Do you know the secret Brazilians have for cooking delicious grilled meats? Marinating them! Preparing a tasty marinade takes just a few minutes and the flavored oil penetrates the meat , adding more flavor and helping it become juicier and more tender.
What we bring you today is a recipe for marinated grilled beef: first we will marinate it , and after grilling it we will present it on the table with a spinach pesto sauce that goes wonderfully with it.
We make it with veal, but you can make it with any type of meat, be it pork, beef, chicken...
Important for grilling: remember to use a cast iron grill . Cast iron gets so hot that it seals the meat instantly, retaining all the juice and flavor inside.
Le Creuset square skillet and Le Creuset Damascus steel knife
Ingredients (for 4 people)
- 1 - 1.2 Kg of beef
For the marinade:
- 1 tsp ground cumin
- 2 tsp garlic powder
- 1 tsp chili
- Juice of 1 lemon
- Zest of 1 lemon
- 150 ml of olive oil
For the pesto:
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 shallot finely chopped
- 3 cloves of garlic crushed
- 200 g spinach
- 150 g feta cheese
- 1 tbsp chopped fresh basil
- 125ml evaporated milk
- 50 g of roasted Brazil nuts
- Salt and pepper
Preparation
We marinate the meat:
- Mix all the marinade ingredients together and pour the mixture over the steak. Brush well to coat the steak and place in a zip-top bag or leave in a sealed container. Place in the refrigerator overnight.
We grill the steak
- Remove the meat from the fridge an hour before you start cooking (it's important to take the meat out of the fridge beforehand so that the grill temperature doesn't drop; it will also cook faster and better). Remove it from the bag or container you had it in and dry it on kitchen paper to remove any excess marinade.
- Preheat the Le Creuset skillet or cast iron grill to medium heat. When hot, add the steak and cook for 3 to 4 minutes on each side.
- Once cooked, remove the steak from the grill, place it on a plate and cover it to keep warm for about 10 minutes. This will ensure the meat is juicy and retain more moisture when cut.
- To serve, cut the steak into thin slices and serve with the pesto.
Prepare the spinach pesto
- Add the oil to the skillet and heat it to medium-low temperature. Gently fry the shallot and garlic for 5 minutes and leave to cool.
- Add all pesto ingredients to a food processor including the fried shallot and garlic and blend until smooth. Season with salt and pepper.
- Serve alongside the meat (and don't forget the bread!).
Grades:
- It is important to remove the meat from the refrigerator at least half an hour before grilling it, so as not to lower the temperature of the grill too much. In addition, as it is warmer, it will also be easier for the central part of the piece of meat to cook, as the heat will reach it more easily.
- Remember not to handle the meat until the first side is well seared: the iron grabs the meat at first but when it is done it releases it. If you try to turn it and it is still stuck to the grill, wait a few more moments to turn it.
