The Canary-style shredded beef sandwich is a baguette, generally a mini baguette, with bell pepper, beef sautéed with garlic, onion, and spices, sliced into strips, and cheese.
Shredded beef is a traditional stew dish from Spanish and Latin American cuisine.
It involves slow-cooking or braising a piece of meat, often beef or pork, until it becomes tender and easy to shred.
The name comes from the Spanish word “mechar,” which means “lard.”
It refers to the Spanish culinary practice of inserting strips of pork fat into a cheap cut of meat to make it more tender and flavorful.
Often, the preparation method for shredded beef includes inserting strips of vegetables, such as carrots, celery, bell peppers, and onions, into the meat before cooking.
- Difficulty: Easy
- Cost: Economical
- Preparation time: 10 Minutes
- Cooking methods: Boiling, Stove
- Cuisine: Spanish
- Seasonality: All seasons
Ingredients
- 2 mini baguette
- 1.1 lbs skirt steak
- 2 onions
- 2 cloves garlic
- 1 bell pepper
- to taste cumin
- to taste coriander
- to taste salt and pepper
- 2 slices cheese
Steps
Cook the meat with 1 onion and 1 garlic clove and water nearly covering it for 1 hour.
Slice the meat along the grain and sauté it in oil with garlic, onion, coriander, pepper, cumin, and salt. Add the sliced bell pepper.
Fill the sandwich with meat, peppers, and cheese.
I served the shredded beef sandwich with a classic sangria.
FAQ (Questions and Answers)
How is shredded beef prepared in Latin American regions?
In Chile, shredded beef is prepared with a stuffed round roast of carrots, red bell peppers, garlic, and onions, braised in wine and water.
It is then thinly sliced. The meat is served with mashed potatoes or rice and a sauce made from the cooking.
In Colombia the dish is known as “carne desmechada”: boiled meat until tender, then shredded and cooked with onions, sweet red peppers, and cumin, often served with rice, fried plantains, or arepas.
In Cuba, Puerto Rico, and Panama, shredded beef is known as “ropa vieja”.
Its preparation in these countries resembles that of Venezuela and Colombia: a flank or brisket steak boiled in a tomato-based sauce with onions and peppers.
Usually served with yellow or white rice, black beans, and fried plantains.
In Cuba, ropa vieja is the national dish; the dish became common again from 2010 with the advent of independent paladares.
Note: In the Canary Islands, ropa vieja is served with both chickpeas and potatoes. Some versions of the Canary Islands dish include other meats, such as chicken and pork.
In Nicaragua, the dish is called carne desmenuzada.
It is made with green peppers, onions, garlic, salt, Worcestershire sauce, sugar, and mustard.
Usually served with white rice or with gallo pinto, fried cheese, fried or boiled plantains.
In the Dominican Republic the term “shredded beef” is used to refer to a beef cut stuffed with ham and vegetables.
In Venezuela, “shredded beef” or “carne desmechada”, boiled shredded meat sautéed with vegetables, is a component of what is considered the national dish of Venezuela known as Pabellón criollo and served with arepas.
