Portuguese Carne Assada
This Portuguese carne assada from David's VERY Portuguese Mama Leite, is a traditional Azorean braised beef dish made with meltingly tender meat, small red potatoes, chouriço, and onions.
Ingredients
- 8 garlic cloves, crushed and peeled
- 1 (26-ounce) bottle dry red wine
- 3 tablespoons double-concentrate tomato paste, (or substitute 4 1/2 tablespoons store-bought or homemade tomato paste
- 1 teaspoon chopped oregano leaves
- 2 bay leaves
- 1 tablespoon sweet paprika
- 1 tablespoon smoked sweet paprika
- 1 1/2 teaspoons crushed red pepper flakes, or more to taste
- Kosher salt, to taste
- 1 (4-pound) boneless chuck roast, tied
- Freshly ground black pepper
- 3 tablespoons olive oil, or more as needed
- 2 large yellow onions, coarsely chopped
- 1 cup water
- 1 1/2 pounds Portuguese chouriço, linguiça, or dry-cured smoked Spanish chorizo, cut into several pieces
- 1 1/2 pounds golf-ball size red potatoes, peeled (or not!)
- 1/2 pound baby carrots
- Chopped flat-leaf parsley leaves, for garnish
US - Metric
Instructions
- In a large nonreactive bowl, combine the garlic, wine, tomato paste, oregano, bay leaves, both types of paprika, the pepper flakes, and 1 teaspoon of salt. Add the beef, turn to coat, cover, and marinate in the fridge for at least 2 hours or, preferably, overnight, turning the beef several times.
- Position a rack in the lower third of the oven and crank the heat to 325°F (163°C).
- Remove the bowl from the fridge and transfer the beef and garlic cloves to a plate, reserving the marinade. Pat the beef dry with paper towels and season well with salt and pepper.
- In an ovenproof Dutch oven over medium-high heat, warm the oil. When hot, sear the beef until nicely browned, about 5 minutes per side. Transfer to the plate. Do not wipe out the Dutch oven.
- Reduce the heat to medium. If the pot is dry, drizzle in a little more oil. Add the onions and cook, stirring occasionally, until golden brown, about 15 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for 3 minutes more.
- Pour the reserved marinade and water into the pot and bring to a boil. Nestle in the beef, cover tightly, and put it in the oven to braise, turning the meat and basting it every 20 minutes or so, until almost falling apart tender, 2 1/2 to 3 hours.
- Add the chouriço, potatoes, and carrots to the Dutch oven and continue to braise the meat, covered, for 30 minutes more.
- Transfer the beef to a bowl, ladle some of the cooking liquid over the meat, and cover with foil to keep warm. Bump up the oven temperature to 400°F (200°C), slide the pot back into the oven, and roast the vegetables and sausage in the remaining cooking liquid, uncovered, until the potatoes are easily pierced with a knife, 15 to 30 minutes more.
- Transfer the vegetables and sausage to the bowl with the meat and skim any fat from the sauce in the pot. If the sauce seems too liquidy to form a sauce, place it over medium heat and simmer it until it’s reduced to the desired consistency. Remove and discard the bay leaves.
- To serve, slice the chouriço on the diagonal into 2-inch (5-cm) pieces. Center the beef on a platter, remove the string, and arrange the sausage and vegetables around the roast. Ladle a bit of the sauce on top, sprinkle with parsley, and pass the rest of the sauce on the side.
Notes
- Scaling the recipe--If you are halving the recipe, use the full amount of liquid suggested in the recipe.
- Potatoes--If your potatoes are larger than 1 1/2 inches, cut them into smaller pieces to ensure that they cook through.
- Storage--Leftover carne assada can be stored in a sealed container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. Reheat in a Dutch oven over medium-low heat or in a 350°F oven until heated through.
- Dietary--This recipe is suitable for gluten-free and dairy-free diets.
Nutrition
Serving: 1serving | Calories: 702kcal | Carbohydrates: 21g | Protein: 48g | Fat: 41g | Saturated Fat: 16g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 168mg | Sodium: 1173mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 4g