Beef Mechado Recipe (A very Meaty Comforting Filipino dish )

The Classic Beef Mechado Recipe made simple and easy. A step by step guide to make a deliciously tender Filipino brisket recipe. This is the perfect dish to serve at small and even big gatherings, or as a filling family meal you can also serve as a packed lunch. A bite of this dish will surely bring nostalgia and warmth to anyone who tries it.

What is an old fashioned Beef Mechado Recipe ?

Before making this Easy Beef Mechado Recipe, you might be interested to know a little bit about the history of how “Mechado” came to be. This dish actually has Spanish roots. Introduced during the Spanish colonization. The name “Mechado” or “Mechar” in Spanish means “to stuff with fat” or “to lard with fat”. This was because the original dish was made by stuffing pork fat into beef to keep it tender and flavorful. The modern recipes now are more simple and remove this step. 

Even as the dish has evolved and modernized, the taste and flavor profile stays the same. Though nowadays there are a lot of versions. From changing the choice of meat, adding or omitting vegetables, and or even turning it vegan. No matter the change, this hearty flavorful dish is typically made in big portions to eat throughout the week as meal prep, often served at special occasions, fiestas, or even in small gatherings.

Mechado vs Afritada

The biggest difference between the two are that the traditional meat used for Afritada is often chicken, while Mechado uses Beef or pork. 

Mechado vs Kaldereta ( Mechado vs Caldereta )

While both are beef stews, both are made with a different base of ingredients. Mechado is a tomato based sauce, this is also slightly tangy from the lemon, calamansi, or vinegar added. Kaldereta on the other hand is more spicy and umami with the addition of chillies and liver spread, sometimes adding peanut butter for some added nuttiness.

Best Beef Mechado Recipe

Ingredients :

• 1 kilo beef chunks
• 1 – 2 teaspoons salt
• 1 – 2 teaspoons pepper
• Half a lemon or 1 tablespoon vinegar
• ½ cup dark soy sauce
• Oil for sauteing
• 2 potatoes ( chopped )
• 2 carrots ( chopped )
• 1 onion ( chopped )
• 2 tablespoons garlic ( minced )
• ⅓ – ½ cup tomatoes ( chopped )
• 1 tablespoon fish sauce
• 3 bay leaves
• 1 cup tomato sauce
• 2 tablespoons tomato paste
• 2 – 3 cups water
• 1 beef broth cube
• 1 bell pepper

Steps :

1. Prepare the beef chunks. The bigger the chunks the longer the simmer time. Season these with salt and pepper, lemon or vinegar, and soy sauce. Mix well, marinade for 1 hour to overnight in the fridge.

2. In a pan at medium heat, add 2 tablespoons of oil. Once hot, add the carrots and potatoes. Saute until these have browned, set aside.

3. In the same pan, cook the beef chunks in batches. Remove any lemon seeds if there are any. Flip and cook until both sides have browned. Repeat for the next batch. Set aside.

4. Saute onions in the same pan until soft. Add in garlic and cook until fragrant. Cook in tomatoes until soft. Pour in fish sauce, add bay leaves, tomato sauce, and tomato paste. Mix well.

5. Depending on how thick you want the sauce, add in 2 – 3 cups of water. Mix well before adding a beef cube. Mix well before adding the beef chunks back. Cover and simmer for 45 minutes to 1 hour.

6. Mix often to avoid the bottom from burning. Once the beef is tender enough to be pierced with a fork it’s ready. If not, simmer for another 10 – 30 minutes.

7. Once tender add back the carrots and potatoes. Cover and simmer for 15 – 20 minutes. Give it a quick mix before adding the bell pepper. Cook for 3 minutes uncovered.

8. Give it a taste, add salt and pepper if needed. Mix well and serve fresh out of the pan.

Try our other Yummy Beef Recipes List :

Questions:

• Using other meats for this Pinoy Mechado recipe:
  • Beef Ribs Mechado recipe – use short ribs to make these easier to mix and saute. If you do use beef ribs, you might need to simmer for 1 hour to 1 hour and 30 minutes as meat with bones usually take longer to tenderize.
  • Beef Shank Mechado recipe – shanks are rich, fatty, and deliciously flavorful. These are a great alternative that you can ask the butcher to cut into chunks as well. You can also choose to get ones without the bones to quicken cook time. If you do use shanks, it’s best to saute the beef first without oils as these are quite fatty. Use the leftover melted fats from the beef to cook the potatoes and aromatics after.
  • Pork Mechado Recipe – for those you prefer using the pig. To make a mechado recipe pork version simply follow the recipe listed, this time it might take even less time when simmering. Make sure to check every 20 minutes, until these are tender enough to easily pierce with a fork. Do note, depending on the part of the pig, it can get oilier.
  • You can also make it a combination of both to make a Pork and Beef Mechado recipe. Simple combine 50 – 50 or pork and beef chunks, following the recipe above to make a very meaty beef and pork mechado recipe.
  • How to Cook Chicken Mechado ( “How to Cook Mechadong Chicken”) – Season the chicken like the meat. But when sauteing, cook the chicken skin side first to help remove the extra oils from the skin. This also helps crisp it up a little, and keep the meat moist. Flip one one side is slightly charred, repeat as needed. Follow the steps similar to the recipe after.
  • For a Tuna Mechado Recipe – follow the recipe, making sure when sauteing the tuna that it’s cooked just until the top and bottom has browned, not fully cooked. Simmer for 30 minutes or less, checking if it’s cooked. Make sure that you do not overcook the fish so the meat will still be tender and not dry.
  • The Vegetarian Mechado Recipe – is the quickest to cook out of all of the options on top. For this simply skip the meat and brown the vegetables, saute in the aromatics, and pour in the supposed marinade, seasonings, and 1 cup of water instead. Simmer just until the vegetables feel tender, around 10 – 15 minutes. Add in the bell pepper at the end, simmering together for just a few minutes before serving. You can also add tofu cubes with the marinade to add more protein. Or if you’d like a nicely textured dish, fry or saute the tofu before adding it in the dish at the end.

• How to make Beef Mechado even better ?

Add cheese, and a lot of cheese to make Cheesy Beef Mechado ! adding cheese can also help thicken the sauce. Cheese adds a nice sharp and salty taste into the dish giving it a good contrast from the strong savory flavor and slight oiliness of the dish. Just add a cup or so of the cheese at the end. Cover for a few minutes,letting it melt over the beef before serving.

You can also make a mechado beef with hot dog dish simply by adding the hot dogs during the simmering time with the carrots and potatoes. These just give a fun colorful appeal especially for kids to get interested in their food.

• Other cooking methods
  • For a  Beef Mechado Recipe Instant Pot – after marinating the beef, prepare the instant pot base to the ‘saute setting’, add oil and saute the carrots and onions before taking these out, repeat the method for the beef, after, add in the aromatics, tomatoes, seasonings, and only 1 – 2 cups of water. Cover and set the pressure to high and at 30 minutes. Release the pressure valve before taking the lid off, add back the carrots and potatoes with the bell peppers. Cook in the pot for a few minutes. If you want the sauce to thicken, mix 2 teaspoons of cornstarch or flour with 3 – 5 teaspoons of water before adding it into the instant pot. Then add in the tomato sauce and tomato paste. Mix until it looks thick enough before serving.
  • For a Beef Mechado Recipe using a Slow Cooker – Once the beef is seasoned. Saute the aromatics before adding the beef chunks in the dutch oven. Then add in the tomatoes. Cook until the tomatoes are soft enough to crush. Place everything ( all the ingredients listed except the bell peppers ) in the slow cooker. Cook on high heat for 4 hours or more, depending on how tender the beef is. Once tender, add in the bell peppers and let these cook for a few minutes before serving.

Beef Mechado Filipino Resipi

Mga Sangkap :

• 1 kilo baka na hiniwa ng malalaki
• 1 – 2 kutsarita ng asin
• 1 – 2 kutsarita ng paminta
• Kalahari ng limon o 1 kutsara ng suka
• ½ tasa dark soy sauce
• Mantika panluto
• 2 patatas ( hiniwa ng maliliit )
• 2 karot ( hiniwa ng maliliit )
• 1 sibuyas ( tinadtad )
• 2 kutsara ng bawang ( tinadtad )
• ⅓ – ½ tasa kamatis ( hiniwa ng maliliit )
• 1  kutsara ng patis
• 3 dahon ng laurel
• 1 tasa tomato sauce
• 2 kutsara ng tomato paste
• 2 – 3 tasa ng tubig
• 1 beef broth cube
• 1 kampanilyang paminta

Paano Lutuin :

1. Ihanda ang mga baka. Pag mas malaki, mas matagal ang pagluto nito. I-season ng asin, paminta, limon o suka, at soy sauce. Ihalo at imarinate ng 1 oras o magdamag sa ref.
2. Sa kawali na nasa katamtamang init, lagyan ng 2 kutsara ng mantika. Pag mainit na, lutuin ang mga karot at patatas hanggang mag kayumanggi. Itabi.
3. Sa parehong kawali, lutuin ang mga baka ng batches. Tanggalin ang mga buto ng limon pag meron nito. Pag baliktaran hanggang mag kayumanggi. Ulitin sa susunod na batch. Pagkatapos, itabi.
4. Lutuin ang mga sibuyas hanggang lumambot. Haluan ng bawang hanggang bumango. Lutuin din dito ang mga kamatis hanggang lumambot. Isama dito ang patis, dahon ng laurel, tomato sauce, at tomato paste. Haluin ng mabuti.
5. Depende kung gaano kakapal mo gusto ang sarsa, haluin ito ng 2 o 3 tasa ng tubig. Pagkatapos, haluan ng beef cube bago ibalik ang nilutong baka. Takpan at lutuin ng 45 minuto o 1 oras.
6. Haluin paminsan-minsan para hindi masunog ang ibaba. Malalaman kung malambot na ang baka kung mabilis ito tusukin gamit ang tinidor. Pag hindi pa malambot, pakuluin ng 10 – 30 minuto pa.
7. Pag malambot na, ilagay ang mga karot at patatas. Takpan at pakuluan ng 15 – 20 minuto. Haluin bago ilagay ang mga kampanilyang paminta. Lutuin ng 3 minuto na walang takip.
8. Tikman, dagdagan ng asin o paminta kung kinakailangan. Ihanda habang mainit pa.