Vacio! (Argentinian cut of beef)

[Smokeville]

Hello all;

For several years I've been buying a cut of beef called Vacio from Juan Meat Market in Toronto...

http://mamasvillage.blogspot.com/2009/05/empanada-baby.html

It's an Argentinian cut, similar to flank or skirt but really neither. It's basically a long strip of meat that sort-of resembles a thin but long brisket. Folded back on itself, it was the length of a Bradley rack. I wish I had taken a photo, but I wasn't sure if smoking it would work. Until last weekend, I've tried almost every cooking technique possible and it always turned out a bit chewy or even tough. Even slow cooking didn't help. Getting advice from the internet didn't help and was actually misleading. I think folks from Argentina want to keep this secret.

Basically, I smoked it just as I would brisket. Same rub, same wood, same length of time per pound. After the smoke, I put it in the oven in a roasting pan until the temp reached 190F. After resting for several hours, I sliced it and it was fork tender. And exceptionally tasty. Different than other cuts of beef.

So if you want something different that no one in your neighbourhood will ever have tried, find an Argentinian butcher shop! The Healthy Butcher in downtown Toronto also sells it but they are much more expensive....

Regards, Rich

[Habanero Smoker]

It appears you may have had beef plate. It come from the diaphragm of the cow, and the skirt steak is separated from it. I've been looking for that cut for some time now. That muscle can also be cured to make beef bacon.

Low and slow method should have worked, because the preferred method of cooking is braising, but grilling or pan frying also works. Once cooked it should be thinly sliced across the grain, like you slice skirt or flank steak.

[Smokeville]

Hi HS;

Beef plate? Who knows? I think Argentinians keep it a secret. But you are probably right. A number of web sites swear it is flank steak, but that's obviously wrong.

The next time I am at the Juan Meat market I will try and ask "El Gaucho" himself. His English is not that good, and most of his butchers only speak Spanish. But maybe I can get him to point it out on a road map.

The last time we were there, my wife and I had our cart loaded up with meat and a little girl pointed to it and said to her Momma, "OH! Mucho carne!" I knew what that meant!

Rich

[Ka Honu]

It appears you may have had beef plate.

I think vacio is more or less an untrimmed flank cut (with flap meat, fat, and nerve tissue still attached).

[Caribou]

Hi Rich,
Is this what it looked like?
http://weston.donotdrive.com/zipcart/images/groceries/Flapmeat.jpg
Carolyn

[Smokeville]

I would say that is exactly what it looked like!

Is that "Beef Flap?"

Rich

PS This all could have been solved sooner if I had simply taken a photo!

[Caribou]

If you google vacio and view the images you'll see lots of pics of this cut.
Hopefully some one else here can tell you if that's "beef flap" or not.
Carolyn

[Habanero Smoker]

It looks like flap meat, more commonly called flap steak. I've never seen them whole, generally they are cut in half. Costco some times sells them.

If you use flap steak you will probably get more hits when you search.

[Smokeville]

The Argentinian butcher shop I go to has them whole but usually they are cut in half to order. And I think that is where I've gone wrong. As I mentioned, it's kind of like a brisket -- one end is thicker and fattier than the other like the point and flat. I think I always had the flat end before. This time I had the whole thing, about 5lbs, and kept a close eye on the flat section so it didn't dry out.

It's a great cut of meat, I think. As I recall, it was about $2.99lb. This shop has good prices as even rib steak is $6.99. Plus, his sides of beef are humongous, so instead of teenie-weenie steaks you get can get a T-Bone that would fill a platter.

[Caribou]

I think next time I get a steer processed I'm going to ask for this cut.
I'm make sure I ask for the flap steak.
I think our meat guy would say "huh?' if I asked for a vacio.
:D :D
But I do get the skirt steak for fajitas.
Carolyn