Minitsahang Baka | Old Fashioned Mechado | Mitsado

Описание: Minitsahang Baka, which today is more popularly known as "mechado", is a classic Filipino dish that got its name from the addition of pork fat into lean (and often cheaper) cuts of meat for the purpose of adding more flavor and maintaining moisture throughout the long cooking process.

This process of adding pork fat into the meat is referred to as larding and resembles that of a candle's wick or "mitsa" and thus the name "mitsado".

In this recipe, I make use of a lean beef cut from the top/bottom round, commonly known as "kabilugan". In order to save time and effort, I asked the help of the local butcher to cut holes into the thick, log-shaped beef and have them insert the pork fat (which I already had when I went to the butcher) into them.

With the cooking process, I recommend low and slow cooking if you have the time as this tends (at least I think it does 😅) to extract the most amount of flavor from the meat, aromatics, and other ingredients in your dish.

When cooking dishes like this, a tip I always recommend is to immediately switch to a lower flame once the liquid goes to a boil, which will help to achieve a steady simmer. This lowest flame setting will also help you to save on gas/electricity throughout the long cooking process.

This recipe has been inspired by an heirloom recipe from our family, which I have modified and given my own touch to make it my own.

Give this recipe a try and let me know what you think. 😊

Minitsahang Baka (a.k.a. Mitsado or Mechado)

Ingredients:

-2 kg beef top/bottom round, cut into thick log-shaped cuts
-250g beef liver, chopped into small cubes
-500g pork back fat, cut into long strips
-100g beef fat, roughly chopped
-4 pcs bell pepper, chopped
-1 kg ripe tomatoes, chopped
-2 head garlic, minced
-5 red onions, chopped
-1 large carrot, chopped
-2 stalks celery, chopped
-1 pack (150g) tomato paste
-1 pc chorizo bilbao, chopped
-2 pcs hotdogs, chopped
-100g sweet pickle relish
-100g processed cheese, grated
-salt and pepper, to taste
-1/8 to 1/4 cup liquid seasoning
-1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
-1 liter water, more if necessary

To marinate beef:
-1/2 cup calamansi juice
-1/2 cup soy sauce
-1/2 to 1 tbsp salt
-1/4 to 1/2 tbsp cracked black pepper

Notes on ingredients:

***Beef liver can be replaced with canned liver spread

***Hotdogs can be replaced with luncheon meat, bacon, or your favorite cold cuts. Or you may choose not to include it.

Procedure:

A.) Marinating Meat
-Add salt, pepper, soy sauce, and calamansi. Massage meat well. Set aside and allow to marinate at least overnight.

B.) Cooking Process
-Preheat a large pan, add oil and preheat. Pan fry beef by batches until browned on at least 2 sides. Set aside. Pan fry beef liver and pork fat, then set aside.

-On the same pan, saute garlic until lightly browned, saute onion, carrot, and celery until caramelized. Add bell peppers, hotdogs, and chorizo bilbao, pickles and tomatoes. Add about a tsp of salt and sugar. Saute on medium high heat until tomatoes become caramelized and all its liquid has evaporated.

-Add back beef cuts (including liver and fat) and cook for a couple of minutes. Add back marinade from beef.

-Add tomato paste, cook for about 5 minutes or until it turns into a deep red color. This will mellow down the acidity of the tomato paste and develop its flavor even further.

-Add sufficient water or beef stock to submerge meat. Make sure to scrape bottom of the pan to release the browned, flavorful bits (a.k.a. "fond). Bring liquid to a boil, after which, set flame to lowest setting to initiate the simmering process.

-Cover pan and cook low and slow, until beef is tender (about 3 to 4 hours). Make sure to check every 40 mins to 1 hour to check amount of liquid and to scrape bottom of pan to prevent anything from getting stuck and burned at the bottom of the pan. Make sure to add water or stock if it is becoming dry or as needed.You can use a knife to check tenderness of beef, but do not overcook the point when the beef is almost mushy.

-Once beef is tender, add cheese and Worcestershire sauce. Simmer on very low heat for about 15 to 20 minutes more.

-Taste if the dish needs more salt, pepper, or any other seasonings based on your personal preference. Adjust consistency of sauce, either by adding water if it's too thick or simmering further if it's too thin.

C.) Serving the dish
-Remove the logs of meat from sauce, slice to preferred thickness, place on a plate and serve with the sauce.

**For best results, allow mechado to rest at least overnight to a full day in order to let all the flavors properly meld together. Based on experience, dishes like this gets its full flavor after 2 to 3 days, while also reheating it at least 2 times too. Keep in refrigerator in between days.

***You may also choose to remove excess grease/fat from mechado after having it refrigerated.

#mechado #mitsado #minitsahangbaka #beefmechado