Filipino Beef Mechado Recipe

My Grandpa's birthday celebration will never be complete without his favorite dish, the Beef Mechado. Mechado is a truly Filipino beef dish. Although, it is traditionally considered as a Spanish dish, the slight variation of this famous dish and the addition of some ingredients like the soy sauce and calamansi juice to the marinade gives the Beef Mechado its original, flavorful, and distinct pinoy taste.

Although, the Beef Mechado Recipe that I learned from my Grandma has a lot more ingredients added, the secret to a very savory and delicious Beef Mechado is in the beef stock. Put it this way, preparing your beef stock is a very basic skill that you should learn and be familiar with if you want to have the best tasting Beef Mechado.

Here is the beef mechado recipe I use. Enjoy cooking and have fun!

Ingredients:

• 1 kilo of beef cut into chunks
• 1/8 - 1/4 kilo of pork fat cut into strips
• 4 onions, peeled and quartered
• 5 medium potatoes, quartered (optional: fried)
• 1 medium sized carrot, sliced in 1/2" sections
• 2 red bell pepper, sliced
• 2 cups beef stock or 2 bouillon beef cubes dissolved in water
• 3 bay leaves (laurel leaves)
• 1/4 cup vinegar or calamansi juice
• 2 cups tomato sauce and 1/2 cup tomato paste
• 1 cup soy sauce
• salt & pepper to taste

Cooking Procedure:

• Cut a slice on the beef chunks and insert a pork strip in the middle (mitsa)
• In a casserole or sauce pan, combine the beef (with the pork strips in it), tomato sauce, soy sauce, bay leaves and beef stock. Bring to a boil and simmer until the beef is almost tender
• Add the vinegar or calamansi juice and let boil for a minute
• Add the potatoes, onions, carrots, and bell pepper
• Let simmer until potatoes and carrots are cooked, stir occasionally to thicken sauce

Hot Tip:

• Try frying the potatoes first before you add them in. I've done this many times and it even tastes better.
• You can also sauté the beef chunks in garlic and onions first before adding the tomato sauce, beef stock, etc.
• Try to experiment using spaghetti sauce (Italian or Sweet Blend) rather than plain tomato sauce. 

SEE MORE FILIPINO BEEF RECIPES!

Have you tried this beef mechado recipe? If you have your own mechado recipe or other beef recipes that you would like to share with us, feel free to write it in the comments section below.