevilla, where a lean roast was made richer by mechar, threading fat through the meat before cooking. The technique answered a practical problem: working cuts could be cooked ahead, kept in their own sauce, and sliced cold for a family table, a feria spread, or a Sunday meal that did not chain the cook to the stove. Pork versions are common in many homes, but the beef round of Cádiz has its own place, firm enough to slice thin and mild enough to carry the wine, garlic, bay, and browned onion.
The technique, the tradition, and the story behind every dish.
Discover Culinary ExplorerIngredients
beef eye round or top round
Quantity
1.2kg
in one piece
Spanish tocino or unsmoked streaky bacon
Quantity
120g
cut into long batons
garlic
Quantity
4 cloves
2 cut into slivers and 2 minced
fine sea salt
Quantity
12g
freshly ground black pepper
Quantity
1 teaspoon
extra virgin olive oil
Quantity
3 tablespoons
onions
Quantity
2 large
finely chopped
carrot
Quantity
1
finely chopped
bay leaf
Quantity
1
dry white wine, preferably from Andalucía
Quantity
150ml
oloroso sherry or more dry white wine
Quantity
100ml
beef stock or water
Quantity
350ml
sweet pimentón
Quantity
1 teaspoon
vinagre de Jerez (sherry vinegar) (optional)
Quantity
1 tablespoon
to finish
| Ingredient | Quantity |
|---|---|
| beef eye round or top roundin one piece | 1.2kg |
| Spanish tocino or unsmoked streaky baconcut into long batons | 120g |
| garlic2 cut into slivers and 2 minced | 4 cloves |
| fine sea salt | 12g |
| freshly ground black pepper | 1 teaspoon |
| extra virgin olive oil | 3 tablespoons |
| onionsfinely chopped | 2 large |
| carrotfinely chopped | 1 |
| bay leaf | 1 |
| dry white wine, preferably from Andalucía | 150ml |
| oloroso sherry or more dry white wine | 100ml |
| beef stock or water | 350ml |
| sweet pimentón | 1 teaspoon |
| vinagre de Jerez (sherry vinegar) (optional)to finish | 1 tablespoon |
Equipment Needed
- •Heavy Dutch oven or wide lidded casserole, 24 to 26cm
- •Larding needle or long thin knife
- •Kitchen string
- •Sharp slicing knife
Instructions
- 1
Lard the beef
Pat the beef dry. With a larding needle or a long thin knife, make channels through the length of the meat and thread in the batons of tocino or bacon with the garlic slivers. Keep the pieces buried inside, not hanging out, so they melt into the meat as it cooks. Season the outside with the salt and pepper. Pésalo, no lo adivines; lean beef needs enough salt, but not a handful thrown by hope.
If you do not have a larding needle, chill the bacon batons until firm and push them into knife channels with the handle of a wooden spoon or a chopstick. - 2
Tie and brown
Tie the beef neatly with kitchen string every 3cm so it keeps a round shape for slicing. Heat the olive oil in a heavy pot just wide enough to hold the meat and brown it on all sides, taking 10 to 12 minutes. Do not hurry this. The dark brown stuck bits on the bottom are what give the sauce its body.
- 3
Cook the base
Lift the beef to a plate. Lower the heat and add the onions, carrot, bay leaf, and minced garlic to the same pot. Cook slowly for 18 to 22 minutes, scraping the bottom now and then, until the onion is dark gold and jammy. This is the sofrito, the slow onion base; rush it and the sauce tastes thin.
- 4
Add wine
Stir in the pimentón for a few seconds, then pour in the white wine and oloroso. Let it bubble for 3 minutes, scraping the browned bits from the pot, until the sharp smell of raw wine softens. Return the beef and any juices to the pot.
- 5
Braise gently
Add the stock or water. The liquid should come about halfway up the meat, not cover it. Bring it to the gentlest simmer, cover the pot, and cook for 2 to 2 1/2 hours, turning the beef every 35 to 40 minutes, until a skewer slides in with little resistance. Keep the heat low; a hard boil tightens lean beef and pushes the larded fat out instead of letting it baste the meat.
- 6
Cool in sauce
Take the pot off the heat and let the meat cool in its sauce for 1 hour. Lift the beef out, wrap it, and chill it until firm, at least 3 hours and preferably overnight. Strain or blend the sauce, skim excess fat if you like, and taste. Add the sherry vinegar only if the sauce needs a small lift.
- 7
Slice and serve
Remove the string and slice the beef cold and thin, across the grain. Spoon a little sauce over the slices, or serve the sauce alongside, warm or room temperature. The meat should be firm enough to slice cleanly, with pale lines of larded fat through the rosy-brown beef. Serve with good bread, fried potatoes, or a simple salad. Tal como se hace allí.
Chef Tips
- •Use beef eye round, top round, or another lean roasting cut that slices neatly. A fatty chuck roast makes a good braise, yes, but it will not give you the clean cold slices carne mechá wants.
- •Spanish tocino is right if you can find it. If not, use unsmoked streaky bacon with no sugar in the cure. Smoked bacon will change the dish, not ruin it, but the sauce will taste more like smoke than Cádiz.
- •Oloroso gives the sauce a deep Andaluz note. If you do not have it, use more dry white wine and a teaspoon more sherry vinegar at the end if the sauce tastes flat.
- •Chill before slicing. This is not fussiness; it is structure. Hot lean beef tears, cold beef slices cleanly and lets the larded fat show where you put it.
- •Make it a day ahead. Carne mechá is better after a night in the refrigerator, and that is why it belongs on a table where the cook has other things to do.
Advance Preparation
- •Lard and tie the beef up to 12 hours ahead, then keep it covered in the refrigerator. Bring it out 30 minutes before browning so the surface is not fridge-cold.
- •Best cooked the day before serving. Cool the meat in its sauce, chill overnight, then slice cold and serve with the sauce warmed gently or at room temperature.
- •Leftover slices keep 3 days covered in the refrigerator. They are good in a bocadillo with a spoon of the sauce, which is not a lesser fate.
Frequently Asked Questions
Nutrition Information
1 serving (about 270g)
Calories
410 calories
Total Fat
24 g
Saturated Fat
8 g
Trans Fat
1 g
Unsaturated Fat
15 g
Cholesterol
120 mg
Sodium
1300 mg
Total Carbohydrates
7 g
Dietary Fiber
1 g
Sugars
2 g
Protein
42 g
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