Meat
Carne seca
Carne seca
Also called charque, jerked beef, Brazilian salt-dried beef
Beef that has been heavily salted and dried until it is hard and keeps without refrigeration. Brazilian shops sell it in vacuum packs as carne seca or jerked beef. It must be soaked before cooking.
Origin
Brazil, where cattle country in the far South and the North-East both salted beef to keep it. The charqueadas of Rio Grande do Sul made it on an industrial scale in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, much of it shipped north to feed the enslaved workforce of the plantations.
Flavour
Concentrated, beefy and salty, with a firm, fibrous texture that shreds into long threads once cooked.
How it is made
Cuts such as brisket or round are opened into thick sheets, layered with coarse salt, pressed, and air-dried for several days.
How to use it
Cut it into chunks and soak in cold water in the fridge for 24 hours, changing the water three or four times, then boil or pressure-cook it until it falls apart. Shred it for escondidinho, fry it with onion for paçoca, or add it to feijoada.
Storage
Unopened vacuum packs keep for months in a cool place or the fridge. Desalted and cooked, it keeps three days in the fridge and freezes well.
