I call this dish “Fusion Picadillo.” Why? Because it’s a novel take on Picadillo (pronounce “peekahdeeyo”). One of the most popular dishes in Puerto Rican cuisine. It was, and is, fairly inexpensive, delicious and satisfying. If you wanted to feed the family back on the island, or in Spanish Harlem in New York city, it was the go-to dish. The recipe today is a variation on traditional  picadillo (see post of 03/12/16). As in the original recipe, it incudes ground beef and the usual Nuyorican seasoning. But we add canned cream of mushroom soup rather than tomato sauce or anything else. The ingredients are minimal, but the result is outstanding.

In terms of the meat, back on the block we used ground chuck or ground round. Now, if you want to use a finer cut like sirloin, go right ahead. For those who want to replace the beef, you can substitute ground turkey, or even ground chicken.

I know there are purists out there who would never consider adding canned cream of mushroom soup to a dish. What can I say? I can hear them crying out, “Sacre Bleu” (“My Goodness!” or “Heaven Forbid!” in English). Linguistics aside, consider that this recipe is easy, delicious and comforting to the tummy. So, why fret? Just try it out. With rice, couscous, pasta, or whatever side dish you prefer, this meal will be a winner for you, family and friends.

Ingredients:

4 tablespoons olive oil
1 pound ground beef
1 medium onion, peeled and chopped
2 cloves garlic, peeled and minced
Salt and ground black pepper to taste
¼ teaspoon oregano
¼ teaspoon dill
1 can (10.5 oz) cream of mushroom soup

Instructions:

1. Heat olive oil in large skillet or frypan.
2. Add beef and cook on high heat until meat loses its red color
3. Reduce heat to medium, add onion and garlic, and sauté until until onion is soft and meat is brown (about 3 minutes).
4. Season with salt, pepper, oregano and dill.
5. Add cream of mushroom soup and stir to combine. Lower heat and simmer 20 minutes. Serve with favorite grain or a good loaf of bread.
   Yield: 4 servings.

We Puerto Ricans enjoy rum, and we like a good steak. So, somewhere along the line, someone decided to combine the two. The result: Biftec con Ron or Rum Marinated Steak. Now, this is gospel, the best rum for this to work, is dark rum. White light rum is not gonna cut it. Save that for your sophisticated mixed rinks like a martini or a Rum Collins. Being a Nuyorican, I gravitate toward Puerto Rican rums That being said, any good brand will do whether it’s from San Juan or Haiti or Venezuela, or elsewhere in the Carribean. These days even Americans make good rum. All in all, it’s an embarrassment of riches.

In this recipe the question invariably arises as to how long to marinate the meat? In my family, we always gave it 4 hours. Some folks may say longer, even marinating it overnight. Use your judgment and common sense. I’m sure you could marinate the thing for as long as you want, and it still would be edible.

For this recipe you can use whatever individual steak cuts you prefer. This could be rib, loin, round, flank, brisker, shank, etc. Since my days back on the block, my circumstances have changed, thus I usually use sirloin steak when making this dish. But, again, any good cut of meat will do. When finances were low, our family would use chuck steak. The beaty of this dush is that the marinade will make even a cheap cut of meat taste like a kingly dish. You can’t go wrong with this sucker. Enjoy.

Ingredients:

4 steaks, 12 ounces to 1 pound each
½ cup mustard
4 ounces dark rum (also called gold rum in some areas)
1 tablespoon ground black pepper
3 tablespoons olive oil

Instructions:

1. Wash steaks under cold running water and pat dry with paper towels. Pierce meal all over with a fork
2. In a small bowl or cup, mix mustard, rum and pepper.
3. Brush meat with olive oil and spread both side with marinade. Place in a large zip-lock bag and refrigerate for 4 hours, turning and mixing with marinade several times.
4. Place meat in a large pan or skillet. Sear on both sides over medium-high heat. Cover and let meat cook in the marinade until desired degree of doneness. Of course, this all depends on the thickness of the steak. Rule of thumb is this: for rare to medium rare, cook 2-3 minutes per side over medium-high heat, for medium rare to medium steak, cook 4 minutes per side over medium-low heat. For medium to well-done, cook 4-5 minutes per side over medium-low heat.
5. Allow the steaks to rest for 5 minutes before serving. This allows the juices to redistribute, resulting in a more tender and flavorful steak.
   Yield: 4 servings.
   
   

Once in a while I hanker for a juicy steak. I don’t eat beef that much anymore, but when the yen strikes, I go for something special. Like the recipe given today: Biftec Especial, an old Nuyorican favorite.  All it is boneless beef cooked in bouillon (it could be beef or chicken bouillon), with a little wine added, and flavored with typical Nuyorican spices. Back on the block in Spanish Harlem, when making this dish we would use boneless chuck steak, mainly because it was cheap. But if you want to use a finer cut like ribeye, or skirt steak, or sirloin, go right ahead. You’re the boss. Although one of the reasons of using chuck is that we doctor it up so that it tastes special thus, the moniker, Special Steak.

Over the years I’ve discovered that, all along, we were making a version of what the French call Boeuf á Mode. Only difference is that in the French version they add carrots and cloves, which we never did. Why? I don’t know. That’s just the way it was. Still, if you want to make a memorable dinner, this is it. With a side of mash potatoes or French fries, or a vegetable, it’s a dish made in heaven—and one that family and friends will relish.

BIFTEC ESPECIAL (Special Steak)

Ingredients:

4 pounds boneless beef chuck
Salt and ground black pepper to taste
1 teaspoon dried oregano
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 cup beef or chicken bouillon
1 cup dry red wine
½ cup brandy
½ teaspoon dried thyme
6 parsley sprigs
6 whole peppercorns
1 clove garlic, peeled and halved

Instructions:

1. Wash beef under cold running water and pat dry with paper towels.
2. Rub pepper, salt and oregano thoroughly over the meat.
3. Heat oil over medium heat in a large heavy Dutch oven. kettle or pot.
4. Add beef and brown on all sides
5. Add beef or chicken bouillon, wine, brandy, thyme, parsley, peppercorns and garlic. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat, cover and simmer until meat is tender, about an hour or more. Don’t forget to turn meat occasionally during cooking. Remove meat from pan and keep warm.
6. Mix ¾ cup cold water mixed with 1 tablespoon cornstarch. Pour into pot, brin g to a boil, lower heat to medium and cook, stirring, until thicken to a rich gravy. You can add more or less water depending on how thick you want the gravy. If desired, you can add 1 tablespoon heavy or light cream for a richer sauce. Add beef, mix to combine and serve.
   Yield: 6-8 servings.

I  call this recipe a Meat Pie although it’s not a pie in the traditional sense. Basically it’s braised beef with a sour cream topping. I know, it’s a weird combination. Yet the result is delicious, and something out of the ordinary. Take a chance on it. You won’t be disappointed.

Let me add that, for the health conscious you can substitute ground chicken or turkey for the beef given in the recipe.  Impress everyone in your circle with this one.

MEAT PIE

Ingredients:

I pound ground beef
3 tablespoons olive  oil
1 medium onion, peeled and chopped
2 cloves garlic, peeled and chopped
1 pound ground beef
½ teaspoon oregano
½ teaspoon fresh thyme leaves or ¼ teaspoon dried
Salt and ground black pepper to taste
1 (16 oz.) container sour cream
1 packet Sazón Goya or Sa-són Accent
2 hard-boiled eggs, sliced in half

Instructions:

1.  Heat olive oil in a frypan or skillet over medium heat.
2.  Add onion and cook until soft and translucent, Add garlic and cook for 2 minutes more.
3.  Add ground beef and cook, stirring, until well browed.
4.  Stir in oregano, thyme, salt and pepper.
5.  In a bowl, mix sour cream with the sazón. Layer the sour cream mix over the beef. Place in a broiler and broil 4 minutes (do not burn).
6.  Garnish with hard-boil eggs sand serve .
   Yield: 4-6 servings.

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This is as recipe that I prepared for Passover. Some of our Jewish friend had invited us over to partake in their ritual Passover feast. Only requirement was that we each bring a dish; and I was entrusted with the brisket. Let me state that this is my own brisket dinner recipe and it has a Nuyorican spin to it. I add such ingredients as oregano and sofrito, that aromatic mix of herbs and spices traditional in Puerto Rican cooking. If you don’t have sofrito, you can use a packet of either Goya Sazón or Sazón Accent. This is a slow cooked meal and, blessedly, it was a hit with everyone.

So, here it is one, my  Nuyorican version of Braised Brisket. Let me add that this dish is for that special occasion, and it does take time and patience; but the effort is more than worth it.

BRAISED BRISKET

Ingredients:

 4-6 pound brisket (preferably first cut)
¼  cup olive oil
1 tablespoons dried oregano or to taste
1 tablespoons fresh chopped thyme leaves, or 1 teaspoon dried
3  whole onions, peeled and sliced thinly
10 whole cloves garlic, peeled and squashed with your palm, the side of a knife or a cleaver
3 bay leaves
1 cup water (beef or chicken broth can be substituted)
¼ cup red wine (preferably dry not sweet)
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 teaspoon black pepper
1 teaspoon paprika
3/4 teaspoon turmeric
1 teaspoon sofrito

Instructions:

1. If frozen, thaw brisket. Rinse under cold running water and pat dry with paper towels.
2. Drizzle with olive oil, season with oregano and thyme, and brown brisket in a skillet on both sides.
3. Place half of the chopped onions, 5 of the garlic cloves and the bay leaves in the bottom of a Dutch oven or large pot
4. Place brisket on top of the onions and garlic.
5. In a small bowl, mix together the water or broth, wine,  black pepper, paprika, turmeric, and sofrito. Pour the water and spice mixture into a skillet and heat over medium heat until  hot and bubbly, using the liquid to deglaze the pan and loosening brown bits gently from the bottom of the skillet with a spatula. Pour the contents of the skillet into the brisket pot.
6. Top brisket with the remaining sliced onions and garlic cloves. Cover and cook on medium-high heat until liquid steams. Lower heat to medium and cook until fork tender (about 2 hours). Tenderness will increase as it cooks, so take it out when it’s tender to your liking. Most people like it very tender but not so soft that it is falling apart. You want it firm enough to slice but tender enough that the edges shred with a fork.
7. Remove brisket from the pot and let it rest on the cutting board fat-side up for 20 minutes. Then cut the brisket into thin slices against the grain.
8. Meanwhile, mix together 2 tablespoons cornstarch with 2 tablespoons water and stir into the liquid in the pot (after removing bay leaves).
9. Once sauce is ready, return slices to the pot and mix with sauce. Heat the meat slices on medium heat until sauce is hot, bubbly and thickened around the meat (around 5-8 minutes). Serve sliced brisket hot with sauce.
   Yield: 8 or more servings.