Take the 2-minute tour ×

My friend and I were discussing 'carne mechada' - I've only ever heard the word in conversation and I thought it meant 'mixed' but according to our google searching it's a little more specific.

Can anyone tell me how the term 'carne mechada' is really used, what does mechada mean in context and does it have any slang usage?

share|improve this question
Just answering the "slang" part of your question. Mechar means to stuff meat with something by using a pointy device. Now use your imagination. –  belisarius Jun 12 '13 at 17:15

2 Answers 2

up vote 6 down vote accepted

I don't know if it has any slang usage. It's a way, actually two, of preparing meat:

According to RAE, mechar means "to introduce fat in the meat prior to cooking it". So, carne mechada would be meat cooked with fat inserted in it. But that's a very strict definition. I think other things are inserted, too, not just fat. So in that case it would be "stuffed meat".

But it is also be carne "en mechas", a way of preparing some beef cuts which, after cooking them, are shredded into "threads" of meat and served in different ways: with tomato sauce, in arepas, with rice... See Wikipedia article.

share|improve this answer
Thank you - perfect answer!! –  Meeka Jun 12 '13 at 12:00

You stuff things (normally fat, but also ham, nuts...) into carne mechada with an aguja de mechar ("barding needle" or lardoir) like this:

enter image description here

Completing @MikMik's answer, I must say that in my part of the world (western Andalusia), the carne mechada (usually pork loin) isn't normally stuffed nor shreded into threads, just cooked with certain seasonings and condiments, while still retaining the name mechada (pronounced mechá).

share|improve this answer

Your Answer


