What is Carne Seca?
Carne Seca is a Spanish dried meat that is served in many countries and can be prepared in different ways. Unlike the most dried jerky, Carne Seca is marinated or cooked in liquid before it is eventually dried. Some recipes will dry the meat first before adding to a pot full of liquid, where it cooks for some time until it droves again. Other preparations simply marinade meat and then dry it with a more traditional style. Completed Carne Seca is used shredded or ground and forms a base for other types of meals, including Machaca .
In the vast majority of recipes, beef is used to make Carne Seca, even if there are goats and pork versions. Almost any cut of meat - bones in or out - can be used because at the end of cooking the meat is shredded and any large pieces of fat, tendons or bones are removed before serving. Some recipes require the meat to be cooked before T for the room temperature.
Commonly preparation of Carne Seca is beginningt marinating meat in the fridge overnight. The marinade usually consists of vinegar, oil, cumin, onion and garlic. Depending on the desired taste, it is also possible to add ingredients such as hot chili peppers or lime.
After a few hours in the marinade, the meat dries and placed in a pot of boiling water, where it is cooked until very tender. Alternatively, the meat can be cooked in water with marinade spices and remove the need to marinate the meat overnight. Once the meat is very tender, it is removed from the pot and left to cool. All meat is stretched until it is roughly crushed into small pieces and without large pieces of fat, tendons and bones.
Shredded meat is then dried to complete Carne Seca. This can be done slowly in the oven or it can be done in a smoker or outside if the conditions are correct. In some recipes, the meat is dried only a small amount after which is placed in a heavy pan, covered with voDou and then cooked until all the liquid disperses and the meat does not dry again.
Carne Seca can be used as a shredded meat filling for tacos, or can be used as a folder in more complex dishes. It can be fried tomatoes and chili to make steamed food known as Machaca. Most of the time the larger meals used by Carne Seca reconstruct the meat in some type of liquid rather than using it dry.