Pique Macho (Tested)

Serves     4-6

Ingredients

This dish is as fun as it is deliciously interesting. The parts of the dish can be separately prepared and presented buffet style in separate platters, bowls, and serving containers, and your guests can build their own platefuls of their favorite combinations and garnishes. Generally, a bottom layer of potatoes is first topped with a scoop of the meat topping, ideally with a spoonful of the meat juices included. A layer of salad is then added, and on top of the salad, the garnishes are applied, including ketchup and mayonnaise, which really help to bring the whole mess together, and the all-important hot sauce.

For the meat ingredient, any tender lean beef will do. I used sirloin steak tips from Trader Joe’s and they were perfect. Although the hotdogs I used were great in this dish, you could class things up a bit by substituting sausage links. Use beer as the liquid in the meat topping if you would enjoy drinking the rest of it while you finish preparing your ingredients, or you can just add water if you’d rather not have leftover beer (never a problem in my house). For the French fries, you can substitute Tater Tots, which stay crispy longer than French fries, or new potatoes, quartered and roasted in the oven with just a little olive oil, salt, and pepper. My choice of beverage here would be an icy cold beer, served in chilled glasses.

Ingredients

Meat Topping

4 uncured beef hotdogs, sliced on a sharp diagonal (about 8 oz.)

1 lb. beef, such as sirloin steak, cut into bite-size cubes

1 clove garlic, smashed

Salt

Pepper

Pinch of ground cumin

½ cup beer or water

 

Salad

1 large tomato, sliced in thin wedges, or 1 cup cherry tomato halves

1 small red onion, sliced very thin (3.5 oz. or 1 cup)

½ of a large red or green pepper, sliced very thin (about 3 oz.)

1 tbsp. cider vinegar

1 tbsp. vegetable oil

Salt

 

Potatoes

1 (24-oz.) bag of frozen French fries

 

Garnishes

Hard-boiled eggs, cut into wedges

1 jalapeno pepper, sliced very thinly in rounds (optional)

Ketchup

Mayonnaise

Hot Sauce


Directions

Meat Topping

Heat a large non-stick frying pan over medium heat. When hot, add the hotdog slices and brown on one side. You should not need to add oil as the hotdogs will release some fat. Turn and brown the other side, remove from the pan, and set aside.

There should be a film of oil left in the pan, but if not add a drizzle of oil to the pan and heat. Add the beef cubes and the garlic, browning the meat on one side. Turn and brown the other side. Season aggressively with salt and pepper, and add the ground cumin. This browning process should take anywhere from 4 to 5 minutes, depending on the level of heat.

Stir the hotdogs back into the pan. Add the beer. Reduce the liquid over the heat for just a minute; you will want some juices left in the pan to keep everything moist. Pour the meat and the juices into a serving bowl.

 

Salad

Mix the tomato, onion, and peppers with the vinegar and oil; add salt to taste. Place in a separate serving bowl.

 

Potatoes

Bake according to the directions on the bag. Slide onto a platter to serve.

 

Garnishes

Place each garnish in separate container for serving

 

Serve ingredients separately and ask guests to serve themselves.


Country:
Bolivia


Notes and Instructions

Recipe adapted from: https://boliviancookbook.wordpress.com/main-dishes/pique-a-lo-macho-pique-macho/
Photo credit: Linda McElroy