Tasajo

Ingredients

Beef

• 800 gtasajo — bought salt-dried beef
• cold water, for soaking

Stew

• 4 tbspolive oil
• 2onions, sliced
• 1green pepper, sliced
• 1red pepper, sliced
• 6 clovesgarlic, crushed
• 400 gtomatoes, chopped
• 2 tbsptomato purée
• 1 tspground cumin
• 1 tspdried oregano
• 2bay leaves
• 150 mldry white wine
• black pepper

To serve

• white rice
• fried ripe plantain
• lime wedges

Directions

1. Rinse the tasajo under running water to wash off the surface salt, then put it in a bowl of cold water and refrigerate for 12 hours, changing the water three or four times. Skipping changes leaves the meat inedibly salty and no amount of cooking will fix it.
2. Drain, put the beef in a pan of fresh unsalted water, bring to a simmer and cook for 45 minutes to an hour until a fork goes in easily. Taste the cooking water: if it is very salty, drain and start again with fresh water.
3. Lift the beef out, cool a little, and shred it along the grain with two forks or your fingers.
4. Heat the oil in a wide pan and cook the onion, peppers and garlic over medium heat for 10 minutes until soft and beginning to colour.
5. Add the tomatoes, purée, cumin, oregano and bay, and cook for 10 minutes until it thickens into a sofrito.
6. Stir in the shredded beef and the wine, and simmer gently for 20 minutes so the meat takes up the sauce. Add pepper but taste before you add any salt at all — there is usually none needed.
7. Serve over white rice with fried plantain and a wedge of lime.

Technique

• The soak is the recipe. Taste a small piece after boiling, and if it is still harsh, boil it again in fresh water.
• Never salt the sofrito before the beef goes in. Tasajo carries its own salt and there is no way back once the pan is over-seasoned.
• Shred along the grain, not across. Tasajo pulls into long strands and that texture is half the dish.

Substitutions

• Salt cod, prepared the same way, which makes a bacalao version of the same stew.
• Fresh beef brisket, simmered until tender — a different dish, but the same sofrito.

Variations

• Aporreado de tasajo mashes the meat harder into the sauce until it is almost a paste.
• Some cooks add a splash of vinegar at the end to lift the richness.

History

Salted beef shipped from the River Plate fed Cuba’s plantation workforce from the 18th century; it survives in dishes such as aporreado de tasajo.

Frequently asked questions

What is Tasajo?

Tasajo is a charcuterie & cured from Cuba: salt-dried beef rehydrated and shredded into stews with peppers. Salted beef shipped from the River Plate fed Cuba’s plantation workforce from the 18th century; it survives in dishes such as aporreado de tasajo.

How long does Tasajo take to make?

Tasajo takes 20 min plus 12 hours soaking of preparation and 2 hours of cooking. The recipe makes serves 6. It is rated easy to make.

What can I substitute in Tasajo?

Yes, within limits. Salt cod, prepared the same way, which makes a bacalao version of the same stew. Fresh beef brisket, simmered until tender — a different dish, but the same sofrito.

What is the most important thing to get right in Tasajo?

Never salt the sofrito before the beef goes in. Tasajo carries its own salt and there is no way back once the pan is over-seasoned.