Carne seca is a Spanish dried meat dish that can be prepared in various ways, often using beef, and is marinated or boiled before drying. It can be used as a filling for tacos or in more complex dishes like machaca.
Carne seca is a Spanish dried meat dish that is served in different countries and can be prepared in a variety of ways. Unlike most dried jerky, carne seca is marinated or boiled in liquid before it is ultimately dried. Some recipes dry the meat before adding it to a pot filled with liquid, where it is cooked for some time until it is dried out again. Other preparations simply marinate the meat and dry it in a more traditional style. The finished carne seca is used shredded or ground and forms the basis for other types of dishes, including machaca.
In the vast majority of recipes, beef is the meat used to make the carne seca, although there are goat and pork versions. Almost any cut of meat – on or off the bone – can be used because, towards the end of cooking, the meat is ground up and any bits of fat, sinew or bone removed before serving. Some recipes call for the meat to be at room temperature before starting the cooking process.
A common way to prepare carne seca is to start marinating the meat in the refrigerator overnight. The marinade typically consists of vinegar, oil, cumin, onion and garlic. Depending on the desired taste, ingredients such as hot peppers or limes can also be added.
After a few hours in the marinade, the meat is patted dry and placed in a pot of boiling water, where it is cooked until very tender. Alternatively, the meat can be boiled in water with the marinade spices, eliminating the need to marinate the meat overnight. Once the meat has become very tender, it is removed from the pot and left to cool. All meat is disassembled until it is roughly cut into small pieces and free from large chunks of fat, tendons and bones.
The minced meat is then dried to complete the carne seca. This can be done slowly in an oven or it can be done in a smoker or outdoors if the conditions are right. In some recipes, the meat is dried just a small amount, after which it is placed in a heavy pan, covered with water, and then cooked until all the liquid has dissipated and the meat is dry again.
Carne seca can be used as a ground beef filling for tacos, or it can be used as an ingredient in more complex dishes. It can be fried with tomatoes and chiles to create a stew-like dish known as machaca. More often than not, larger dishes that use carne seca reconstitute the meat in some type of liquid rather than using it dry.
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