Carne frita is one of the easiest and quickest way to prepare meat. A few lime wedges, a fat slice of avocado, and a side of fresh, warm tostones and you have the perfect meal!
A lot of my favorite Dominican meat recipes are stews like carne guisado, dominican steak, bistec encebollado, pero I also love a good fried meat recipe like carne frita.
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You’ll need sandwich steak
The cut of beef I like to use for carne frita is sandwich steak. You can also use similar cuts like sirloin tip or round steak.
Cut the meat into pieces or keep it whole
Cutting the meat into pieces makes it bite sized and easy to enjoy as a picadera. But if you keep the meat whole and fry it, it’s perfect for serving with meals like arroz con habichuelas.
Parboiling the meat before frying makes it super tender
By parboiling the meat before frying it, you soften the fibers which leads the meat to become soft and tender but fried to a golden perfection.
Frying it after parboiling makes the outside of the meat crispy, while the inside remains soft and flavorful. It’s the perfect combination and one of the easiest ways to turn an inexpensive piece of meat into something super delicious.
Squeeze lime juice right after removing from frying pan
Lime juice adds some extra freshness to the meat and really brings the flavors together. It’s important to squeeze lime juice over the meat while it’s still hot because the heat helps the lime juice soak in.
Carne Frita (Dominican Fried Meat)
Ingredients
Instructions
- Cut sandwich steak into pieces and place in a bowl. Add sofrito, lime, garlic, sazon, oregano, and salt to the bowl and mix the seasonings into the meat well.
- In a pot over medium heat, add meat and cook until the meat is cooked and all the juices are absorbed.
- Add enough water to the pot to cover the meat and bring to a boil. Cook the meat for 25 minutes and remove from the pot.
- Heat a pan over medium heat and fill with enough frying oil to cover the bottom of the pan. Add the meat to the pan and fry until the meat is crispy on all sides.
- Remove the meat from the oil and place on a paper towel lined plate to drain. Squeeze lime juice over the meat while it's still hot, and serve with tostones. Buen provecho!
