Recipe: Morcon

Morcon is a Philippine beef roulade filled with spicy chorizo, piquant pickle relish, salty ham, and boiled eggs in a rich, savory tomato sauce.

2 pounds boneless beef steak, thinly sliced
(round, top sirloin, flank, etc.)

Marinade:
1 calamansi, juice only, about ½ cup
(substitute ¼ cup orange juice and ¼ cup lemon juice)
¼ cup soy sauce
1 tablespoon cane vinegar

Filling:
5 ounces soft chorizo
½ pound ham, thinly sliced
½ cup sweet pickle relish
2 eggs, hard-boiled, peeled and coarsely chopped

Sauce:
3 ounces soft chorizo
4 cloves garlic, peeled and minced
1 small onion, coarsely chopped
1 large can tomato sauce (15 ounces)
2 whole bay leaves

Marinate the Meat:
Combine marinade ingredients in a measuring cup. Place meat slices in a shallow dish and drizzle with marinade on both sides. Cover and refrigerate for 2 hours, or overnight.

Make the Sauce:
Combine sauce ingredients in a saucepan. Remove meat from marinade and place on a large cutting board. Add remaining marinade to the sauce ingredients and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer, stirring occasionally, for about 20 minutes.

Assemble Morcon Rolls:
Preheat oven to 350. Place one slice of ham on each slice of beef. Divide the chorizo into equal portions, one for each beef slice, and spread over the ham. Spread a tablespoon of pickle relish over each slice of ham. Divide the chopped eggs into equal portions and spread one portion over each slice. Roll the beef and ham slices around the filling and place in a large baking dish with the seam side down. Pour the sauce over the beef rolls, cover and bake for about 1 hour, until beef is tender.