I already posted a Beef Mechado recipe but that version used vinegar. The one featured here will use calamansi. It was supposed to have no tomato too. There are other versions of mechado that doesn’t use tomato but I prefer my mechado to have tomato. I just like my beef to have that tomato goodness in it. However, you can choose to remove the tomato. So here is the beef mechado recipe.

Ingredients

1 1/2 kilos kilo beef (strip of fat inserted) or kabilugan
4 calamansi (Squeeze the juice and set aside)
5 Tablespoons soy sauce
2 tomatoes cubed (optional)
1/4 cup tomato sauce (optional)
1 large onion, sliced
5 cloves garlic, crushed
4 tablespoons sherry
1 1/2 cups water
Salt to taste
1 teaspoon peppercorns
1 small bay leaf
3 tablespoons all purpose flour (toasted)
2 tablespoons butter
2 potatoes, quartered

Olive Oil

Directions

1. Marinate the beef in calamansi juice and soy sauce. Keep overnight with the marinade still intact.

2. The following day, brown the beef in olive oil. Add diced tomatoes until tomatoes are tender.

3. Add bay leaf, onion, garlic, sherry, water, salt, peppercorns. Simmer until tender. (I usually use pressure cooker)

4. Remove the meat from the pan.

5. Slice beef and strain the sauce.

6. Thicken the sauce with tomato sauce, toasted flour and butter.

7. Add back the beef to the sauce and add potatoes.

8. Simmer until tender.

Like I said, you can remove the tomatoes and tomato sauce if you want a non-tomato mechado version. It’s just a personal preference that I add tomatoes.