Guatemalan salpicón is cooked beef minced very fine and tossed with raw onion, radish, tomato and fresh mint (hierbabuena) in lime juice, then eaten on tostadas, in tortillas or with white rice. Once the beef is cooked, the rest is chopping and mixing. AntiguaDailyPhoto sums up the ingredients as minced beef, onion, tomato, mint, chile, salt and lemon or sour orange.

Not the same salpicón as elsewhere

Salpicón is a Spanish word meaning hodgepodge or medley, according to Wikipedia, and the dish behind it changes from country to country:

CountryWhat salpicón means thereSource
GuatemalaCold minced-beef and radish salad with mintGrowing Up Bilingual
NicaraguaMinced beef served with riceGrowing Up Bilingual
MexicoSliced or chopped flank steak with onion, oregano, chile serrano, avocado, tomatoes and vinegarWikipedia
ColombiaA fruit cocktail drink made with watermelon and/or orange juiceWikipedia, Growing Up Bilingual
PeruSalpicón de pollo, a chicken salad with vegetables, mayonnaise, lime and herbsWikipedia

In these sources, the Guatemalan beef version is dressed with mint and lime rather than oregano, vinegar or mayonnaise.

Ways to eat it in Guatemala

  • Cold, as a salad. Growing Up Bilingual describes salpicón de res as served cold, over white rice, rolled in a soft tortilla or on a crunchy tostada. See our tostadas for the base.
  • As a bowl with broth. The Foodies’ Kitchen puts the salpicón in a soup bowl with rice and ladles hot beef stock over it, with avocado and corn tortillas on the side. If you like that idea, our caldo de res shows how to build a fuller beef broth.
  • With pork instead of beef. In Mixco, Prensa Latina reported a salpicón de chicharrón mixed with radish, onion, mint and lime. Make the pork with our chicharrones recipe. Wikipedia’s Guatemalan cuisine entry calls chojín a version of salpicón made with fried pork skins.

AntiguaDailyPhoto counts salpicón among several Guatemalan meat salads, along with chojín, ensalada de buche, ensalada de pancita, piloyada antigüeña, ceviches and fiambre.

Ingredients

For the Beef

  • 2 lb (900 g) eye of round (bolovique) or flank steak, cut into 2-inch (5 cm) chunks
  • 8 cups water
  • 1/2 white onion
  • 2 cloves garlic
  • 1 bay leaf
  • 1 teaspoon salt

For the Salad

  • 1 small onion (red or white), very finely chopped
  • 8 to 10 radishes, very finely chopped
  • 2 Roma tomatoes, seeded and finely diced
  • 1/2 cup fresh mint (hierbabuena) leaves, chopped
  • 1 jalapeño, seeded and finely chopped (optional)

For the Dressing

  • 1/2 cup fresh lime juice (4 to 5 limes)
  • Juice of 1 sour orange (naranja agria), optional
  • Salt and black pepper to taste

To Serve

  • Tostadas, corn tortillas, white rice or sliced avocado

Step-by-Step Instructions

Step 1: Cook the beef. Put the beef, water, onion half, garlic, bay leaf and salt in a large pot. Bring it to a boil and skim off the foam. Cover, lower the heat and simmer for about 1 hour 30 minutes, until the meat pulls apart easily with a fork. In a pressure cooker, The Foodies’ Kitchen cooks the beef for 20 minutes on the stove or 35 minutes on high in an electric pressure cooker.

Step 2: Cool it in the broth. Turn off the heat and let the beef sit in its broth for 20 minutes so it stays moist. Lift it out onto a board. Strain the broth and keep it for soup or for serving the salpicón as a bowl.

Step 3: Mince the beef. Chop the beef very finely with a heavy knife, or pulse it in a food processor in short bursts until it is finely minced but not a paste. AntiguaDailyPhoto, without a food processor, chopped bolovique by hand as fine as it would go.

Step 4: Prepare the vegetables. Finely chop the onion, radishes, tomatoes and mint. Soak the chopped onion in cold water for 10 minutes and drain it well. The Foodies’ Kitchen blanches its onion for about 2 minutes for the same reason: a milder bite.

Step 5: Combine. In a large bowl, mix the minced beef with the onion, radishes, tomatoes, mint and the jalapeño, if using.

Step 6: Dress it. Pour over the lime juice and the sour orange juice, if you have it. Season with salt and pepper and mix thoroughly so every bit of beef is coated.

Step 7: Chill. Cover and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes so the beef takes up the lime. Taste before serving and add more lime or salt if it needs it.

Step 8: Serve. Serve cold or at room temperature, piled on tostadas, rolled in warm corn tortillas, or next to white rice and avocado.

Como Lo Hacemos en Guatemala (Local Tips)

Mince finely. Most of the recipes used here mince the beef rather than pull it into strands as for hilachas; Growing Up Bilingual shreds it, then cuts it crosswise. Every forkful should carry beef, radish and mint together.

Add the mint late. If you make the salad a day ahead, stir in half the mint at the start and the rest just before serving, for a fresher mint flavour.

Sour orange is worth finding. Growing Up Bilingual calls naranja agria a preferred ingredient and suggests equal parts unsweetened orange juice and grapefruit juice when you cannot find it.

Save the broth. The strained cooking broth makes a quick soup, or a hot bowl with the salpicón, rice and avocado.

Find Ingredients in the US

IngredientWhere to FindSubstitute
Eye of round or flank steakAny supermarket meat counterBrisket flat
Fresh mint (hierbabuena)Supermarket herb section, Latin grocery storesSpearmint, or cilantro for a different flavour
Sour orange (naranja agria)Latin grocery stores, bottled juice in the Latin aisleEqual parts orange and grapefruit juice
TostadasLatin grocery storesFry or bake corn tortillas until crisp

To try salpicón de res in a restaurant, our Guatemalan food in Los Angeles guide lists a place that serves it. For other cities, see the Guatemalan food in the US directory.

Sources