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Pepito
Pepito venezolano: Caracas street sub with grilled beef and chicken, potato sticks and sauces
When the bars close in Caracas, the queues form at the pepito stands of Las Mercedes and Altamira: long soft rolls stuffed with griddled strips of beef and chicken, grated cheese, lettuce and tomato, a crunchy handful of potato sticks and squiggles of garlic sauce, ketchup and mustard. It's messy, generous food, best eaten on the pavement. The common mistake is crowding the griddle, so the meat stews instead of searing. Chef's tip: cook the beef and chicken separately in a very hot pan, in small batches.
- Total time
- 30 min
- Difficulty
- easy
- Serves
- 4
Ingredients
For the meat
- 10 ½ oz beef sirlointhin strips
- 10 ½ oz chicken breastthin strips
- 2 cloves garliccrushed
- 1 tbsp soy sauce
- ½ tsp ground cumin
- 2 tbsp vegetable oil
- 1 onionsliced
To fill
- 4 oz yellow cheesegrated
- ¼ iceberg lettuceshredded
- 1 tomatosliced
- 2 ⅛ oz shoestring potato crisps
- 6 tbsp mayonnaise
- 1 clove garlicgrated, for the sauce
- 3 tbsp ketchup
- 2 tbsp yellow mustard
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Method
0/4 doneStep 1: Toss 10 ½ oz beef sirloin and 10 ½ oz chicken breast separately with 2 cloves garlic, 1 tbsp soy sauce and ½ tsp ground cumin. Leave in the fridge for 10 minutes. Stir 1 clove garlic into 6 tbsp mayonnaise.
10 minStep 2: Heat half of 1 tbsp vegetable oil in a large frying pan over a high heat. Sear the beef in batches for 2 minutes, until browned, and set aside.
4 minStep 3: Add the rest of 1 tbsp vegetable oil and 1 onion and cook the chicken for 5–6 minutes, until golden and no longer pink inside (165°F). Return the beef to warm through.
7 minStep 4: Split and warm 4 long soft sub rolls. Fill with the meat, scatter 4 oz yellow cheese, ¼ iceberg lettuce and 1 tomato, then drizzle with garlic mayo, 3 tbsp ketchup and 2 tbsp yellow mustard and top with 2 ⅛ oz shoestring potato crisps. Serve at once.
4 min
Nutrition per serving
- Calories
- 780 kcal
- Protein
- 48 g
- Carbs
- 62 g
- Fat
- 36 g
- Fibre
- 3 g
Nutrition values are estimates.
KrazyBadal
Good to know
- How long does pepito take?
- About 30 minutes in total: 15 minutes to prepare and 15 minutes to cook.
- How many people does it serve?
- 4 as written. Change the servings above the ingredients and every amount scales to match.
- What can I use instead of chicken breast?
- Boneless chicken thighs, same weight (a few minutes longer).
- What can I use instead of garlic?
- ½ tsp garlic paste or ⅛ tsp garlic powder per clove.
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