Matambre is the name of a very thin cut of beef in Argentina, Uruguay, Rio Grande do Sul and also Paraguay. It is a rose colored muscle taken between the skin and the ribs of the steer, [1] a sort of flank steak. It is not the cut known normally in the U.S. as flank steak. Some people refer to it as the "fly shaker", because it is the muscle used by the animal to twitch to repel flies and other flying insects.
The same word (or matambre arrollado [2] or matambre relleno) is also used for a dish made of a matambre meat roll stuffed [1] with vegetables, peppers, ham, hard-boiled eggs and herbs, then boiled or oven-roasted. It is served sliced—with the fillings making a colourful display—either hot or cold. It is often eaten with chimichurri sauce[ citation needed ]. It is a rather fatty meat and is usually eaten with vegetables. Pork matambre is also used.
The name matambre is formed from the combination of "matar" and "hambre" [1] ("hunger killer").
Matambre is cut from the side of the cow, between the skin and the ribs. The scientific name for the muscle is cutaneous trunci. It is a thin rose colored muscle, also known in packing houses as "fly shaker" or "elephant ear". It is also known as the "twitch" muscle because the animal makes it twitch or tremble to repel flying insects like flies. It is very thin and lends itself for rolling up with different stuffings.
In Argentina, the matambre is sometimes served as a steak, but this is not the typical serving method. The more common method is known as "matambre arrollado" (stuffed, or filled matambre). The ingredients for this dish vary from province to province, but most common include whole carrots, hard-boiled eggs, and plenty of black pepper. These ingredients are then rolled up inside of the matambre sheet and sewn or pinned together to keep the rolled matambre from coming unrolled. It is then boiled in milk, or sometimes water, and roasted in the oven. After it is removed from the oven and cooled, it is sliced into thin pieces of lunch meat and served in toasted French roll with mayonnaise, and sometimes Argentine chimichurri, as a condiment. In Uruguay, and to a lesser extent in Argentina, matambre is marinated in milk, baked flat in the oven, and covered with the marinade, with the addition of lightly beaten eggs and cheese at the end of the cooking period. It is called "matambre a la leche" (matambre in milk). Another method of serving matambre is "matambre a la pizza" which is prepared in a similar way but instead of being rolled it is topped with pizza ingredients like tomato sauce and mozzarella. [3]
This is the most traditional and archaic way of consuming it in Rio de la Plata. [4] Its use dates back to the cow herds of colonial times, when gauchos used only the soft parts of the prey of cimarrona cows because of their easy availability. Given the primitive tools (no more than a "fasona") and, on the other hand, the abundance of these cattle, which did not merit more widespread use, what was not matambre and offal was practically left to rot in times before the tasajo trade.
The traditional way of grilling in the countryside has always been crosscut and the highest quality cut was matambre, until modernization brought new tools that allowed the ribs to be sawn, which in turn allowed the invention of a cut called asado, which displaced matambre to last place due to its hardness and low quality. Asado, which means grill in English, is also known in Argentina as "Parilla" (pronounced parisha), which also means barbecue or grill. [5] [6] [7]
However, this traditional way of using matambre still survives in some parts of Argentina, such as in Chascomús, where it is known as "matambre adobado". Marinated matambre is grilled using a marinade and flavored with lemon juice.
A more modern version of this marinade is perhaps the "matambre a la pizza", common in Argentina and Uruguay, which combines the concepts of "grilled matambre" and "pizza". [8] [9] To prepare the latter, a topping of tomatoes, seasonings and cheese is placed on the part that has no fat.
Argentine cuisine is described as a blending of cultures, from the Indigenous peoples of Argentina who focused on ingredients such as humita, potatoes, cassava, peppers, tomatoes, beans, and yerba mate, to Mediterranean influences brought by the Spanish during the colonial period. This led to cultural blending of criollos, Indigenous, and sub-Saharan African in the cuisine. Later, this was complemented by the significant influx of Italian and Spanish immigrants to Argentina during the 19th and 20th centuries, who incorporated plenty of their food customs and dishes such as pizzas, pasta and Spanish tortillas.
A beefsteak, often called just steak, is a flat cut of beef with parallel faces, usually cut perpendicular to the muscle fibers. In common restaurant service a single serving has a raw mass ranging from 120 to 600 grams. Beef steaks are usually grilled, pan-fried, or broiled. The more tender cuts from the loin and rib are cooked quickly, using dry heat, and served whole. Less tender cuts from the chuck or round are cooked with moist heat or are mechanically tenderized.
Teriyaki is a cooking technique in which foods are broiled or grilled with a glaze of soy sauce, mirin, and sugar. Although commonly associated with Japanese cuisine, this cooking technique is also commonly used in other Asian cuisines such as Chinese cuisine, Indonesian cuisine and Thai cuisine.
Asado is the technique and the social event of having or attending a barbecue in various South American countries: especially Argentina, Chile, Paraguay, Peru, and Uruguay where it is also a traditional event. An asado usually consists of beef, pork, chicken, chorizo, and morcilla; all of which are cooked using an open fire or a grill, called a parrilla. Usually, red wine and side dishes such as salads accompany the main meats, which are prepared by a designated cook called the asador or parrillero.
Galbi (Korean: 갈비), kalbi, galbi-gui (갈비구이), or grilled ribs is a type of gui in Korean cuisine. "Galbi" is the Korean word for "rib", and the dish is usually made with beef short ribs. When pork spare ribs or another meat is used instead, the dish is named accordingly. Galbi is served raw, then cooked on tabletop grills usually by the diners themselves. The dish may be marinated in a sweet and savory sauce usually containing soy sauce, garlic, and sugar. Both non-marinated and marinated galbi are often featured in Korean barbecue. This and many other dishes in Korean barbecue influenced Yakiniku as seen in the use of galbi.
Churrasco is the Portuguese and Spanish name for grilled beef prominent in the cuisines of Brazil, Colombia, Uruguay, and Argentina. The term is used in other Spanish- and Portuguese-speaking countries for a variety of different meat products.
Carne asada is grilled and sliced beef, usually skirt steak, flap steak, or flank steak though chuck steak can also be used. It is usually marinated then grilled or seared to impart a charred flavor. Carne asada can be served on its own or as an ingredient in other dishes.
London broil is a beef dish made by grilling marinated beef, then cutting it across the grain into thin strips. While the inclusion of "London" in the name may suggest British origins, "broil" is not a common term in UK English, and indeed the dish is American, not British.
Barbecue varies by the type of meat, sauce, rub, or other flavorings used, the point in barbecuing at which they are added, the role smoke plays, the equipment and fuel used, cooking temperature, and cooking time.
The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to the preparation of food:
During butchering, beef is first divided into primal cuts, pieces of meat initially separated from the carcass. These are basic sections from which steaks and other subdivisions are cut. Since the animal's legs and neck muscles do the most work, they are the toughest; the meat becomes more tender as distance from hoof and horn increases.
Flap steak, or flap meat is a beef steak cut from the obliquus internus abdominis muscle of the bottom sirloin. It is generally very thin, fibrous and chewy, but flavorful, and often confused with both skirt steak and hanger steak.
Choripán is a type of asado sandwich with grilled chorizo. It is popular in Argentina, Chile, Uruguay, Paraguay, Peru, Bolivia and Venezuela. The name comes from the combination of the names of its ingredients: a grilled chorizo sausage and a crusty bread such as a pan batido, baguette, or francés.
Uruguayan cuisine is a fusion of cuisines from several European countries, especially of Mediterranean foods from Spain, Italy, Portugal and France. Other influences on the cuisine resulted from immigration from countries such as Germany and Scotland. Uruguayan gastronomy is a result of immigration, rather than local Amerindian cuisine, because of late-19th and early 20th century immigration waves of, mostly, Italians. Spanish influences are abundant: desserts like churros, flan, ensaimadas yoo (Catalan sweet bread), and alfajores were all brought from Spain. There are also all kinds of stews known as guisos or estofados, arroces, and fabada. All of the guisos and traditional pucheros (stews) are also of Spanish origin. Uruguayan preparations of fish, such as dried salt cod (bacalao), calamari, and octopus, originate from the Basque and Galician regions, and also Portugal. Due to its strong Italian tradition, all of the famous Italian pasta dishes are present in Uruguay including ravioli, lasagne, tortellini, fettuccine, and the traditional gnocchi. Although the pasta can be served with many sauces, there is one special sauce that was created by Uruguayans. Caruso sauce is a pasta sauce made from double cream, meat, onions, ham and mushrooms. It is very popular with sorrentinos and agnolotti. Additionally, there is Germanic influence in Uruguayan cuisine as well, particularly in sweet dishes. The pastries known as bizcochos are Germanic in origin: croissants, known as medialunas, are the most popular of these, and can be found in two varieties: butter- and lard-based. Also German in origin are the Berlinese known as bolas de fraile, and the rolls called piononos. The facturas were re-christened with local names given the difficult German phonology, and usually Uruguayanized by the addition of a dulce de leche filling. Even dishes like chucrut (sauerkraut) have also made it into mainstream Uruguayan dishes.
Chilean cuisine stems mainly from the combination of traditional Spanish cuisine, Chilean Mapuche culture and local ingredients, with later important influences from other European cuisines, particularly from Germany, the United Kingdom and France. The food tradition and recipes in Chile are notable for the variety of flavours and ingredients, with the country's diverse geography and climate hosting a wide range of agricultural produce, fruits and vegetables. The long coastline and the peoples' relationship with the Pacific Ocean add an immense array of seafood to Chilean cuisine, with the country's waters home to unique species of fish, molluscs, crustaceans and algae, thanks to the oxygen-rich water carried in by the Humboldt Current. Chile is also one of the world's largest producers of wine and many Chilean recipes are enhanced and accompanied by local wines. The confection dulce de leche was invented in Chile and is one of the country's most notable contributions to world cuisine.
Korean barbecue is a popular method in Korean cuisine of grilling meat, typically beef, pork or chicken. Such dishes are often prepared on gas or charcoal grills built into the dining table itself. Some Korean restaurants that do not have built-in grills provide customers with portable stoves for diners to use at their tables. Alternatively, a chef uses a centrally displayed grill to prepare dishes that are made to order.
Breaded cutlet or braised cutlet is a dish made from coating a cutlet of meat with breading or batter and either frying or baking it.
Mu ping is a portion of street food in Thailand. It gained popularity in 1952, when food transport carts were redesigned and turned into street vendor carts. Mu ping can be eaten for breakfast, lunch, or dinner. Mu ping is a common food to find in the streets of Thailand that usually start to sell around 5 am–11 am. Mu Ping is eaten with sticky rice. The set of the meal comes as three skewers of Mu Ping and a package sticky rice. The price per stick is around 5 - 10 Baht depending on pork prices.
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