The great classic of Brazilian churrasco: a zebu beef hump poached slow and low until melt-in-your-mouth tender, sliced into generous steaks, then hard-seared on a cast iron griddle dripping with manteiga de garrafa and golden onions.
Ingredients
- 2.8 kg whole zebu beef hump (cupim)
- 150 g Brazilian clarified butter (manteiga de garrafa)
- 4 pieces yellow onion
- 6 cloves fresh garlic clove
- 40 g coarse gray sea salt
- 3 leaves dried bay leaf
- 1 tsp black peppercorns
- 3 l filtered water
- 1 bunch fresh chives
Method
- Place the whole zebu beef hump in the pot of a large pressure cooker. Add the fresh garlic cloves, previously crushed flat with the palm of your hand skin on, the dried bay leaves, the black peppercorns and one yellow onion cut into four large wedges. Sprinkle the meat with the coarse gray sea salt.
- Pour the filtered water into the pot to cover the meat at least three-quarters of the way up. Lock the lid and place the pot over high heat. As soon as the valve starts spinning and a continuous whistle sounds, lower the heat to medium low to maintain a steady whisper, then count 60 minutes of cooking under pressure.
- Turn off the heat and let the pressure release naturally for 15 minutes before releasing the remaining steam. Open the lid and pierce the center of the meat with the tip of a knife: the blade should slide in without any mechanical resistance, like into a block of softened butter.
- Remove the cut of beef using two slotted spoons and place it on a cutting board. Let it rest for 10 minutes so the juices stabilize and the texture firms up slightly to make slicing easier.
- While the meat rests, peel the remaining yellow onions and slice them into 5 millimeter thick rounds, making sure to separate the rings. Next, slice the beef hump across the grain to form thick steaks of about 2 centimeters.
- Heat a large cast iron skillet or chapa over medium high heat until the surface is smoking. Place half of the manteiga de garrafa in the cast iron. As soon as the butter foams and crackles, lay the beef slices flat without overlapping them. Sear for 3 to 4 minutes without moving them, until a crispy and well-caramelized brown crust forms.
- Carefully flip each beef slice with a flat spatula. Add the rest of the manteiga de garrafa to the pan and continuously baste the top of the meat with the bubbling butter using a spoon for 2 to 3 minutes, until the second side is just as golden.
- Lower the heat to medium and scatter the sliced yellow onions directly into the pan, around and on top of the meat. Saute the onions for 3 minutes in the beef juices and clarified butter until translucent and slightly browned around the edges.
- Immediately transfer the meat and the melting onions to a preheated platter, or serve directly in the sizzling cast iron skillet. Pour all the remaining hot brown butter from the pan over the meat, sprinkle with finely chopped fresh chives and bring to the table immediately.
Nutrition
Per serving
- Energy
- 606.2 kcal
- Protein
- 71.79 g
- Carbohydrate
- 1.38 g
- Fat
- 35.08 g
- Fibre
- 0.3 g
- Calcium
- 7.98 mg
- Iron
- 0.16 mg
- Magnesium
- 12.22 mg
