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Sekai Gohan
Bife à Parmegiana: Brazilian Breaded Beef Baked with Tomato and Cheese
Ingredients
| Ingredient | Amount | Role |
|---|---|---|
| Beef steaks, sirloin or rump (contrafilé or alcatra), about ⅜ inch (1 cm) thick | 2 or more, about 1 lb 2 oz (500 g) in all | The main ingredient |
| Egg, medium | 1 | Holds the crumbs on |
| All-purpose flour (farinha de trigo) | ½ cup (70 g) | First, dry layer of the breading |
| Fine dry breadcrumbs (farinha de rosca) | ½ cup (40 g) | The crisp crust |
| Salt (sal) | ½ tsp | Seasons the meat |
| Ground black pepper (pimenta-do-reino) | ¼ tsp | Seasons the meat |
| Neutral oil for frying (óleo) | 2½ cups (600 ml) | For shallow frying |
| Tomato sauce (molho de tomate), homemade if you have it | ⅔ cup (160 ml) | Goes under and over the meat |
| Shredded mozzarella (muçarela ralada) | about 5 oz (150 g) | The melted top |
| Grated parmesan (queijo parmesão ralado) | about 1¾ oz (50 g) | Browns into a salty top crust |
Steps
1Heat the oven and warm the sauce
Preheat the oven to 430°F (220°C). Warm the tomato sauce in the microwave for about 1 minute, or in a small saucepan on the stove until it simmers. Put the empty baking dish on the counter where you can reach it from the frying pan. The sauce is ready when it is hot all the way through and bubbling at the edge of the pan.
2Set up the breading line and season the beef
Beat the egg in one shallow plate, and put the flour and the breadcrumbs in the other two. Line a baking tray with paper towels for draining. Season the beef on both sides with the salt and pepper. If you like, rest it in the refrigerator so the seasoning settles in. Meanwhile, heat the oil over medium heat in a deep-sided skillet. Move on when the pepper is spread evenly over every steak and the three plates sit in a row: flour, egg, crumbs.
3Coat in flour, egg, then breadcrumbs
Dredge a steak in flour on both sides and shake off the excess. Pass it through the egg and let the extra drip back into the plate. Lay it in the breadcrumbs and press firmly with your palm so the crumbs stick over every surface, edges included. A well-coated steak has no bare or wet patches, and no crumbs fall off when you lift it.
Shake, drip, pressMost of the crust's grip comes from the first two moves. A thin flour layer and well-drained egg give the crumbs a tacky surface to hold. Thick flour or puddled egg makes a crust that lifts off in one sheet when you cut it.
4Fry about 40 seconds a side
Drop a few breadcrumbs into the oil. If they foam right away, the oil is ready. Lay a steak in gently and fry for about 40 seconds. Turn it with metal tongs and fry the second side for about 40 seconds more. The crust should come out light gold. It does not need to be deep brown, because it will color more in the oven.
Use the crumb test before every steakBreadcrumbs that foam the moment they hit the oil mean it is hot enough to set the crust in seconds. If they sink and sit quietly, wait. Run the test again between steaks, because each cold steak lowers the oil temperature.
Hot oilHot oil burns badly and can catch fire. Keep the pan stable on the burner with its handle turned away from you, and stay with it while it heats. Lower the steaks in away from your body and use tongs, not your fingers. If the oil smokes, turn off the heat. Never pour water on burning oil. Cover the pan with a lid to put out the flame.
5Drain on paper towels
Lift each steak out with the tongs, hold it over the pan for a moment, and lay it on the paper-towel-lined tray. Keep the steaks in a single layer so steam does not soften the crust underneath. Turn off the heat under the oil once the last steak is out. When they are ready, the steaks look crisp and dry on top and the paper under them shows a ring of oil.
6Layer sauce, beef and cheese
Spread some of the warm tomato sauce over the bottom of the baking dish. Lay the fried steaks on top. Cover them with the mozzarella, spoon a little more sauce over the cheese, and sprinkle the parmesan over everything. The dish is ready for the oven when the meat is covered edge to edge and no crust is left uncovered on top.
7Bake, then grill to color
Bake in the preheated oven for about 20 minutes. Then switch to the grill (broiler) and cook about 5 minutes more to brown the top. Ovens heat differently, so watch through the door during the grill stage. Cut into one steak to check that the meat is cooked all the way through. It is done when the cheese is fully melted with golden-brown spots and the sauce bubbles hard at the edges.
8Serve hot
Bring the dish to the table while the cheese is still moving. Lift out a steak with a spatula, keeping the cheese and sauce on top, and plate it with white rice, fries or batata palha, and a salad. For one piece per person, cut the meat into three portions, before breading or at the table. The cut edge should show a crisp crumb line between the meat and the melted cheese.