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Carne Mecha

A Puerto Rican roast beef stuffed with chorizo, ham, onions, peppers, olives, and simmered in tomato sauce and broth.

From the Recipes Wiki (Fandom) · 12 ingredients
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Why it works: Olive and tomato are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 15,539 recipes. Both carry 3-hexenal, which smells apple, fruity. The science ↓

Carne Mecha

Timeabout 3 hours

Ingredients

Directions

Prepare the roast

  1. Rinse eye round under cold water and pat dry.

  2. At one end of the roast cut in as many deep pockets as you can.

  3. Stuff the pockets with a combination of the chorizo, ham, onions, peppers, and olives.

  4. Sew the pockets with butcher's cord.

  5. Rub meat with adobo.

Brown and build the sauce

  1. Pour 3 tablespoons of olive oil in a heavy pot and bring to heat.

  2. Place the meat in the pot and brown on all sides.

  3. Remove meat from pot and deglaze the bottom of the pot with either the chicken or beef broth. Scrape up all the brown drippings and set aside.

  4. Rinse the pot in hot water, do not use any soap, dry and return to the stove. Pour in the remaining three tablespoons of olive oil and bring to heat.

  5. Add the sofrito and stir until it starts to bubble.

  6. Add one tablespoon of vinegar and two cans of tomato sauce.

  7. Continue stirring and add broth.

  8. Bring to a simmer.

  9. Return meat to the pot and cover.

Braise

  1. Cook slowly on low to medium heat for about 3 hours.

  2. At this time stick a fork into the meat to check and see how it is cooking inwardly and turn over.

  3. Stir and check the sauce every 30 minutes.

  4. If you feel that it needs more liquid add a little more broth.

  5. Taste for salt and pepper and add if needed.

Finish and serve

  1. Place potatoes in a pot of boiling water and blanch for about 8 to 10 minutes, drain and set aside.

  2. Deep fry potatoes until golden brown and tender but not soft, and set aside.

  3. When the roast is done remove from pot and allow to rest for at least 15 to 20 minutes.

  4. Place potatoes in the pot with the gravy and allow to simmer slowly on low fire for another 5 to 6 minutes or until completely tender, but not so soft that they will break apart.

  5. Slice the roast and serve on a platter surrounded with the potatoes.

  6. Pour gravy into a gravy server and pour over meat with the individual servings.

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

1038Calories
92 gProtein
47 gFat
58 gCarbs
What these numbers assume: 9 portions
IngredientPortion assumedkcal
Beef100g cooked250
Pork100g cooked242
Chicken100g cooked165
Potato1 medium (173g) baked161
Olive Oil1 tbsp (14g)119
Onion1 medium (110g)44
Bell Pepper1 medium (119g)31
Tomato1 medium (123g)22
Olive1 large (4g)4

One typical portion per ingredient; the recipe's quantities are not counted. A rough guide only, not for medical or dietary planning.

Recipe from the Recipes Wiki (Fandom).

Steps grouped into stages for easier reading; the method is the source's own.

Explore the science

The flavor team

The pairs that carry this dish. Each one is judged two ways: how much their aromas overlap, and how often cooks already put them together.

  1. Olive + tomatotop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together15,539 recipes

    Shared aroma: 3-hexenal (apple, fruity).

  2. Onion + potatotop 3% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together9,023 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).

  3. Potato + tomatotop 5% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together2,798 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).

  4. Olive + potatotop 7% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together6,458 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2-undecenal (sweet).

  5. Onion + beeftop 7% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together17,092 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).

Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs

What each ingredient does

Eye round
Lean beef that becomes tender and sliceable after long, slow braising.
Chorizo
Adds smoky, spiced fat that flavors the stuffing and the surrounding sauce.
Tomato sauce
Forms the acidic, sweet base of the braising sauce and helps tenderize the meat.
Sofrito
Builds aromatic savory depth as it cooks down in the oil before the liquids go in.
Potatoes
Absorb gravy flavor and hold their shape, giving a starchy contrast to the meat.
Beef or chicken broth
Provides liquid for braising and carries the browned drippings into the sauce.

The step that matters

Browning the meat on all sides. Searing creates browned, savory flavor through the Maillard reaction. Pale meat gives a flatter sauce, and the browned drippings are the base for the gravy.

Swap the onion

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (ham, pepper, olive, potato, tomato, sauce, beef):

  1. Capsicumfits better
  2. Onionthe original
  3. Carrotfits about as well
  4. Asparagusfits about as well

Fit is the average pairing score against ham, pepper, olive, potato, tomato, sauce, beef. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.

“What each ingredient does” and “The step that matters” were written by Claude from this recipe’s own method and reviewed in samples by CompKitchen.

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