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Stuffed And Rolled Flank Steak
(Matambre)
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| What You Need: |
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2 two-pound flank steaks
½ cup red wine vinegar
1 teaspoon finely chopped garlic
1 teaspoon dried thyme
THE STUFING
½ pound fresh spinach
8 scraped cooked whole carrots, about 6 to 8 inches long and no more than 1 inch in diameter
4 hard-cooked eggs, cut lengthwise into quarters
1 large onion, sliced 1/8 inch thick and divided into rings
¼ cup finely chopped fresh parsley
1 teaspoon crumbled "pequin" chili or crushed, seeded, dried "hontaka" chili
1 tablespoon coarse salt
3 cups beef stock, fresh or canned
1 to 3 cups cold water
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| How To Cook: |
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1. Butterfly the steaks in the following fashion: With a long, very sharp knife slit the steaks horizontally from one long side to within ½ inch of the other side. Open the steaks, place them between 2 sheets of wax paper, and pound them with the side of a cleaver to flatten them further. Trim away all gristle and fat.
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2. Lay one steak, cut side up, on a 12-by-18-inch jelly-roll pan. Sprinkle it with half the vinegar, then scatter half the garlic and thyme over it. Cover the meat with the other steak, also cut side up, and sprinkle it with the remaining vinegar, garlic and thyme. Cover the pan and let the steaks marinate for 6 hours at room temperature or overnight refrigerated.
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3. Preheat the oven to 375°F. Lay the steaks end to end; cut side up, so that they overlap by about 2 inches. Pound the joined ends together with the flat of a cleaver to seal them securely.
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4. Wash the spinach under running water, drain it and trim off the stems. Spread the leaves evenly over the meat, and arrange the carrots across the grain of the meat in parallel rows about 3 inches apart. Place the eggs between the rows of carrots. Scatter the onion rings over them and sprinkle the surface evenly with parsley, chili and salt.
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5. Carefully roll the steaks with the grain, jelly-roll fashion, into a thick, long cylinder. To tie the "matambre", cut a kitchen cord into a 10-foot length. Wrap one end of the cord around the steaks about 1 inch from the edge of the roll and knot it securely.
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6. Then, holding the cord in a loop near the knot, wrap the remaining length of cord around the steaks about 2 inches from the edge of the roll and feed it through the loop. Now tighten the cord to keep the loop in place.
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7. Repeat until the roll is tied in loops at intervals of about 1 inch. Bring the remaining cord across the length of the bottom of the roll (catching it in one or two loops) and up over the opposite end. Tie it securely around the first loop. Trim off any excess cord.
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8. Place the "matambre" in a 12-quart casserole or roasting pan and pour in the stock. Add enough cold water to come a third of the way up the roll. Then cover tightly and place in the middle of the oven for 1 hour.
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9. To serve hot, remove the "matambre" from the pan to a board and let it rest for 10 minutes. With a sharp knife remove the strings and cut the "matambre" into ¼-inch slices. Arrange the slices on a heated platter and moisten them with a little pan liquid before serving.
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10. Or the "matambre" may be thoroughly chilled, and served in similarly cut slices. In Argentina, the "matambre" is generally poached in stock or water to cover it completely; it is then removed from the pot, pressed under weights until the juices drain off, refrigerated and served cold as an hors d'oeuvre.
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