Carne Mechada (Braised Beef Roll)

This Carne Mechada dish (Braised Beef Roll) is an amazingly-juicy beef dish stuffed with pork sausage and vegetables. You'll be licking your fingers.

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A little while ago I had an exchange with our friend Amity, who has lived both in Venezuela and the Dominican Republic. I mentioned that unlike Venezuela, where Carne Ripiada is known as Carne Mechada, in the Dominican Republic Carne Mechada (Braised Beef Roll) was known to a lot of people as an entirely different dish.

I promised her I would share the recipe, for clarity's sake.

What is Carne Mechada?

In our country carne mechada is a dish of beef stuffed with ham and some vegetables, cooked over very low heat for a long time until the meat is very tender.

Other ways to do this is to make holes in the meat and stuff them, instead of making a roll as we present here. I like this way more because it looks better and is easier, the meat dries less too.

About this meat roll recipe

In this case, I have used longaniza (pork sausage) instead of ham to give it more flavor. I've done it both ways and apparently, the difference is remarkable. If you prefer ham, use it then (it is the York type).

I would love to hear about your experience if you prepare this dish. As I always remind you, you can make changes to the recipe if you wish, except for the baking recipes, almost all of our recipes can be adapted to the reader's taste.

I hope you enjoy this Carne Mechada (Braised Beef Roll). It's very much worth making.

Dominican Carne Mechada Recipe (Braised Beef Roll)

By: Clara Gonzalez

Carne Mechada Recipe (Braised Beef Roll): Amazingly-juicy beef dish stuffed with pork sausage and vegetables. You'll be licking your fingers.

5 from 2 votes

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Prep Time 15 mins

Cook Time 1 hr 40 mins

Total Time 1 hr 55 mins

Course Dinner, Lunch

Cuisine Dominican, Latino

Servings 6 servings

Calories 662 kcal

Ingredients

• 1 large onion cut into strips , divided
• 2 bell peppers cut into strips , divided
• 1 teaspoon of dry oregano
• 2 cloves of garlic
• ½ teaspoon of pepper (or more, to taste)
• 2 teaspoon of salt (or more, to taste), divided
• 2 lb [0.8 kg] beef (tenderloin, or flank)
• ½ lb [0.23 kg] longaniza (or other spiced raw pork sausage)
• 1 small carrot , cut into strips
• 4 tablespoons of vegetable oil (corn, soy or peanut)
• 3 cups of water (may need a bit more)
• 1 cup tomato sauce
• 1 tablespoon of all-purpose flour
• ¼ cup pitted olives
• ⅛ cup of capers (optional)
• 1 tablespoon of chopped parsley

Instructions

 

• In a food processor blend half of the onion, a quarter of the bell pepper, oregano, garlic, a pinch of pepper and a teaspoon of salt.
• Cut the meat into a tube by inserting the knife lengthwise (in the same direction of the fibers). Season the meat inside and out with the blended mix. Stuff the beef with the longaniza, some onion strips, some bell pepper strip and some carrot strips. Marinate covered in the refrigerator for at least an hour.
• After the hour has passed, heat the oil in a large heavy-bottomed pot (6 qt [6 lt] over high heat. Remove the meat from the marinade, reserve the marinade for later use. Pat dry the meat with a paper towel. Place the , in the heated oil, carefully to avoid burning yourself. Brown the meat, turning every few minutes to get a uniform brown color all over.
• While the meat browns, mix water, tomato sauce, flour, and the remaining marinade. Remove the meat from the pot and pour in the tomato sauce mixture into the pot, stirring to incorporate all the browned bits. Stir in the olives, capers and the remaining carrot, bell peppers, and onion. Place the meat back into the pot.
• Lower the heat to a minimum, cover with a tight-fitting lid and simmer for 1 ½ hours, rotating the meat every half hour so it cooks uniformly. The sauce should have been reduced to half, if it is too dry, add additional water.
• Once this time has passed, remove the meat from the sauce, place on a cutting board and cut into slices, being careful not to burn yourself. Season the sauce with salt and pepper to taste. Pour the sauce into a serving plate and place the slices on top. Sprinkle with parsley.
• Serve with arroz blanco and tostones.

Notes and Tips

I have made some minor changes to the traditional Carne Mechada, changes that after much experimentation I have found improve the recipe considerably. I hope you like them as much as I did.

Nutrition

Calories: 662kcalCarbohydrates: 9gProtein: 35gFat: 54gSaturated Fat: 18gCholesterol: 133mgSodium: 1503mgPotassium: 840mgFiber: 2gSugar: 5gVitamin A: 3168IUVitamin C: 57mgCalcium: 38mgIron: 5mg

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