Carne guisada
Ingredients
- 4 pounds chuck or bottom round beef, cut into 1-inch cubes
- Salt
- Pepper
- 4 tablespoons peanut oil
- 1 medium onion, diced
- 2 jalapeno chiles, seeded and, diced
- 2 Serrano chiles, seeded and diced
- 5 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 tablespoon ground cumin
- 1 tablespoon chili powder
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1/2 cup chopped cilantro
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 (14.5-ounce) can diced tomatoes, with juices or 3 fresh tomatoes, diced
- 2 cups water
- 1 (12-ounce) bottle of dark Mexican beer such as Negro Modelo
Instructions
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Lightly toss the beef with salt and pepper. In a large pot or a Dutch oven, brown the beef on medium high heat in 2 tablespoons of the oil. You may have to do this in batches.
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Remove beef from pot, add the final 2 tablespoons of peanut oil and cook on medium heat the onions, jalapeños, and Serranos chiles for about 10 minutes or until the onions are translucent. Add the garlic and cook for another minute.
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Throw in the browned beef, add the cumin, chili powder, oregano, cilantro, bay leaf, tomatoes, water, and beer and mix everything really well. Add salt to taste.
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Turn the heat up to high and bring to a boil and then turn the heat down to low and simmer uncovered for 2-4 hours, depending on how tender you want your meat. Taste and adjust seasonings. Serve warm.
Recipe Notes
If you want your meat to be distinct cubes rather than strings, lessen the cooking time. If you cook the stew for less time, you may also need to add some flour to thicken the gravy. Take out a 1/4 cup of the cooking liquid, stir into it a 1 tablespoon of flour and then incorporate this back into the stew. Stir until gravy has thickened. Also, I like my meat in big stringy chunks, but if you prefer smaller pieces, cut the meat into 1/2 inch cubes.