Kitchen Secrets with Our Cuban Chef – Bistec Uruguayo
This recipe for Uruguayan Steak (Bistec Uruguayo) is very common to see in restaurants, but we rarely make it at home. Whenever we want to eat this exquisite way of cooking meat, we go to the market and buy it already prepared and when we get home, we only must fry it and it is ready. Even if you think it is not, it is never the same as when we prepare it ourselves, besides we must consider that this would be a family pride at the time of serving it.
Far from what is thought, it is not so complicated to prepare, and we will see why. But, before knowing how to prepare it, let’s know a little about its origin or provenance. Bistec Uruguayo is very similar to the Neapolitan Milanesa of Argentina, one of the favorite meals of the Uruguayans, and, like many other dishes, it is considered autochthonous of the Río de la Plata. But as far as I have investigated the origin of this recipe, it comes from Europe as it is based on the Cotoletta Milanesa, a traditional dish from the region of Lombardy, in the north of Italy.
Experts define it as a beef dish with ham and cheese, breaded with breadcrumbs and egg, like a breaded beef fillet, and fried in oil. Knowing the origin of this wonderful and nutritious dish, let’s see the steps to make it at home, quickly and easily.
HOW IS Bistec Uruguayo MADE?
Bistec Uruguayo is not complicated at all, contrary to what its name may suggest. It is a very easy recipe that anyone can prepare at home, achieving a delicious dish to bring to the table for the whole family to enjoy. We need only a few ingredients, including some spices for seasoning, ham, and cheese for the filling of course, plus flour, egg, and breadcrumbs to give it the perfect finish. Then we fry them in plenty of oil and in just a few minutes we will have several Uruguayan steaks to savor.
The idea is to use large steaks to make it easier for the stuffing not to spill. If we cannot get them then we will use two steaks instead of one, to place the stuffing between them. Let’s see then what ingredients we need, and which steps to follow to prepare them.
Ingredients
- 4 beef steaks (you can use pork)
- 8 thin slices of ham
- 4 thin slices of cheese
- 4 cloves of garlic
- Juice of 1 sour orange
- Salt and pepper to taste
- 2 eggs
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 cups breadcrumbs
- Oil for frying
SO HOW TO PREPARE Bistec Uruguayo?
- First, we give some soft blows on the steaks to undo the knots they may have and make them soft when cooked (this step depends on the quality of the meat), also to make them thinner and facilitate the cooking.
- Then we place them in a container to marinate them, adding the crushed garlic and the sour orange juice, we let them rest for about 20 minutes.
- After this time, add salt and pepper to taste. Next, we place a steak on a flat surface to prepare it.
- We draw an imaginary line on the first steak and in the middle of it we place a slice of ham, another slice of cheese on top, and once more ham, we turn the remaining half of the steak over the ham in such a way that they are organized as layers, trying that both ends of the steak touch each other so that the filling does not come out (if you have toothpicks tie them to secure them more and when frying remove them).
- This is what we are going to do with the rest of the steaks we have left to move on to the next step.
- Now put the eggs in a separate bowl, the flour in another one, and the breadcrumbs in a third one.
- We pass the steaks one by one, first in the flour draining the excess, then in the beaten egg and finally, in breadcrumbs, we are going to reserve them on a plate.
- We put a frying pan over medium heat with plenty of oil and when it is hot, we fry one by the breaded steaks until they are browned on both sides, approximately 10 or 15 minutes.
- Drain on kitchen paper to remove excess fat and they are ready to be tasted.
- To marinate them you can use garlic powder instead of raw garlic, as well as vinegar instead of sour orange, and add other spices to taste, cumin, and oregano, among others.
- Similarly, a trick that works very well to intensify the flavor is to add finely chopped dried parsley and garlic powder to the breadcrumbs, the flavor is multiplied by 10, making it delicious.
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