There are multiple forms of Cecina. There is Cecina that originated in Spain and Latin America. The type of Cecina that I’ll be talking about today is the Mexican version.
What Cecina is- Mexican Version
As said previously Cecina is a dried up piece of meat. But that piece of meat has a background. Mexican Cecina is a traditional jerky like piece of dried beef. The meat for the Cecina comes from the cow’s leg. Usually in Mexico they have a big ball of meat which they slowly slice thin to prepare it for the Cecina process. There are multiple ways to prepare it as well. After the Cecina process has been completed some people use the dried meat in tacos or other traditional dishes. Personally I’ve never tried that but it sounds good. Here’s a video of Cecina tacos being made if you’re interested, https://youtu.be/iGtqF3N6wCI.
Tacos de Cecina
Another Type of Cecina-Spain
Cecina is prepared differently depending where you are in the world. For example, in Spain they have their own version which is called the Cecina De Leon. Spains version is a lot like the Mexican version but it still has its differences. Cecina De Leon takes a lot longer to be prepared. The process involves the beef being salted, curing, and drying inside of a room. This process can sometimes take longer than 7 months. Unlike the Mexican version the Cecina De Leon has an almost rotten look on the outside but a nice and pinkish color on the inside. They don’t only make it from beef, they also make it from rabbit and horse meat.
What Cecina De Leon looks like
Why Cecina Was Made
Back in the day Cecina was a way for people to preserve meat without needing a fridge. Having a way to preserve meat was very important because back in the day there really wasn’t a way to keep your food cold in those hot regions of the world. A good way for people to preserve the meat was having it cure out with salt and having it dry out in the sun. Salt was a good way to preserve. You must be asking yourself, “How does salt cure out meat and prevent it from spoiling”. Well it’s actually a very simple process. Salt will absorb the water that is in the meat which helps prevent the rotting process from occurring. It’s a very simple way of preserving meat that doesn’t even need electricity. I think this food item is sustainable because it prevents food being spoiled. The Cecina process allows for the meat to be stored in normal conditions, which means you don’t have to worry about your beef rotting. Beef rotting means that it needs to be thrown away, which then creates food waste. This prevents food waste and leaves you with a tasty snack.
History on the Feedlot
Back in the day around the 1800s grain farmers were trying to find a market for the excess grains that they had, they also wanted to provide jobs for people. The farmers started feeding the cows some grains which according to the article “ increased value in grain finished beef“. From an economic standpoint really helped farmers make more money if they fed their cattle with grains. With the demand for meat at the time growing due to the civil war this was an effective way to produce more beef in a smaller time frame. This helps us meet the demand with supply. Economically this helps us but ethically I think this idea could be improved to create better living conditions for the cattle.
This is what a feedlot looks like
Mexican Cecina Recipe:
Everyone makes Cecina to their liking. I’ve seen people coat the meat with Manteca/ Lard to help the meat keep its flavor. My dad allowed me to inform y’all on how we prepare it.It’s a pretty generic recipe, but it still tastes good. There is also a key factor in drying the meat. My dad built a wooden box frame with a screen around it that doesn’t allow flies to touch the meat. If the flies touch the meat they can infect it with disease and they can plant larvae in the meat which ruins it. He also put some strings that attach from one side of the frame to the other. He attached those strings so the meat has something to hang on.
He used this type of screen to block out the flies from touching the meat. I wish I had a picture of the box he built but sadly it was destroyed by my dog.
Ingredients needed:
-Salt
-Big Bowl
-1 Kilogram of thinly sliced beef
-10-15 Limes
Steps:
1. Cut the limes in half
2.Squeeze all of the lime juice into a cup
3.Grab your salt
4.Grab some of the slices of meat and place them in the bowl
5. Pour a small amount of lime on the meat and sprinkle some salt onto the meat in the bowl. Make sure you get the salt on both sides of the meat.
6.Repeat step 5 until all of your meat in the bowl has salt and lime juice on it.
7.Once your meat is covered in lime and salt, place the bowl in the fridge and allow the meat to marinate for about 24 hours.
8.If you don’t have a box like my dad built, make sure you have a place where the meat can hang without being touched by bugs.
9.Let the meat dry out in the sunlight for 24 hours
10. Once the meat is dry and cured out, you can enjoy it as jerky or be creative and make it into a dish. For example Cecina tacos.
–P.S. The meat should look like the picture below once the drying process is done.
The Finished Product
Blog Post Created by Jordan Olea-Iniguez
Bibliography
Fisher, I. (May 24, 2016). Curing Meat and Fish at home: Just add salt. Retrieved from https://www.seattletimes.com/life/food-drink/curing-meat-and-fish-at-home-just-add-salt/
Goodman, R. (October 2, 2012) What is a cattle feedlot? Ask a Farmer. Retrieved from https://beefrunner.com/2012/10/08/ask-a-farmer-what-is-a-cattle-feedlot/
National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (April 6, 2021) US Beef Industry is the Most Sustainable. Retrieved from https://www.drovers.com/news/beef-production/us-beef-industry-most-sustainable
Tasteatlas (2021) Cecina De Leon. Retrieved from https://www.tasteatlas.com/cecina-de-leon
Rubio,B , Martınez,B , Gonzalez-Fernandez, C, Garcıa-Cachan,M , Rovira,J ,& Jaime,I. ‘‘Cecina de Leon”is a salted, smoked and dried, beef product. Meat Science 74 (2006) 710–717