RECIPE - Maminha with Caper Sauce (Maminha ao Molho de Alcaparras)

Although the caper bush most likely originated somewhere in the Mediterranean basin, and certainly is associated with Mediterranean cuisines, the bud of this bush's flower, known gastronomically as capers (alcaparras in Portuguese) is very popular in Brazil. Their sharp acidic bite is used to spark up sauces and dressings, and they are added whole to pizzas and salads. They are not grown in Brazil, so they are imported preserved in vinegar and/or salt just as they are elsewhere in the world. In this recipe from the Brazilian recipe swap website Culinária & Receitas, posted there by Silvia Martins, capers are used to flavor the sauce for a pot roast of maminha (see this post to learn more about maminha.) If you want to make this recipe in North America, just ask your butcher for a bottom round roast of the size indicated in the recipe.
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RECIPE - Maminha with Caper Sauce (Maminha ao Molho de Alcaparras)
Serves 8

3 lb (1.5 kg) maminha, in one piece
1 Tbsp. salt
2 cloves garlic, crushed
3 Tbsp. capers, drained
2 Tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil
3 Tbsp. Dijon mustard
3 Tbsp. Italian parsley, finely chopped
3 Tbsp. green onion, green part only, finely chopped
3 Tbsp. fresh basil, finely chopped
3/4 cup creme fraiche or sour cream
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Mix the salt and garlic in a small bowl with the back of a wooden spoon, or use a mortar and pestle to create a paste. Spread the paste on the top of the piece of beef and let it rest for 15 minutes.

Place the beef in a roasting pan, cover it with a lid or with aluminum foil, and put it in a preheated 350F (175C) oven. Remove the cover and continue to cook for approximately 15 minutes, or until the top is browned.

Meanwhile, put the olive oil in a medium-sized frying pan and heat over medium heat. When the oil is hot, but not smoking, add the capers and fry for one minute. Add the mustard, parsley, green onion and basil and stir to mix thoroughly. Turn off the heat, and slow add the creme fraiche or sour cream, stirring constantly to avoid lumps. When the creme is all added, test for temperature, and if necessarily return to heat briefly to heat the sauce through, but do not let it boil.

Remove the roast from the oven, place it on a carving board, and slice into 1/2 inch (1 cm) slices, cutting across the grain of the meat. Arrange them decoratively on a serving platter, and drizzle the caper sauce over. Serve immediately.

BEEF CUTS - Maminha

Since the butcher's art varies from country to country, each culinary culture similarly varies from all others in the way meat animals are butchered and the way the carcass is divided into cuts of meat. We've already discussed this topic previously here on Flavors of Brazil, talking about the Brazilian beef cuts picanha and cupim. These cuts of meat do not correspond directly to the cuts familiar to American and Canadian customers, which differ in turn from the cuts found in a British butcher shop, which have no connection to the say beef is cut for a Parisian boucherie, etc. etc. etc. So this is one more post in a Flavors of Brazil series about the way Brazilians cut their meat, in particular their beef, in an attempt to allow recipes and techniques of Brazilian meat cooking, some of the best in the world, to be exported around the world.

One of the best-loved and most common cuts of beef in this meat-mad country is called maminha. In North American terms, it would be part of the round - in particular, part of what is called "bottom round." This means it is cut from the part of the animal that sits on top of the rear legs. In other words, the hips and rumps. In this chart of Brazilian beef cuts, maminha is number 15.

This cut is particularly suited to grilling on a churrasqueira (charcoal or gas grill) when cut into steaks, into roasts when it is left whole and to stews when it is cubed. It's a very versatile cut, and one of the leanest beef cuts available. One well-known Brazilian food guide calls maminha "a filé mignon for the grill" as it shares the leanness and tenderness of the filé, but is suited for grilling, unlike the more-expensive filé. The guide goes on to recommend that the cut be left whole for roasting, and that it only be sliced (always across the grain) after cooking, and that it never be cooked more that medium, as it will turn tough and fibrous when overcooked.

Any Brazilian recipe for maminha can successfully be made in North America by substituting "bottom round roast" for whole-cut roasting and cubed for stews, or "bottom round steak" for grilling.