Oven Dried Beef Tapa

Oven Dried Beef Tapa. It’s been a while since I we had the authentic Sundried Beef Tapa. Last week I happened to buy a 2 kilo cut of beef shoulder for roasting. Initially I thought of making a Pinoy Style Roast Beef, however because of my busy work schedules I end up making a Beef Pochero using half of the meat then decided to make an Oven Dried Beef Tapa on the remaining half. I already have an old Beef Tapa recipe on the archives but that recipe did not call for drying the tapa marinated beef, the recipe was made to just cure the beef in the refrigerator with the tapa marinade. Using similar recipe I tried to add another step of drying the marinated beef using the oven. It was not practical at this time to sundry the marinated beef strips due to health reasons. At this time of the year there are still hordes of flies outdoors, sun drying would be the last option not unless I have a wire mesh that would protect the beef strips from the flies. In the end I have to go with the oven drying method. Here is the recipe on how I made my Oven Dried Beef Tapa.

Ingredients:

1 kilo lean beef, thinly sliced into 1/4” thick
1 tbsp. black pepper coarsely ground
1/2 head garlic, crushed
1/3 cup vinegar
1 tbsp. sugar, optional
1 tbsp. salt
cooking oil

Cooking Procedure:

To marinate: Combine all the ingredients except the beef and cooking oil. Coat evenly each piece of meat with the marinade. In a plastic container with cover, pile beef pieces one on top of the other. Cover and keep refrigerated overnight.

To dry: Arrange the marinated beef strips on an oven rack, let stand for 15 to 20 minutes to let the excess marinade drip. In the meantime turn the oven on and preheat to 50Deg C to 75Deg C. Now place the beef in the middle of the oven with the same heat settings and turning on the oven fan, oven dry the beef strips for 4 to 6 hours occasionally turning the meat. When done place the dried meat in a container with lead and place in the refrigerator to cure for at least 3 days or until ready for cooking.

To fry: Heat oil in a wok at high heat, fry marinated beef in batches for 2 to 3 minutes each side or until color changes to brown and edges start to caramelize. Serve hot with fried rice and egg.