Asado Negro

Method

1. Trim off any silver skin and thick fat, and finely chop half the garlic. Rub the beef all over with the chopped garlic, half the Worcestershire sauce, half the salt and the pepper, cover and refrigerate for 30 min. Just before cooking, pat the surface very dry with kitchen paper so the caramel clings and doesn't spit.

   Add in this stepBeef eye of round (one piece) 600 gGarlic cloves 1½Worcestershire sauce 1 tbspSalt ½ tspBlack pepper ½ tsp

2. Put the oil and sugar in a heavy 20 cm pot over medium heat for 4 min. Don't stir; swirl the pot gently as the sugar melts. When it passes dark brown and is almost black-brown with a wisp of smoke, move straight on. Melted sugar is far hotter than boiling water, so never taste or touch it.

   Add in this stepVegetable oil 1½ tbspPapelón (unrefined cane sugar) or dark brown sugar 60 g

   medium heat

3. Carefully lay the dried beef in the caramel, lowering it away from you in case it spits. Keep it on medium heat and turn it with tongs for 7 min, until every side has a glossy, near-black coating. If it smells sharply burnt, lower the heat a little.

   medium heat

4. Thickly slice the onion and bell pepper, slice the remaining garlic and add them around the beef. Cook on medium heat for 5 min, stirring, until the vegetables soften and take on the caramel colour.

   Add in this stepOnion 1Red bell pepper ½Garlic cloves 1½

   medium heat

5. Pour in the wine and scrape up the browned bits from the bottom with a wooden spoon. Add the stock, the remaining Worcestershire sauce and salt and the bay leaves, bring to a boil on high heat, then cover, turn down to low heat and simmer for 1 h 40 min. Turn the beef every 30 minutes and add a splash of water if the liquid drops below a third of the way up the meat. It is done when a skewer slides in with no resistance.

   Add in this stepRed wine 100 mlBeef stock 350 mlWorcestershire sauce 1 tbspSalt ½ tspBay leaves 1

   high heat→low heat

6. Lift the beef onto a board and let it rest for 10 minutes. Remove the bay leaves; if you like, blend the liquid and vegetables smooth and return them to the pot. Reduce on medium heat for 6 min, until glossy and thick enough to coat the back of a spoon, then taste for salt.

   medium heat

7. Slice the beef 1 cm thick across the grain, slip the slices into the sauce and warm for about 2 minutes. Serve with white rice, fried ripe plantain and a simple salad, with plenty of sauce spooned over.