Killing Hunger, Uruguay Style

El Palenque may not be the fanciest restaurant in Montevideo, Uruguay, but when it comes to eating beef, there’s no place I’d rather be.

Located in the Mercado del Puerto (Port Market), a 19th century covered market that today is Montevideo’s barbecue central, El Palenque offers a staunchly carnivorous bill of fare that includes mollejas (grilled sweetbreads), choto (crispy rolled tripe) and asado de tira (a long, thin, cross-section of the rib roast) that literally fills your plate.

My favorite dish here bears the curious name of matambre. The name says it all. “Hambre” is the Spanish word for hunger. “Matar” means “to kill.” Put them together and you get one of the most distinctive dishes in South America.

Matambres are usually described as rolled, stuffed, baked or grilled flank steaks. But travel around South America and you’ll find that they can come flat or rolled, plain or stuffed and made with a variety of meat cuts, not just flank steak. Traditionally served as an appetizer, matambres come in portions large enough to dwarf the average North American entree.

The first matambres were flank steaks seasoned with salt and herbs and cooked flat over glowing coals. Such was the matambre I received by way of a welcome at the Estancia Cina Cina, a ranch west of Buenos Aires that stages barbecues and equestrian shows for tourists. Cut into half-inch squares and served on toothpicks, this sort of matambre made a tasty snack indeed.

More commonly, matambre refers to a flank steak that is generously stuffed and rolled like a jelly roll. Here, too, the embellishments vary from restaurant to restaurant and chef to chef. The Estancia restaurant in Buenos Aires (not to be confused with the aforementioned ranch) rolls its matambres with only a sprinkling of olive oil, salt, pepper, garlic, oregano and bay leaves.

The matambre reaches its apotheosis in Uruguay at such restaurants as El Palenque. The Montevidean version features an array of sausage, carrots, bell peppers and cheese rolled in an oregano- and sage-scented sheet of flank steak. When sliced widthwise, the matambre forms a handsome spiral of beef studded with a colorful mosaic of vegetables, cheese and sausage. Knowing about the restaurant’s belt-loosening portions, I ordered a half serving of Palenque’s hunger-killer. The slice was the size of a baseball. I’d hate to see a full portion.

Over the centuries, matambres have spread north from Argentina throughout South America. In Brazil, for example, I feasted on a splendid matambre at the Barra Grill in Rio de Janeiro. True to Brazilian tradition, the meat had been marinated in a spicy garlic-and-lime-based tempeiro before being rolled with bacon and cheese and roasted on a spit.

Because of the innate toughness of a cut of meat like flank steak, a matambre requires lengthy cooking to attain the proper tenderness. You might think that lengthy cooking would be difficult, if not impossible, over a live fire. But South American grill jockeys have devised an ingenious method. They swaddle the matambre in aluminum foil and cook it for several hours over a low or indirect fire. The foil prevents the outside of the meat from burning and holds the matambre neatly in shape.

It makes a colorful appetizer but could certainly be served as a main course. One thing’s for sure: It will kill your hunger.

HUNGER KILLER (Matambre) (IT’S A SNAP)

This recipe may sound complicated, but it can be assembled in 15 minutes. The traditional cut of meat is flank steak, but I’ve also made matambre with brisket. If you use brisket, you’ll need to double-butterfly it. If you’re not comfortable with your knife skills, ask your butcher to butterfly the meat.

6 thin strips bacon

1 (1 1/2- to 1 3/4-pound) flank steak, butterflied (see Kitchen Tip)

Salt

Freshly ground pepper

1 teaspoon dried oregano

1 teaspoon dried sage

1 (6-ounce) piece kielbasa sausage, cut lengthwise into 1/2-inch-thick strips

1/2 red bell pepper, cut into 1/2-inch strips

1 (6-ounce) piece Romano cheese, cut lengthwise into 1/2-inch-thick strips

1 long carrot, cut lengthwise into quarters

1/2 green bell pepper, cut into 1/2-inch strips

2 hard-cooked eggs, peeled, cooled, cut lengthwise into quarters, optional

Arrange bacon strips, leaving 1 inch between each, on large (24x24-inch) rectangle of heavy-duty aluminum foil. (Note: Strips should run parallel to bottom edge of foil.) Place flank steak on top of bacon, so that grain of meat runs perpendicular to bacon. Generously season meat with salt and pepper. Sprinkle with oregano and sage.

Arrange strips of sausage in 1 row, end to end, on meat on edge closest to you. Place row of red bell pepper strips next to it. Then row of cheese strips, then carrot strips, then green bell pepper strips, then eggs. Repeat process until all ingredients for filling are used, leaving last 3 inches of meat uncovered.

Starting at edge closest to you and using foil to help, roll up meat with filling to make compact roll. Pin top edge shut with metal skewers or tie matambre closed with several lengths of butcher’s string. Encase roll in foil, twisting ends to make what will look like large sausage. Poke several holes in foil at each end to release steam.

Cook matambre in grill over indirect heat or bake at 325 degrees until very tender, 1 1/2 to 2 hours. To test for doneness, insert metal skewer. It should pierce meat easily and be piping hot to touch when removed.

Transfer matambre to cutting board and let cool 30 minutes. Remove foil and skewers or string. Cut roll widthwise into 1-inch-thick slices.

8 appetizer servings or 4 main-course servings. Each main-course serving:

562 calories; 1,143 mg sodium; 140 mg cholesterol; 39 grams fat; 5 grams carbohydrates; 45 grams protein; 0.30 gram fiber.

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Kitchen Tip

To butterfly flank steak, place steak at edge of cutting board, short side toward you. Using a long, slender knife, cut meat almost in half through narrow edge of long side and open it up as you would a book. Pound it flat with the side of a meat cleaver. The idea is to obtain a 12- to 15-inch square of meat.

To set up charcoal grill for indirect cooking, light coals and rake them to periphery of grill or place in side baskets. Cook matambre in center of grill. To set up gas grill for indirect cooking, light front and rear burners or burners on one side. Cook matambre in center of grill or on opposite side.