My sister prepared this at my house a while back. I had photogrpahed the steps and sent them out to the family, as it is based on my grandmother's recipe. Since I've had a slow cooking week, I figured I'd post it here now.
This morning I googled salpicón and this is not at all what I found. Then I googled Cuban meatloaf and this is not what I found either. So, I'm not sure what this dish is called, only that it was called salpicon in our family and that it is delicious.
1 lb lean ground beef
1/2 lb ground pork
1/2 lb ground ham
Olive oil (Sensat)
1 large yellow onion
1 green bell pepper
1 head of garlic
4 cans tomato sauce (Del Monte)
4 eggs
bread crumbs (galleta molida)
salt to taste
oregano
2 cups dry white cooking wine (vino seco)
1 bay leaf
Preparation:
Chop onion, and slice green pepper. Set aside.
Press the garlic head in a mortar with salt and shake in some oregano (about 1 tsp).
Combine all the meats in a large bowl with half the garlic mix. Make a well (dent) in the center of the meat mixture. Beat 3 of the eggs (our abuela would separate the yolks from the whites and beat separately) and pour into well, combine, then add about 1 to 1 1/2 cups bread crumbs. Add extra salt to taste (yes, she would taste the raw stuff, I would eyeball it). Form two separate loaves.
Beat one egg. In a large platter spread out a cup of bread crumbs. Coat each loaf evenly and sculpt firmly. Dip each breaded loaf in the beaten egg, then coat evenly once again with bread crumbs.
In a heavy skillet pour about 1/2 cup olive oil and bring to a medium high heat. Brown the two loaves, evenly. Remove loaves and put them aside.
In a large pot, pour another 1/3 cup olive oil and sauté onions with remaining garlic mixture over medium heat. When onions are translucent, add peppers and bay leaf. Cook for a few more minutes. Slowly stir in 4 cups of tomato sauce and dry white cooking wine.
Place the 2 browned meat loaves into sauce. Spoon some sauce on the tops. Cook on low heat and check periodically to make sure they haven't stuck to the pot. Spoon more sauce over the tops. Cook for two hours turning over the loaves halfway through the cooking time.
Serve with white rice and tostones.
Yvonne, I also know this dish as "salpicón". Both my paternal grandmother and my mother used to make it, mainly with beef, just as you have made it, but sometimes they would make "salpicón de pollo" or "salpicón de pescado" (they used to use merluza for this, which I think in English might be white fish). All three versions were great, though I loved the fish version the best since it tasted best to me when it was served cold from the fridge with Cuban bread or crackers as a leftover. Love and kisses.
ReplyDeleteYou'll find it if you search it under the name "Pulpeta" here's how i make it:
ReplyDeletehttp://nathanscomida.blogspot.com/2009/11/pulpeta-cuban-meatloaf.html
and here's how Marta makes it (the cook of Babalublog)
http://babalublog.com/2007/10/learning-my-lesson-from-martas-cuban-american-kitchen/
nice recipe next time i make mine I'll make 2 little loaves it's cute :)
I'm making Salpicon for dinner, with arroz amarillo, and salad :)
ReplyDeleteSounds good Nathan!
ReplyDeleteIvonne I blogged about the Salpicon I made check out the post, gave you a shout out to, becuz i never heard of Salpicon til I read your blog :)
ReplyDeleteMy father made it out of meat or fish, breaded and fried it as well. Yours is the first recipe with the breading that I found. My father owned a restaurant so he cooked in large portions, I was looking for a recipe for normal portions. Thanks for that.
ReplyDelete