Asado Negro

Ingredients

• 1.5 kg beef eye of round, in one piece, trimmed
• 100 g papelón, grated, or dark muscovado sugar
• 80 ml neutral oil
• 2 onions, sliced
• 1 leek, white part only, sliced
• 6 ají dulce peppers, chopped, or 1 red pepper
• 4 garlic cloves, crushed
• 2 carrots, sliced
• 300 g ripe tomatoes, grated
• 250 ml dry red wine
• 500 ml beef broth
• 2 tsp Worcestershire sauce
• 2 bay leaves
• salt and black pepper

Equipment

Grater / zester

The skills inside

Asado fireSugar stages & caramelSweating aromatics: soft, never brownedThe bare simmer: holding liquid below the boilThe wobble & the skewer: testing a bake

Allergen screen

Found: fish · alcohol

Screened for: gluten, dairy, egg, nuts, peanuts, fish, shellfish, molluscs, soy, sesame, celery, mustard, lupin, alcohol. Not screened: sulphites.

Screened by keyword from the ingredient list, not reviewed by a person; check every label for what the list cannot show.

Method

1. Season the beef heavily the night before with salt, pepper, garlic and Worcestershire, then wipe it bone dry before cooking, because any wetness makes molten caramel spit and seize.
2. Melt the papelón in the oil in a heavy pot over medium heat and keep going past golden, past mahogany, until it smokes lightly and is the colour of strong black coffee, roughly 5 minutes; the smell turns from sweet to bitter and that is the signal. 5 min
3. Lower the dry beef straight into the caramel, which halts it, and turn it every minute until every face is lacquered black, about 8 minutes. 8 min
4. Lift the meat out, soften the onions, leek, ají dulce, garlic and carrot in the same pot, then add the tomato, wine, bay and broth and return the beef.
5. Cover and hold at the barest simmer, turning the meat every 40 minutes, until a skewer slides through the centre with no grip, about 3 hours. 40 min
6. Rest until cool enough to carve into 5 mm sheets without shredding, blend the sauce smooth, and reheat the slices in it.