Asado negro

Ingredients

• Beef rump — in one piece2 kg
• Panela or brown sugar150 g
• Onions3
• Bell peppers2
• Carrots3
• Leek1
• Garlic8 clove
• Tomatoes500 g
• Red wine250 ml
• Worcestershire sauce3 tbsp
• Bay leaves3
• Vegetable oil80 ml
• Rice — to serve500 g
• Salt and pepperto taste

Salt and spices grow more slowly than the rest: doubling a dish does not double the pepper.

Weight converts to ounces and volume to cups. Grams of flour are not turned into cups, because that depends on how tightly it is packed.

Method

1. 1

   Pierce the meat in several places with a knife, rub it with salt, pepper and garlic and leave it an hour.

   65 min

2. 2

   Melt the panela in oil in a heavy pot until nearly black, without stirring it with a spoon.

   10 min

3. 3

   Lower the beef into the caramel and sear it on all sides to a black crust, about fifteen minutes.

   18 min

4. 4

   Lift out the meat and fry the onion, pepper, carrot and leek in the same fat until soft.

   15 min

5. 5

   Return the meat, add the tomatoes, wine, Worcestershire sauce and bay, and add water to half its height.

   8 min

6. 6

   Braise covered for four hours on the lowest heat, turning the joint every hour.

   250 min

7. 7

   Lift out the meat, strain the sauce, reduce it by half and slice the beef across the grain.

   20 min

About the dish

The beef is seared in a nearly black caramel. That is what gives the dish its colour, and panela burns harder than white sugar for a deeper tone.

The joint goes in whole and is not cut until serving. It braises four hours, and cut early it gives all its juices to the sauce and comes out dry.

The sauce is strained and served separately. In Caracas it comes in a jug and the meat is dressed to taste — a restaurant convention that reached the home table.

Worth knowing

• — The caramel has to be smoking when the meat goes in. A pale one gives a sweet dish rather than a black, bittersweet one.
• — Slice the meat only once fully rested, about twenty minutes. Hot, it falls into threads under the knife.
• — Asado negro is better on the second day. It takes up the sauce, and in Venezuela it is often cooked the day before a celebration.

Nutrition

Per serving at the base yield, calculated from the ingredients rather than measured in a lab.

Calories

720 kcal

Protein

54 g

Fat

30 g

Carbs

52 g

More from Venezuela

• Pabellón criollo — A plate in four parts: shredded stewed beef, black beans, white rice and fried plantain.
• Cachapas — Thick pancakes of ground fresh corn, folded around a soft white cheese.
• Hallaca — Corn dough with a meat guiso, olives and raisins, wrapped in banana leaf.