Mechado
Mechado is a popular dish Philippines that is made out of slowly braised beef and tomatoes, it might look like the other popular Philippine dishes like Afritada, Kaldereta or Codico but due to the addition of vinegar/lemon juice and soy sauce this gives it a distinct flavour compared to the others. You might also notice that the beef on the picture above have a fat in the middle, which is because this dish uses a traditional Spanish culinary practice of using cheaper lean beef parts and inserting strips of pork fat in the middle which in effect makes them tender and juicier compared to the ones without. That pork fat in the middle resembles a wick in the candle which is called “mecha” in Spanish or “mitsa” in Tagalog, that’s where the name originated from.
To prepare this dish you need to start with the meat, in Philippines you can buy this beef cut with pork fat inserted already in the middle but since I am here in New Zealand I have to do it on my own by cutting a small hole into a long beef log (I used uncut chuck steak) using a long slim knife and inserting a 1 cm x 1 cm thick pork fat. Once inserted you have to cut the beef into bite sized pieces and marinate it in a mixture of vinegar, soy sauce, calamansi juice, crushed garlic and black pepper. The beef have to be marinated for at least a day then it is cooked by slowly braising together with a tomato based sauce and stock until liquid is reduced to a thick and very flavourful gravy.
Ingredients (Mechado)
1kg uncut beef chuck, preferably log shaped
200g pork fat, sliced into long strips
2 large white onions, chopped
4 medium potatoes, quartered
1 medium sized carrot, sliced
2 red capsicum, sliced
4 cups beef stock
3 bay leaves
1/4 cup vinegar
1/2 cup tomato paste
3/4 cup soy sauce, Philippine Soy Sauce or Kikkoman
6 cloves garlic, minced
freshly ground black pepper
salt
oil
Ingredients (Marinade)
4 tbsp vinegar
4 tbsp soy sauce
juice from 2 lemons
1 head garlic, minced
freshly ground black pepper
Method
1. Insert pork fat strips in the middle of beef chuck by cutting an incision in the middle.
2. Cut beef into 1 inch thick pieces then marinate in vinegar, soy sauce, lemon, garlic and freshly ground black pepper for at least 24 hrs.
3. Drain beef from the marinade. Prepare a deep pot and add oil. Add beef and brown on all sides then set aside.
4. Add garlic and onions then sauté until onions turn translucent.
5. Add back the beef, stock, tomato paste, soy sauce and bay leaves. Bring to a boil and simmer for 1 hour adding water occasionally if needed.
6. Deep fry potatoes then set aside.
7. Add the vinegar and carrots to the beef pot then simmer for 30 more minutes.
8. Add the potatoes and capsicum then simmer for 10 minutes, season with salt and freshly ground black pepper.
Interesting combination of flavours. And pork features in almost every dish, even in beef dishes. Great!
I love the idea of the pork fat in the middle of the beef. Would make it so delicious.
Love slowly braised beef in just about any form and flavor, great comfort food.
Any slow cooked meat that mops up a ton of flavour is usually a recipe for success!
This one is no different, interesting combination of flavours, with lemon and soy together. Sounds like I need to try *yet* another of your recipes LOL.
Sounds very flavorful, with the long marinade!
You’ve taught me another new dish today. I never heard of Mechado before but it really looks tasty and very filling. Very nice.
Nice dark colored dish but anything with beef is not for us.
Really like the idea of adding vinegar and lemon juice to change the flavor in this dish and make it very special. The long marinade will surely give the meat and broth a great taste, a recipe worth trying. Thank you for sharing!