What is pabellón criollo?
Pabellón criollo is a traditional recipe from Venezuela. It is actually the local version of the rice and beans combination that you can find throughout the Caribbean and Central America, for example in Costa Rica with gallo pinto. It is composed of rice, shredded beef and black beans.
This pabellón criollo recipe is not one that you prepare in 30 minutes. However, it is not difficult to execute. This recipe is actually a combination of 3 to 4 distinct preparations. This version of pabellón criollo is presented with carne mechada (shredded beef) accompanied by traditional caraotas negras (black beans), rice and also tajadas (plantains). Some versions of pabellón criollo also include a fried egg.
Venezuelans call the version with plantains pabellón con barandas (barriers) as plantains placed on the side are supposed to prevent other foods from falling off the plate.
Shredded beef is a great tradition of South America and the Caribbean. It even has an unappetizing name, ropa vieja (old clothes) in some Caribbean countries such as Cuba.
In Spanish, it is traditionally known as mechar or desmechar, which literally means to separate the hair.
How to make pabellón criollo
My taster this week was our maid Cecilia who tried my pabellón criollo for lunch as I had prepared this dish for our Friday night dinner. Her immediate reaction was that it reminded her of a typical Mexican and Guatemalan dish known as hilachas.
All of these recipes use the same method for cooking the meat, namely first boiling it for a few hours, sometimes with vegetables such as celery and carrots, but they differ with regard to spices, ingredients and flavors used for the second part of the cooking, which asks for sautéing and simmering the meat on the stove.
Black beans are also emblematic of Venezuelan cuisine. Again, preparations for the beans have various names in different Latin countries such as frijoles, porotos, judias or habichuelas but in Caracas, they are known as caraotas.
The bean is really the only ingredient of pabellón criollo venezolano that is native to indigenous Latin American. Indeed, the Europeans brought beef, rice was imported from India, and plantains are from Africa.
This dish is served with white rice. You can simply cook it the way you would normally cook white rice or as I did following a Venezuelan recipe that will give a little more flavor. Plantains are a great side to this dish, as well as a few thin slices of avocado. Plantains are easy to make, just sliced ½-inch thick and deep fried for a few minutes.
The shredded meat is tender, very easy to eat (even for toddlers), and perfectly concentrates the different spices and aromas. The boiling of the meat is a long process (3 to 4 hours), but it can be accelerated when done in a pressure cooker. This is the best method to obtain a meat like pabellón criollo that melts in the mouth.
Pabellón Criollo (Venezuelan Shredded Beef with Rice and Beans)
Ingredients
For the carne mechada
- 1 lb beef (skirt steak or flank)
- 2 celery stalks , cut into 4 pieces
- 2 carrots , cut into 4 pieces
- 1 onion , quartered
- 1 onion , finely chopped
- 1 red pepper , diced
- 3 cloves garlic , crushed
- A little Worcestershire sauce
- 1 teaspoon cumin
- 4 tablespoons tomato sauce
- Olive oil
- Salt
- Pepper
For the black beans (caraotas negras)
- 2 cups dry black beans , rinsed (preferably soaked in water overnight)
- 3 oz. ham , diced
- 1 onion , diced
- 2 cloves garlic , crushed
- 1 bay leaf
- Olive oil
- Salt
- Pepper
For the Venezuelan white rice
- 1 cup white rice
- 2 cups water
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon oil
- 1 clove garlic , crushed
- ½ onion , cut in half
- ½ green bell pepper , cut into strips
- ½ red bell pepper , cut into strips
Instructions
Carne Mechada
- Boil the beef in a pot of water with celery, quartered onion and carrots.
- Bring to a boil, cover and simmer for 3 to 4 hours.
- Remove from heat and let cool.
- Once cooled, shred the meat into strands with a knife or two forks until the beef is completely shredded.
- Heat two tablespoons of olive oil in a large skillet.
- Add the diced onions and when they start to brown, add the garlic and red bell pepper, a pinch of salt, a little black pepper and cumin.
- Add beef and stir for a few minutes while sauteing.
- Add a little water, tomato sauce and Worcestershire sauce to the meat.
- Stir often to bring to boil, then reduce heat and simmer for 15 minutes.
Black beans
- In a pressure cooker, add 4 tablespoons of oil. Add ham and onions and cook until onions are translucent and ham is lightly browned, about 5 minutes.
- Add the garlic and bay leaf and sauté for 1 minute.
- Add beans and stir.
- Pour the water, 1 tablespoon of salt, and pepper.
- Close the pressure cooker and bring to high pressure.
- Reduce heat to maintain pressure and cook at high pressure for 25 to 30 minutes (depending on pressure cooker).
- Remove from heat and let stand for 5 minutes.
- Open and release steam.
- If the beans are not quite cooked, simmer uncovered until they are tender.
Venezuelan white rice
- Add salt, oil, garlic, onion, bell pepper and rice in a large pot.
- Sauté all ingredients over high heat.
- When they are golden, add water.
- Bring to a boil, cover, and cook for about 15 minutes until the rice is tender and fluffy.
- Remove the pan from the heat and remove the chunks of onion.
Video
Mike is “the devil” of the 196 flavors’ duo. Nicknamed as such by his friends, he is constantly in search of unusual recipes and techniques with impossible to find ingredients. The devil is always pushing the envelope, whether it is with humor or culinary surprises.
ViSys says
Have you tried “huevos chimbos” or “dulce de icaco”? those are my favorite traditional dessert recipes here in Zulia-Venezuela
Mike Benayoun says
No I haven’t. I looked up huevos chimbos. This is a very unique recipe. I love it! And I never heard of icaco plums. Now, I really need to find them 😉
ViSys says
I hope you find them and make the recipe, and after eating the pulp I bite the pit to break the shell and eat the nut inside. The ones that my grandma uses are the ones that have a pinkish skin.
Natacha says
My friend is from Caracas and she made this for me last week. I loved it so much I want to try to make it now.
Kate says
I made this last weekend and the beef was perfect. I actually doubled the recipe without issue. I made the beans vegetarian (so just no ham) and they were also perfect. The rice was well received. It all made me feel like I was back in Caracas, especially with the arepas that I made alongside all of this wonderful food. Thank you for solid easy to follow recipes. You made the cooking easy and my guests happy stuffed people when they left!
Mike Benayoun says
Wow, I always love to hear that we help feed people and make them happy 😉 Thanks for sharing, Kate!
Kathryn Curry-Da-Souza says
I made this again tonight, same result. A number of guests asked about the beef (I used three packages of flank steak and effectively tripled the recipe). I cooked the beef all afternoon, so roughly six or seven hours. The flavor was very dense and I have happily passed on your recipes to them. The only thing I realized tonight that would be helpful is when I read through the recipe, it would say “add the *ingredient*” and I would have to scroll up to the ingredient list to see how much I was supposed to be adding. I do wish the amount was built into the recipe so it would be less scrolling. But again, thank you, following what you set up means such a delicious meal. I will now need to venture into your other recipes!!
Mike Benayoun says
Thanks so much for the compliments, Kathryn. So glad this recipe is always a success for you and your guests. Regarding the way we write recipes, there are actually a number of ways/templates recipes can be written. We chose earlier on to generally not copy the measurements inside the recipe itself to keep it lean and simple. I totally understand your point of view, and it is really a matter of preference 😉
Claire says
First time on your site and making the black beans. Directions say to add water but I don’t see water in the list of ingredients. I soaked the beans overnight but and all of the water was absorbed by the beans. How much water should I add in the pressure cooker. Thank you. Also making the beef and rice….can’t wait to try this meal!
Hands Doing Things says
Hello Claire! Water should be enough to cover the beans in the pressure cooker. Please, let us know how it turns out!