Butterflied Stuffed Beef Fillet

Tapado literally means “covered,” and it often refers to dishes smothered with a sauce. In the case of this dish, which was originally from the city of Tlaxcala near Mexico City, and which I first tasted at the restaurant El Paso del Norte in Ciudad Juárez, the sauce is covered by the meat. In Juárez they pounded the beef very thin before enclosing the filling.

The dish came to mind while I was coming up with ideas to meet the difficult circumstances—outdoor service, limited