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Mamona

Name: Mamona
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 270 min
Total time: 290 min
Cuisine: Colombian
Ingredients: 1.8 kg beef short ribs, in one slab; 1 kg beef flank or skirt, in one piece; 2 tbsp coarse salt; 3 kg charcoal and hardwood chunks; 1 kg cassava (yuca); 1 tsp salt; 200 ml ají picante

Mamona: the Llanos' young beef cut in large pieces and slow-roasted beside a wood fire

Features:

High protein Dairy free

Cuisine:

Colombian

Cattle ranches of Meta and Casanare celebrate with mamona: a young steer cut into huge traditional pieces (rib slab, flank, shoulder) threaded on long wooden stakes and leaned around a wood fire for five hours or more, seasoned with nothing but coarse salt. The Villavicencio restaurants that specialise in it serve the meat with cassava, small boiled potatoes, plantain and ají, and some cooks splash beer over it, which you can skip. The beef ends up smoky and dripping on the inside with a salty, crusty bark. This home version uses a covered kettle barbecue with indirect heat, a whole slab of short ribs and a thick piece of flank. The usual blunder is putting the meat right over the coals; mamona cooks beside the fire, never over it. Chef's tip: let the salt sit on the meat in the fridge for a few hours before cooking; it seasons deeper and helps the crust form.

Total time: 290 min
Difficulty: hard
Serves: 8

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Ingredients

Serves8

For the beef

4 lb beef short ribs, in one slababout 4 bones; veal or young beef if available
2 ¼ lb beef flank or skirt, in one piece
2 tbsp coarse salt
6 ⅝ lb charcoal and hardwood chunksfor a covered kettle barbecue

To serve

2 ¼ lb cassava (yuca)peeled, cut into chunks, woody core removed
1 tsp salt
¾ cup ají picante (optional)

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What you'll need

Skewers

Spices & pantry

Fresh ingredients (2)

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Method

0/7 done

Step 1: Rub 2 tbsp coarse salt all over 4 lb beef short ribs, in one slab and 2 ¼ lb beef flank or skirt, in one piece. Cover and leave in the fridge for 3–4 hours. Take out 30 minutes before cooking.
5 min
Step 2: Light 6 ⅝ lb charcoal and hardwood chunks and, when the coals are covered in grey ash, push them all to one side of the barbecue. Add a couple of wood chunks. Put a tray of water under the empty side to catch drips.
30 min
Step 3: Put the short ribs on the cool side, bone side down, close the lid and adjust the vents to hold about 140–300°F inside.
5 min
Step 4: Cook for 3 hours, adding a handful of fresh charcoal every 45 minutes, until the meat has a dark, salty crust and has shrunk back from the bones.
180 min
Step 5: Add the flank on the cool side and cook both for another 60–80 minutes. The ribs are done when a skewer slides in like butter (about 199°F inside). Cook the flank to your taste; for this slow, rustic style most people take it to at least 145°F.
70 min
Step 6: Meanwhile, boil 2 ¼ lb cassava (yuca) with 1 tsp salt for 20–25 minutes, until tender and starting to split. Drain.
25 min
Step 7: Rest the meat for 15 minutes, then cut the ribs between the bones and slice the flank thickly across the grain. Serve with the cassava and ¾ cup ají picante.
15 min

Nutrition per serving

Calories: 720 kcal
Protein: 62 g
Carbs: 24 g
Fat: 41 g
Fibre: 2 g

Nutrition values are estimates.

Recipe by

KrazyBadal

All recipes by this chef →

Good to know

How long does mamona take?: About 290 minutes in total: 20 minutes to prepare and 270 minutes to cook.
How many people does it serve?: 8 as written. Change the servings above the ingredients and every amount scales to match.
Is it gluten free?: Yes, as written. Check the labels on stock, sauces and spice mixes, which sometimes contain gluten.

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