Here is our take on Venezuela’s national dish! Pabellón Criollo is the national dish of Venezuela, a traditional and hearty meal of shredded beef, black beans, and fried plantains served with white rice. The colorful arrangement of the ingredients on a plate is said to resemble the Venezuelan flag.
Ingredients
For the meat:
2 pounds flank steak
1 large yellow onion
1 large bell pepper. halved and seeded
1 t cumin seeds
1 t dried oregano
1 T red wine vinegar
salt to taste
For the cooking sauce:
3/4 cup achiote-infused oil
1 1/2 t salt
8 garlic cloves, finely chopped
1 medium onion, finely chopped
1 large red bell pepper, finely chopped
1 t freshly ground black pepper
1/4 t dried oregano
1/4 t ground cumin
1. Cut the meat across the grain into 2/12 – 3 inch pieces
2. Place the meat in a Dutch oven and cover with 2 quarts of water. Add the onion, bell pepper, peppercorns, cumin seeds, oregano, vinegar and salt to taste.
3. Bring to a boil on high heat, then lower the heat to medium and cook uncovered for 2 hours or until the meat is tender.
4. Remove the meat and set aside. Strain the broth and reserve.
5. Place the meat on a hard work surface and pound the meat with a tenderizer to loosen the fibers. Pull the meat into the thinnest possible threads (preferably less than 1/16 inch).
6. Heat the oil in a skillet. When the oil begins to smoke, add the meat and fry until golden brown, stirring the meat frequently. (Should take about 12 minutes to get the meat good and crisp.)
7. Remove the meat and season with salt.
8. Add the garlic to the skillet and sauté for 30-40 seconds, then add the onion, bell pepper, black pepper, oregano and cumin and stir while cooking for 2-3 minutes. Return the meat to the skillet and continue cooking for 2-3 minutes. Stir in 1 cup of the reserved broth and add the Worcestershire sauce. Reduce heat to very low and cook for 15 more minutes.
9. Serve over white rice. ENJOY!
DISCLOSURE: When we link to products and services, those links may be customized affiliate links. If you click on any of those affiliate links and make a purchase within a certain time frame, We’ll earn a small commission. The commission is paid by the retailers.
Here’s an example: If we link to our favorite vegetable peeler, and you click on that link and complete a purchase within the next 24 hours, we may receive a commission somewhere between 1 to 10 percent of your total order.
We are careful to link to products and retailers that we use ourselves and recommend. These affiliate programs use cookies to track visits for the purposes of assigning commission on these sales. Money earned keeps Galley of the Sun running and allows us to do what we love.
Thank you for your support.
SELECT AFFILIATE PROGRAM DETAILS: We are currently members of affiliate programs with Amazon and Dalstrong. We are eligible to earn from qualifying purchases.