Beef Skewers (Chuzos de Res)

by Maria

Sitting in an asadero or barbecue restaurant in Colombia eating a beef, pork or chicken skewer with Arepa and papa salada is like heaven to me. Street vendors set up outside the clubs and bars in Medellín, serving all kinds of skewers and grilled corn. The flavor of these chuzos is fantastic.

We marinate all of our meats overnight in Colombia. I remember coming home from the supermarket when I was a girl and watching my mom trim and marinate all the meats she just bought and storing them in plastic bags, which she would label with the date and the type of meat. That was an all day affair, but she had the meat ready for the rest of the week and with amazing flavor.

Ingredients
(4 Servings)

1 ½ pound beef filet, diced
¼ cup finely chopped onion
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 chopped scallion
½ teaspoon ground cumin
½ cup beer
Olive oil for brushing
Salt and black pepper

Directions

1. Mix the onion, garlic, scallion, ground cumin, beer, salt and pepper in a large zip lock plastic bag.

2. Add the beef and let it marinate overnight or for at least 5 hours in the refrigerator.

3. Preheat the grill to high. Thread the beef onto skewers and brush with olive oil. Grill until browned on all sides, 5 to 7 minutes total. Serve the skewers with a papa salada and small arepa.