{"id":50182,"date":"2023-03-08T22:52:10","date_gmt":"2023-03-09T03:52:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/enrilemoine.com\/?p=50182"},"modified":"2025-12-06T11:38:38","modified_gmt":"2025-12-06T16:38:38","slug":"venezuelan-shredded-beef-carne-mechada-recipe","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/enrilemoine.com\/en\/2023\/03\/08\/venezuelan-shredded-beef-carne-mechada-recipe\/","title":{"rendered":"Best Carne Mechada Recipe: Venezuelan Shredded Beef"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Look no further if you\u2019re searching for the best Venezuelan Shredded Beef. This authentic Carne mechada<\/em> recipe is all you need to start worshiping our delicious Venezuelan gastronomy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Venezuelan<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Note: Thanks to the Amazon Associates Program and other affiliate programs, I receive compensation for the products sold through the affiliate links in this post at no cost to the buyer.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Carne mechada<\/em> is part of the Venezuelan national dish known as pabell\u00f3n criollo<\/em>, and I promise: you\u2019ll love it! Besides mechada<\/em>, as some people call it, pabell\u00f3n<\/em> includes black beans, white rice, fried plantains, and sometimes sunny-side-up eggs. Lots of flavors!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What is carne mechada<\/em>?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\"A<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Carne mechada<\/em> or carne desmechada<\/em>, is the name given in Venezuela to shredded beef. The name comes from the Spanish verb desmechar<\/em>, which means to pull apart. Once cooked and shredded, the meat is cooked again in a sofrito<\/em> to create a flavorful stew. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The origins of this iconic Venezuelan dish can be traced to the Spanish Canary Islands, where it is called ropa vieja<\/em> (literally old clothes.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What is the best meat cut to make carne mechada<\/em>?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\"Ingredients<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The best beef cut for carne mechada<\/em> is skirt beef, a.k.a skirt steak. This is a fatty cut. It has abundant marbling, which makes it buttery-rich. The fat gives carne mechada<\/em> much of its flavor and tenderness. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Therefore, I don\u2019t use any other fat in this recipe. Not even my beloved olive oil to make my sofrito. The grain is loose, making the meat chewy but tender at the same time. Other beef cuts include flank steak.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How to cook carne mechada<\/em><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\"Meat<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Some people cook this meat in a pressure cooker. Others, on a slow cooker or a crock pot. I cook it in a regular pot<\/a>, not only because I don\u2019t have the other devices but because skirt beef can be very soft, and I find cooking for a long time unnecessary.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How to cook carne mechada<\/em> in a regular pot<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\"All<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

To cook my skirt beef in a regular pot (you can use a Dutch oven), these are the steps I follow:<\/p>\n\n\n\n