If you’re wanting to do something special–for a special occasion in your family or a holiday, then this is the perfect time to try and make the delicious and savory Beef Morcon!
This is a well-known dish all around the country which involves a lot of ingredients–a true definition of a festive dish. Continue to read on below to see some trivia as well as some tips about the famous Morcon and learn how to make this superb dish for your family or for your friends.
What is Beef Morcon?
Beef Morcon is a popular Filipino-style dish here in the Philippines which is traditionally reserved for holidays and special occasions, especially during Christmas season. It involves processes which take a little bit more time than the usual cooking and is usually made for a lot of people so it’s best served for large gatherings.
It is made out of beef which are usually the tough and lean ones which is then braised along with a number of filling ingredients such as hotdogs, sausages, carrots, pickled cucumbers or pickled dills, and some hard-boiled egg. The name morcon comes from the same word of a Spanish origin, and is a type of sausage which is used for stuffing.
Confusing morcon with embutido? Learn the difference here: Morcon Vs Embutido
Ingredients You’ll Need
Beef
We will be using a flank steak cut but there are a lot of cuts to choose from. Read more about this below. If you are in the wet market or in a supermarket with a butcher, you can specifically ask for the meat to be thinly sliced or say ‘morcon cut’.
Lemon Juice
We will be using this acid as a tenderizer in the marinade. Alternatively, you can replace this with calamansi juice.
Fillings of choice
You can be creative with the fillings but to go for a festive look, we are going to use hotdogs, carrots, cheese, pickled cucumber, and hard boiled eggs.
Aside from these, we will also be using other regular pantry ingredients like onion, garlic, flour, salt, black pepper, tomato sauce, soy sauce, and cooking oil. If you are filling up your pantry, here’s a handy shopping guide:
Morcon Beef Cuts
The morcon usually uses beef as the main meat. But don’t worry, for the morcon we tend to go for the less expensive cuts because they’re the leanest and the tough, and with that they’re more beneficial when they are braised to get that full flavor.
Aside from flank steak, you can also choose to get beef round–the eye of round, or bottom round. Some other cuts you can choose are beef brisket or beef chuck.
Equipment You’ll Need
- Cooking Pot- We will be braising the beef rolls in a medium sized cooking pot or a deep cooking pan or skillet.
- Kitchen Pwine- We also need to use a kitchen twine or cooking tie/string to hold the rolls we will be forming.
In need of kitchen tools and equipment? Read this before you buy:
How to Cook Morcon
Cooking the morcon may take some effort and time–but really–the processes involved are really simple and easy to digest even for beginners. To start with this, let’s break down the whole procedure in the two major processes involved when cooking the morcon: First, we have to marinate the beef with its signature marinade. Second, we are going to need to braise the beef.
First part is marinating. This one will take a while so it’s best to do ahead of time, although it’s not something to worry about overnight. Marinating involves soaking the beef in a solution of mixed ingredients. This lets the beef absorb all of the solution’s flavor. For the morcon, it is simple as we usually have only two ingredients for this–the soy sauce, and lemon juice or calamansi juice.
Once you get that marinating down, it’s time for the braising. The goal is to cook the beef in high heat until it is lightly browned at first, and then proceed to boiling the beef and pour in the marinade along with the other ingredients to produce a thick sauce that will bring more flavor to the morcon.
Cooking Tips
- If you feel like your sauce is lacking a bit of that thickness, you have the option to add in some tomato sauce, it brings more thickness and a more full flavor for the sauce so if you have one ready, go for it.
- The beef broth can be also replaced by using just water, or beef cubes.
- Avoid marinating the beef for too long as this will affect the texture of the beef.
- Avoid tightening the kitchen twines too much as the rolls may expand when cooking.
How To Serve Morcon
Beef morcon is usually served sliced crosswise, about 1 inch thick. You can have this as a main dish with freshly cooked white rice during lunch or dinner. You can pair this with a vegetable dish and a cool drink of your choice like sodas, iced teas, and fruit juices.
How To Store and Reheat Morcon
In case you have leftovers, transfer to a clean food container with lid. You can refrigerate this and extend the shelf life up to 3 days or freeze and extend the shelf life for up to 2 months.
To reheat (thaw first if frozen), you can either use a microwave oven or a conventional oven. When using a conventional oven, preheat at 160 C (320 F) and heat for at least 5 minutes.
Other Beef Recipes
- Beef Mechado (Mechadong Baka) Recipe
- Beef Caldereta (Kalderetang Baka) Recipe
- Crispy Beef Tadyang (Beef Ribs) Recipe
For a quick reference about this recipe, see the recipe table below:
Classic Beef Morcon Recipe
Equipment
- Cooking Pot
Ingredients
Morcon Ingredients
- 1 kg (2.2 lbs) beef flank steak, flat and cut wide (batons) and about ⅓-inch thick
- ½ cup all-purpose flour
- 1 pc small onion, chopped
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 cups beef broth, or water
- 1 cup tomato sauce, optional
- salt and pepper, to taste
- ¼ cup cooking oil
Filling Ingredients
- 3 pcs hotdog, cut into strips
- 1 pc medium-sized carrot, cut into thin strips
- 2 pcs pickled cucumber, or pickled dill, cut into strips
- 3 pcs hard-boiled egg, cut into quarters
- 80 g (2.8 oz) cheddar cheese, cut into strips
Marinade Ingredients
- 1 pc lemon (or 4 to 6 pcs calamansi), juiced
- ½ cup soy sauce
Instructions
- In a container, add-in the cut beef brisket and add-in the soy-sauce and lemon juice. Marinate for at least 1 hour.
- Remove the marinade, and reserve. In a flat workspace, place the beef. And prepare all the filling ingredients.
- Arrange the filling ingredients on one side of the beef. Roll the beef, covering the filling inside and then wrap with kitchen twine or cooking string to ensure the roll will not open up.
- In a cooking pot, pour-in and heat oil over high heat.
- Dredge the beef roll with flour and then add into the cooking pot. Cook until lightly browned.
- In a cooking pot, pour-in and heat cooking oil over medium heat. Add-in the minced garlic and chopped onion. Saute until soft and aromatic.
- Pour-in beef broth and bring to a boil.
- Add-in reserved marinade and season with salt and pepper as desired. Add-in beef brisket and simmer for 2 hours or until beef is tender and sauce is reduced.
- Remove twine and cut into serving pieces. Transfer to a serving plate or serving tray. Pour-in sauce. Serve and enjoy!
Notes
Nutrition
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