Northeast Brazil (Sertão cattle culture — Ceará, Rio Grande do Norte, Pernambuco)
Carne de sol — 'sun-dried meat' — is the Northeast Brazil cattle culture's method of preserving lean beef by salting heavily and air-drying in the sun and wind (not fully desiccating as with beef jerky), producing a partially cured, still-moist beef that is then pan-fried, grilled, or cooked as the protein in Northeastern Brazilian dishes. The drying is partial — carne de sol retains moisture and must be refrigerated; it is not as preserved as charque (fully dried jerky). The salting draws surface moisture and the concentrated salt is partially washed away before cooking. The flavour is distinctively salty-sweet with a concentrated beef character, and the texture is firmer than fresh beef. It is the defining protein of Northeastern Brazil alongside dried beans and manioc.
Served with macaxeira (cassava) frita, baião de dois (rice and beans cooked together), and manteiga de garrafa (liquid clarified butter); the Northeastern combination of salty beef, creamy beans, and starchy cassava is a regional identity in food form.
{"The meat (typically alcatra or coxão duro — rump or round cuts) must be lean: fat oxidises during the drying and produces off-flavours.","Coarse salt is rubbed in generously and allowed to penetrate for 24 hours before the air-drying begins.","Air circulation (not direct sun in modern preparation) is the key: the meat must be exposed to dry air on all sides.","Before cooking, soak the carne de sol in cold water for 1–2 hours to remove excess surface salt.","Pan-frying in butter is the canonical cooking method: the dairy fat adds richness against the lean, salty beef."}
After soaking and before pan-frying, pat the carne de sol completely dry and allow it to air-dry at room temperature for 20 minutes — the drier surface makes the Maillard reaction much more effective and produces a better crust in the buttered pan.
{"Cooking without soaking first: excess salt makes the meat inedibly salty.","Over-salting in the cure: the product should be pleasantly salty, not aggressively brined.","Using fatty cuts: the fat becomes rancid during drying.","Confusing with charque (beef jerky): carne de sol is partially dried, still moist — it is not fully preserved."}