Beef Embotido

I know, I've been posting too many recipe today. But since I have time doing so, I hope the blog can bear with me.

On a positive side, I used to say we're lucky to live in Jeddah, because you wouldn't be tempted to eat pork. The fats and layers of fats found on pork looks disgusting because you know it is never healthy specially for the heart but the taste is always irresistibly yummy! But because we're missing out on pork means we will try to enjoy every other meat available. For now, I'll post beef embotido or Filipino style meatloaf. I like making this because you can prepare it ahead of time, freeze it and just thaw when you needed. This is convenient food to have ready in my freezer because there are days when the two kiddos wouldn't let me cook anything. Shopping can also be challenge in Saudi Arabia because I always have to wait for my husband to bring me to the supermarket and when time doesn't permit me to do my shopping on time at least there are still some foods left in the freezer and we won't starve.





1 1/2 lbs ground beef
1/2 cup carrot, minced
1/4 cup onion, minced
1/4 cup red bell pepper, small diced
1/3 cup tomato sauce
1/2 cup chedar cheese
2 tablespoons pickle relish
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 cup panko bread crumbs( I don't advise using other breadcrumbs but if you will do you can add 3 tbsp sugar to sweeten it, panko has some sweetness when mixed with meat which is missing on regular breadcrumbs)
3 eggs, beaten
salt and pepper
2 hot dogs, sliced horizontally----( you can substitute viena sausage or in my case cheddar cheese strips because I don't like canned foods, the thought of preservatives makes me feel bad when I see my kids eating)
2 hard-boiled eggs, quartered






1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. or prepare your steamer, this can be cooked either way.

2. In a large bowl, mix together ground beef, carrots, onion, red bell pepper, tomato sauce, cheese, pickle relish, garlic, panko, eggs, salt and pepper.

3. Mix well.

4. Place the Foil on a flat surface.

5. Place the meat mixture on the foil and flatten, about 1/2 inch thick. Make sure you have enough space on the sides for sealing.

6. Place the sliced hotdog and quartered hard boiled egg in the middle of the meat mixture (forming a line).

7. Grab one end of the foil and fold over towards the middle covering the hotdog and egg. Press down gently to pack in the meat.

8. Grab the other end of the foil and fold again towards the center, forming a cylinder. Try to make your "meat roll" as compact as possible.

9. Grab the two ends of the cylinder and give it a twist to seal.

10. Do the same for the rest of the meat mixture.
11. Get a bigger pan and put hot water on it and place the pan with the meat rolls over it. Another option is steaming the meat rolls for 1 1/2 hours.