Griddle-Grilled Beef Slices 烤牛肉

Griddle-Grilled Beef Slices (烤牛肉) are central to Qiqihar’s (齐齐哈尔) barbecue tradition. The city’s Meilisi (梅里斯) style is known for large, evenly cut pieces from the upper shoulder and rib area. Beef is divided into many specific cuts, each offering its own balance of tenderness, fat and chew.

Beef on the hot plate

At Qihan Yangjia (齐函杨佳), a restaurant profiled by Xinhua, a piece of beef fat first greases the griddle. Large marbled slices are dipped in the house sauce before being laid on the hot plate. Once fragrant and browned, the meat is cut into smaller pieces with scissors.

Leaves, garlic and different cuts

The grilled beef is eaten with perilla leaves, sliced garlic and green pepper rings. The restaurant describes its upper-shoulder cut as tender and its outer-back cut as chewier, while a partly fatty chest cut has a milky aroma. Meilisi’s large-cut beef can also be threaded on bamboo skewers and cooked over charcoal, offering another form of the city’s beef barbecue.