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Venezuelan asado negro with mashed potatoes, fried plantains and sauce on a blue plate with the rest of the roast in the background.
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Venezuelan Asado Negro (Caramelized Roasted Beef)

This traditional Venezuelan beef roast is braised over low heat and is made with a marinade of papelón (unrefined brown sugar), garlic, Worcestershire sauce, cumin, rosemary, onion, tomato, bell pepper, sweet pepper, tomato paste, salt, and black pepper.
Course Main Course
Cuisine Latin, South American, Venezuelan
Keyword Asado Negro, Caramelized, Holidays, Papelón, Roast beef, Slow cooker
Prep Time 30 minutes
Cook Time 4 hours
Resting and marinating time 16 hours
Total Time 4 hours 30 minutes
Servings 12

Ingredients

  • 2 kg. cut of beef use eye of round roast (muchacho redondo in Spanish)
  • 4 garlic cloves
  • 1 teaspoon of salt
  • 3 tablespoons of Worcestershire sauce
  • 1 teaspoon of ground cumin
  • 1 teaspoon of black pepper
  • 2 sprigs of rosemary or 1 teaspoon of dried rosemary – you can also use marjoram
  • 2 white or yellow onions grated, about 2 cups, 200 g.
  • 4 large ripe tomatoes grated about 3 cups, 350 g.
  • 1 red bell pepper seeds removed, grated or finely chopped
  • 3 small mild and sweet chili peppers aji dulce or cubanelle peppers, seeds and veins removed, grated or finely chopped
  • 2 tablespoons of tomato paste
  • ½ cup of oil
  • 4 tablespoons of grated papelón piloncillo or panela or brown sugar
  • 3 cups of water - can replace 1 cup of water with 1 cup of Malta drink

Serve with:

Instructions

  • Remove any skin or excess fat from the eye of round beef roast. Rinse the meat under running water, then pat dry.
  • Peel the garlic and crush it. In a small mixing bowl, mix the crushed garlic, salt, Worcestershire sauce, cumin, black pepper and rosemary. Rub the piece of meat with the seasoning you just made and set it aside to rest while you prepare the other ingredients.
    Eye of round roast covered in seasoning and rosemary in a dish.
  • Peel the onions, cut them in half, and grate them on the coarse side of the cheese grater.
  • Cut the tomatoes in half, without peeling them, remove the seeds, and grate them the same way as the onions.
    Tomatoes grated on a plate.
  • Wash the small, sweet chili peppers and the red bell pepper. Cut off the stems and remove the veins and seeds. Then finely chop them with a knife. If you wish, and find it more convenient, you can grate them as well.
  • Place the roast in a long, narrow container, preferably glass or ceramic. Cover the roast with the grated vegetables: onion, tomato, bell pepper and sweet chili pepper. Add the tomato paste. Rub the roast with the grated vegetables, making sure they are well mixed. Cover the container and let the beef marinate overnight in the refrigerator.
    Beef roast in a dish covered with the prepared vegetable mixture.
  • The next morning, place a large frying pan over high heat. When it is hot, spread the grated papelón or brown sugar over the surface of the pan. The sugar will melt and eventually turn dark brown. There will be some smoke, so don't worry. Add half of the oil.
    Papelon cooked until dark brown in a pan.
  • Remove the roast from the bowl and wipe off the excess marinade. Save all the marinade for later to prepare the sauce for the roast. Place the roast on the hot pan, making sure the burnt sugar sticks to the roast. Cook it for about five minutes on each side over high heat. The entire surface of the roast will turn very dark brown. Add the oil little by little as needed. Once fully seared, turn off the pan and transfer the roast to an instant pot or crockpot.
    Beef roast being seared in the dark sugar in a pan.
  • Pour the saved marinade mixture and three cups of water in crockpot or instant pot, add the seared roast. Cook on low heat in the crockpot for approximately four hours. If you notice that there is not enough liquid, you can add an additional cup of water.
    Marinade in the bottom of a crockpot with the beef roast placed on top.
  • After four hours, remove the roast from the pot and let it rest for 10-15 minutes. Then place it on a cutting board. Cut it into slices. Pour all the sauce/leftover cooking liquid from the pot into a blender and blend on until you have a creamy, smooth mixture.
    Venezuelan Asado negro served on a wooden board with some slices off the end and a sauce on top.
  • Serve the Asado Negro roast slices with mashed potatoes and with plenty of sauce.
    Venezuelan roasted beef served on a bed of mashed potatoes and a side of plantains with sauce on top.

Notes

  • Sometimes when I'm short on time, I don't grate the vegetables; I blend them with the water and marinate the roast in this sauce.
  • A common variation of the roast is to substitute one cup of water with one cup of Malta drink.