RECIPE - Make your own "carne de sol"

In my previous post, I talked about the importance of carne de sol to traditional Brazilian cuisine, and how it differed from other salted meat products. I even gave a quick lesson in how to make carne de sol the traditional way. However, unless you happen to live in a place that has eternal sunshine, daily temperatures reaching into the high 90s F (35C), and a steady 25 mph (40 kmh) wind, you are unlikely to be very successful. Outside Brazil, you are even more unlikely to find it at your local market.

I wanted to include some carne de sol recipes on Flavors of Brazil, but I considered that it would be fruitless to do so, as readers outside Brazil would not have access to carne de sol itself. Then I luckily came across a source that gave instructions for imitating carne de sol anywhere in the world. I tried out this technique, and although the resulting product isn't exactly like carne de sol, it's similar enough that it can be substituted for carne de sol in any recipe on this blog. Let's call it "faux carne de sol".

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RECIPE - Carne de sol

1 piece top sirloin, 2 lbs. (1 kg.), sliced horizontally into 2 pieces, 1 inch (2 cm.) thick
2 Tbsp. kosher table salt

Bring meat to room temperature before working. Rub salt into all surfaces of the meat. Let rest, loosely covered with plastic wrap, at room temperature for 30 minutes. Cover each piece tightly with plastic wrap and place in freezer for 12 hours. Remove from freezer and immediately grill, over medium heat, for 15 minutes. Then serve, or cool and reserve for use in another recipe.

Translated and adapted from Cozinha Regional Brasileira by Abril Editora

Carne de Sol - Brazil's "Meat of the Sun"

One of the most iconic foods of Brazil bears the poetic name of "meat of the sun" (carne de sol in Portuguese.) In actuality, the name is more poetic than truthful, but we'll come to that later. Like many other beloved traditional foods, carne de sol originated as a practical solution to a difficult problem, and only later became valued for its gastronomic qualities. In this case, the problem was how to preserve fresh meat in a hot, dry environment without access to refrigeration. The solution was carne de sol. Created as a necessity, it became a favorite food.

Carne de sol is a product of the hot, semi-arid interior of Northeastern Brazil (Nordeste), where the sun is constant and fierce and the wind is strong for most of the year. It is normally made from beef, but can also be made with goat meat. The fresh meat is cut into thin steaks, lightly salted and left outdoors in a covered and well-ventilated place for 2 to 4 days. (Because it is normally left in a covered place, it is not exposed to direct sunlight. This is why it really isn't "carne de sol." The photo on the right shows carne de sol in sunlight, but this is the exception.) Exposed to the dry heat and wind for this short period of time, the meat undergoes a rapid drying process that gives it a hard, salty surface which protects and preserves the moist and tender interior of the meat. Once cured, it can be kept unrefrigerated for long periods of time without spoiling.

Since prehistory, people have used salt and/or dehydration to preserve foods from spoilage. In Brazil, these techniques seem not to have been known to the indigenous population prior to the arrival of the Portuguese in 1500, but became widespread shortly after. Portugal had long used salting and dehydrating to preserve fish, notably the salt-cod known in Portuguese as bacalhau. The early ranchers and cowboys of Northeastern Brazil merely adapted the techniques of bacalhau to local livestock, and carne de sol was born.

Carne de sol is not the only salted meat that is traditionally part of Brazilian cuisine. Other similar products are carne-seca, charqui, and frescal. In later posts, I'll discuss these meats, and how they differ from carne de sol, in production and geographical distribution. But carne de sol is the most common, and most well-loved of Brazil's dried, salted meats.

Carne de sol can be grilled whole, cubed and added to stews, or shredded and used in a large variety of dishes. In the next few posts, I'll provide some of the most typical recipes for carne de sol.