How The Cuban Dish Palomilla Transforms A Cheap Cut Of Steak

If you're sitting on a cheaper cut of steak like top sirloin or top round, there's a Cuban dish that's tailor-made for this type of beef: palomilla. It combines thin steaks, marinated and quickly seared or fried with some fried onions and plenty of garlic. It doesn't require many ingredients, but delivers a juicy and ultra-flavorful dish if done right.

Many palomilla recipes call for top sirloin or top round steak; some specialty Cuban butchers may sell a specific "bistec de palomilla" cut. While not traditional, flank and skirt steaks would work too. The tricky thing with these cuts is that they're lean, so compared to a fattier steak with lots of marbling, they can dry out on the grill or frypan. The marinade counters this by tenderizing the meat before it hits the heat, although a marinade isn't unique to palomilla. What is more unique is how the steak is prepared: It's either fileted or pounded to be super-thin — this breaks up tissue around the muscle fibers, giving the steak some extra tenderness.

Bear in mind that although palomilla is a dish that makes good use of cheaper steak cuts, this doesn't mean it works with all cheap beef cuts (after all, not all beef works as a steak). A cut like brisket that works well in recipes like a hearty stew will likely turn out painfully tough here since palomilla requires a quick, hot sear, rather than the low-and-slow cooking method that works well for softening up this type of cut.

Although the steak is central to palomilla, it isn't the only element to think about. To make sure the meat is packed with flavor, you'll need to get the marinade right, which means getting a good balance of fat, salt, and acid. For the fat, either olive oil or neutral oil like vegetable is good (recipes vary on which one to use, but olive oil should add more flavor). The acid usually comes from lime juice, and the marinade is seasoned with salt and pepper, and minced garlic adds some extra flavor. You could marinate the steak for as little as 30 minutes, but letting it sit overnight will add more flavor. Don't go for much longer than that, as it's possible to over-marinate meat, which makes it mushy and not-so-pleasant.

As for the onions, they should be sliced — yellow, white, or vidalia onions are the better choices. Cook them in the beef fat for extra flavor; it may be worth adding some lime juice for extra depth. Some recipes suggest adding some more garlic to the onions, or herbs like parsley. How to serve palomilla depends on your preferences: Rice and (black) beans is a classic option, but you could also do plantains (sometimes called tostones or maduros), plain rice, or even french fries. Provecho!