Palomilla Steak

This is a Cuban dish, Bistec de Palomilla, that is so simple and quick. Plus, it delivers a great flavor on a very low budget, cut of meat. Suzanne and I lived in Tampa, Florida in the early 1980’s and I discovered an awesome little Cuban market a few miles from the house. The guys behind the meat counter were really helpful. When I went in to look for a kind of fish I had seen in a recipe, I started asking about some of the specialty items they had in the meat case. There was a thinly cut piece of meat, between 1/8″ and 1/4″, beautifully laid out in slices, offset, one on top of the other, like a stack of cards that had been fanned out. Each slice was about twice the size of my hand. I asked what it was. The butcher explained it was a thinly sliced top sirloin. I looked at it, thinking it would be impossible to grill it or even broil it! So I asked what was the best way to fix it. Suzanne and I loved steak, but found it was usually outside of our budget at the time. You know the saying, “champaign taste on a beer income”, so finding a “steak” recipe that was affordable and delicious was like hitting the lottery to us. The recipe he gave me is one we still use to this day.

There are a number of variations, but I’m going to share our favorite recipe and suggest you check out all the variations that you’ll find on line. You’ll see recipes made with cubed steak, flank steak and top sirloin, so there are many ways to get creative with this dish. Hint – thin and barely cooked is the most tender and the tastiest!

This recipe will serve two and is easy to scale up or down. Like I said it is very simple and quick to prepare and since the cuts are so very thin, it’s also a great last minute, “oh crap, I forgot to take something out of the freezer” life saver. I always vacuum seal any cuts of meat that I bring home, unless they are going to be used within a couple of days. Vacuum sealing will allow you to keep meats for up to two years or more in the freezer. We try to buy things on sale and in bulk. That keeps our freezer stocked and we tend to get better cuts of meat. The point of this is it allows you to fast defrost meat by dropping it into a pan of water. The laws of thermodynamics really work. Heat and cold transfer happens very quickly in water, so dropping a steak into a pan of water to defrost it will result in a completely defrosted steak in less than 1 hour. Of course, the water will ruin the cut of meat if it’s not sealed. Vacuum sealing works great because the meat will stay submerged. Without vacuum sealing, even if the supermarket packaging doesn’t leak, the meat will float at the top and the foam packaging acts as an insulator. Okay, enough about thermodynamics.

One of my best and lifelong friends, Dan Trammel, had this meal with us several times and it always put a smile on his face. Dan lives in Germany now, with his lovely wife Irene, and has two beautiful daughters. I so wish we could see them, but I think of Dan every time I fix this dish for Suzanne and me. When we sit down to eat it, I half expect Dan to pop through the kitchen door and ask, “Hey, what’s for dinner?”

Prep time: 5 minutes – Cooking time: 2 minutes

Ingredients

I got this Palomilla Steak at our local Publix. It’s a thinly sliced top sirloin. About 1/8″. Went to the meat counter and started to tell the butcher what I was looking for. Ended up, he is Cuban and knew exactly what I wanted. I bought 3 pounds and it will make about 6 or 7 meals for Suzanne and me.

Making The Magic

In a large pan, preheat the Butter and Olive Oil on Medium. Heat until the butter starts to sizzle when you swirl the combination in the pan.

Salt and pepper to taste, one side of the steak. I don’t usually add either because the mustard and bread crumbs have so much flavor, but some like to add both.

Spread the mustard over one side of the steak. Coat the steak with Italian bread crumbs.

Flip the steak, and coat the second side with the bread crumbs. if you want more mustard flavor, spread some on the second side.

Drop a couple of bread crumbs into the oil and look for them to sizzle in the oil.

Once the oil is hot, drop the steaks in the pan and let sizzle just long enough to brown a little on each side. No more than 2 minutes total for both sides.

The high heat and the bread crumbs will help to sear each side of the steak. If you overcook this, it will still be tasty, but will get chewy very quickly.

Variations To Keep This New

Add some Panko Bread crumbs to the Italian Bread Crumbs to give it a little crunchiness. Try different mustards, hot, sweet, yellow. Serve it with Black Beans. Marinate the steak in garlic, lime juice, salt and pepper.

Wines We Love With This

Merlot

Chianti

Dry Rose

Leftovers

Never had any!

“Buen provecho!”

Question?

What was the Cuban dish in the movie, “Chef”, that started his comeback?