Sobrebarriga is a tough cut of beef flank steak from the underside of a cow, popular in South and Central America and Southeast Asia. To keep it tender, it can be marinated, cooked in liquid, mechanically tenderized, or a combination of all three. A classic preparation involves marinating overnight and then searing and braising in a mixture of vegetables, water, and beer. Another method is to mechanically tenderize the meat before cooking.
Sobrebarriga is the Colombian name given to a specific cut of meat that comes from a cow. It refers to beef flank steak, a cut that comes from the underside of the cow near the hind leg. While meat has a reputation for being tough and difficult to cook properly, there are certain techniques that are used in Colombian cooking that can help keep the meat tender. There are many recipes using sobrebarriga, and the cut of meat is very popular throughout South and Central America, as well as Southeast Asia.
The strength of the sobrebarriga can be attributed to its position on the cow. It is located in an area that is constantly being worked on, developing the animal’s muscle mass and reducing the amount of fat. These factors combine to create meat that doesn’t behave like softer cuts that can be very tender after a quick fry, instead producing meat that can be potentially stringy, tough, and difficult to chew.
The chewy, stringy nature of sobrebarriga means it has to be treated specially when cooking, and a few elements need to be kept in mind when crafting a recipe around it. Some ways to keep meat tender are by introducing liquid into the muscle fibers or breaking up tough proteins between them. There are a few ways to do this, including through a pre-cooking marinade, a cooking method that involves a liquid, a mechanical tenderizer, or a combination of all three.
In a classic preparation of sobrebarriga, the steak is placed in a marinade of garlic, onion, celery and tomatoes overnight before being cooked. The next day, the meat is seared quickly in a pan and then braised in a mixture of vegetables, water, and beer until it’s done. This counteracts the toughness of the meat by adding moisture and breaking down some of the proteins with the marinade, then sealing in the juices with a quick sear and finally dissolving any remaining proteins with heat and alcohol, while also adding flavor.
Another method to ensure that the sobrebarriga is tender at the end of cooking is to hold the meat mechanically. This means hitting the steak with a soft hammer or otherwise physically breaking tough strings within the meat so it relaxes and doesn’t snag under the heat and become tough. This method is used when the steak is about to cook quickly or is in small strips or cubes. An example of a recipe like this is a fajita.
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