Wednesday, July 28, 2010

Grilled Spanish Mustard Beef Doesn't Have a Ring to It

When people ask me if I'm ever afraid of running out of recipes to film, I usually joke that new recipes aren't the problem, it's running out of things to call them that's the real fear. Take this horribly named Spanish mustard beef for example. Least poetic name, ever.

Despite the awkward name, this fast and user-friendly wet rub did a fine job flavoring some carne asada I grilled recently (yes, that was redundant). I'm calling it Spanish mustard since I spiked the Dijon with a couple of my favorite ingredients of all time – smoked paprika and sherry vinegar.

Be sure to go find the real stuff (that it comes from Spain is one clue). If your marinade is only going to have a couple ingredients, you better make sure you're using top shelf stuff. The other two keys to this recipe are as follows: only let the meat marinate for about an hour, otherwise it may start to "cook" in the acid; and be sure to build a very hot fire.

Since this is a wet rub, we need the meat to sear and caramelize, not to steam in its own juices. After successfully grilling and slicing thin, against the grain, this can be eaten in hundreds of ways; all delicious. You'll see my tortilla delivery system, but everything from paper-thin rice paper wrappers to thick slices of grilled bread would be perfect.

This is also a fantastic marinade for thin-cut pork shoulder chops, or any of your favorite chicken parts. By the way, while you're grilling, sipping on a cold beer, or sangria, try and think of a better name. Enjoy!




Ingredients:
2 pounds thin sliced beef (any thin flap meat, skirt steak, flank steak, round steak, etc.
2 tablespoons Dijon
2 tablespoons smoked paprika
4 cloves minced, crushed garlic, optional
1/4 cup sherry vinegar
1/4 cup light olive oil
salt and freshly ground black pepper to tastes

33 comments:

YankeeNaija said...

love it. will try it.

Anonymous said...

got a good name!
carne (meat) a la mostaza (mustard)
or use poor spanish grammar and just
mostaza carne

Anonymous said...

NOT IN A GARLIC MOOD!!?? WHAT!!??

Anonymous said...

This looks great! I can't seem to locate Sherry Vinegar here in the Midwest. I've seen you/heard say how much you like it. Would you recommend a brand you like please?

Chef John said...

dont have one fav brand. anything from Spain is good. check Whole Foods. Here is lot more info http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sherry_vinegar

laura said...

Will be making this tomorrow!

Anonymous said...

Can I use canola oil instead of the olive oil? Or extra virgin? Thanks!

Chef John said...

sure, canola better

Unknown said...

looks like it would be awesome in the Arepas

Asian Malaysian said...

How would that rub go as a salad dressing if you tripled the oil? Would it need some sweet element or be good to go?

Tamar@StarvingofftheLand said...

No one who's ever followed a recipe with a great title only to find it made a crappy dish is going to complain when a great recipe has a crappy title. You definitely have your priorities in order.

Chef John said...

Thank! Hey, wait a minute, did u just call my title crappy? ;-)

Chef John said...

A.M. The sherry vinegar has some sweetness , would
depend on your taste of course

frabala said...

Very similar the way we eat gyros in Greece!

GreedyRosie said...

Great summertime food. I can't wait to try it as ssoon as the weather gets good enough to barbecue again!

Khaddy said...

looks delish

Food Junkie said...

Oh this sounds SOOOOO good. Smoked paprika is awesome stuff and is just so full of flavour. Thanks for the great suggestion Chef.

Kim

blogagog said...

This looks so tasty! Sadly, I despise mustard - and cilantro, for that matter - and simply cannot eat it.

Chef, do you know of an herb/spice that can replace mustard? It seems like mustard is a fairly important spice that shuts me out of a lot of foods. I'd love to know if there is a workaround for my pallet problems.

Thanks in advance!

Chef John said...

sorry, cant think of one, but if u dont like mustard, you probably wont like substitutes anyway ;-)

zac said...

I think you should have called it "boeuf de deux pays" which is two country beef. French mustard and spanish spices, it was begging for it.

Rita said...

will surely try this. sadly though, cilantro is too hard to find here. i could substitute the coriander leaves. but, to me, it doesn't have the same bite as cilantro does.

blogagog said...

I don't understand you, Rita. Cilantro IS coriander leaves. And it tastes like the word 'blech'. Simply disgusting. Like stink bugs aged for a few weeks in palmolive dishwashing liquid.

Part of the reason I love Chef John's recipes is that he doesn't often suggest murdalizing a meal by adding cilantro.

Anonymous said...

Just made this Chef John and I have to say this is one of my favorite recipes of yours! I would have never guessed the ingredients by the taste of the finished product. Made it with the recommended garlic and ate it with tacos and homemade salsa verde (tomatillo)! Absolutely delicious!! You are the man Chef John. Love your site!

Anonymous said...

these must be mexican recipes because in spain a tortilla is a omelet made of egg, onion, potato maybe some green peppers.

they didn't get mexican style flour or corn tortillas till the late 80's when mexican food finally made its way to spain. Mexican and Spanish food are about as close as chinese and spanish food are. paella is kinda like fried rice right? I am so tired of people giving mexican recipes and calling them spanish. sorry but if it was a japanese recipe you wouldn't call it a chinese recipe

Chef John said...

So I'm just wondering what that has to do with this recipe? :-)

Christina said...

This was a magical spanish mustard-y explosion in my mouth. I Will be making this again.

Anonymous said...

CHef John,

What could you subsitute for sherry vinegar? Red wine? Apple cider? White? That's what I have! Thanks.

Roberto said...

I made this last night. I split a flank steak to make it thin like the meat you used. That worked well on my very hot grill. I made some substitutions with what I had on hand including a splash of Marsala and a splash of red wine vinegar rather than the sherry vinegar. I used garlic in the marinade and gave the steak a dusting of ground cumin.

The result of including cumin was fantastic, perhaps a bit more Mexican/Cuban than Spanish.

cookinmom said...

What's the next best thing to the sherry vinegar? I have all kinds but and can't find at store. Help, want to make tonight.

Katie said...

I live in Brazil and have no clue if I could find sherry vinegar... never seen it here. A loooooot of ingredients are hard to find down here.

In Curitiba, Brazil there is an AMAZING "fraldinha na mostarda" at a BBQ place called KF Carnes and I'd KILL to be able to make the mustard rub sauce they use on their rump roast. OMG, it's heaven.
I've never had anything like it anywhere else!!


But... I'm inspired to try anyways.
I'll just mix things up and see what happens I guess!
Thanks, Chef John!

Serious Furious said...

I ran out of paprika, so I used a tbsp of chipotle powder to make up the difference. The steak turned out CRUCIAL. Sooo good. Thanks Chef!

Jen said...

Landed here from a link on Nom Nom Paleo. Definitely making this soon! I'm thinking a pinch of aleppo pepper is going to make its way into my marinade as well.

Elizabeth said...

also from nom nom paleo. wow - this was amazing. whole fam, even picky kids LOVED it. thanks.