Mexican Food Recipes
Mexican Cecina Air Dried Mexican Beef
Cecina is dried salted meat and it can be dried with either smoke, air or sun. In mainland Spain, it often refers to horsemeat but it can be beef too. Most Mexican cecina is either marinated beef sheets or thinly pounded pork and, if you like traditional Mexican recipes, this dish is considered a delicacy. Mexican beef dishes are always popular at Mexican restaurants and cecina is well loved in Mexico.
This is a real traditional Mexican recipe and if you enjoy beef, why not try making this for your family as a treat? It is also nice if you have friends coming over and you want to make something a bit unusual.
The beef version is salted, marinated, and left to dry in the sun and the recipe varies between different regions. The Mexican town of Yecapiztla is especially renowned for its delicious carne cecina recipe. We have a recipe for this interesting Mexican food for you to try, if you fancy making your own air dried Mexican beef. In this recipe, the beef is marinated in a mixture of lime juice, oregano, and salt and then air-dried. If you like beef, you are going to love Mexican beef recipes like this delicious cecina recipe.
Mexican Cecina with Guacamole
Ingredients -
1 ½ lbs eye of round steak, in one piece
1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lime juice
1 ½ teaspoons dried oregano
1 ½ teaspoons salt
Tortillas and guacamole to serve
Cilantro to garnish
¼ cup oil (optional)
Preparation:
Trim the ends, top and bottom of the beef with a very sharp knife so you get a loaf-shaped chunk of meat which weighs about 1 ¼ lbs. Have the length and grain of the meat running crosswise in front of you, put your hand flat on top and start slicing it at one end, 1/8 inch below your hand.
Work your way across but stop 1/8 inch before you get to the end. Do not cut right through!
Turn the meat 180 degrees and start another cut another 1/8 inch down. When you have cut an inch in, open the top slice with the hinge you have made, put your hand on the new top and keep cutting.
Repeat the process until you have one long 1/8 inch thick piece of meat.
Combine the limejuice, oregano, and salt and stir until the salt dissolves. Smear this mixture all over the meat then fold it all back to its original shape. Let it stand for 30 minutes.
Unfold the meat and hang it to dry somewhere with good air circulation for a few hours for semi-dry beef or overnight for drier beef.
Cut it into pieces, cover, and refrigerate.
You can rub some oil over it if you like to make sure the meat does not dry out any more.
Serve with tortillas, guacamole, and some cilantro for garnish.
(Makes 1 lb)
Photo Description:
To make cecina you have to make a concertina out of the beef by cutting into it but without cutting all the way through. Then you can make one long strip. You can see the finished result of this Mexican beef recipe in the picture. By cutting the beef into one long, thin strip the marinade can permeate through all the meat and coat it evenly. The lime juice makes the beef really soft and tender and the oregano and salt add flavor. This is such a nice recipe to make if you like Mexican food and if you enjoy beef.
