In the past days I’ve been searching, testing, discovering and researching (not necessarily in this order) beef meat and its relation with the barbecue. I’m interested in maturation and the process of marinating, the very processes, not the stories about them. The only way I can learn is to make them myself. I started with something easy, marinating. The veal chop that I got from Auchan is the star. It was 9 lei.
For the marinade I used salt, pepper, garlic, extra virgin sunflower oil and a marinating bag, the kind with a zip lock.
I sprinkled some freshly ground pepper and some coarse meat on both sides of the chop.
I chopped the garlic and placed it on the meat, I poured the oil (no more than a tablespoon) and I rubbed it thoroughly onto the meat. I placed the piece of meat in the bag and the bag in the fridge, where I left it from Sunday morning until Tuesday evening. That’s three days.
After three days… (the cured lard is for the barbecue, it has nothing to do with the marinade). I left the meat for one hour at room temperature after removing it from the fridge.
I made the grill really hot and I removed the garlic off the meat before roasting it.
Four minutes on each side.
If you enjoy it well done, you can go up to 6-7 minutes on each side, but it’s a risk you have to take.
Next to my piece of meat I put a bit of onion marmalade.
I left the meat until it was medium and I wasn’t sorry about it. Perfect pink, tender, good taste.
It wasn’t exactly “oh my god, it melts in my mouth”, but it was no chewing gum either. The knife went through the meat as if it went through butter, so the marinating process was efficient. In other words, it was a decent barbecue.
I’ve had a lot worse meals with 60 lei.
This week I’ll start the maturation story. I’ll let you know. Stay healthy.
Special thanks to
Oana Bodnariuc, Authorized Translator
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facebook.com/oana.bodnariuc