Mexican Spicy Beef Stew

This is essentially carne guisada, the Tex-Mex braised beef that fills tortillas in countless taquerias across the southwest. Chuck cubes get seared hard in rendered beef fat, then slow-simmered in a sauce of roasted green chiles, tomato, garlic, and warm spices until the meat collapses into shreds and the liquid reduces to a glossy, spoonable gravy.

Rendering the trimmed beef fat first is a technique chefs use but home cooks usually skip. Frying the gristle and connective tissue extracts the deep beefy flavor straight into the fat you’ll cook everything else in. That rendered fat carries the meat flavor through the entire stew.

Roasted green chiles, not raw, are what make the sauce sing. Roasting blisters the skins and concentrates the chile sugars into a sweet, smoky note that raw chiles never deliver. Pre-roasted Hatch or Anaheim chiles work perfectly if you don’t want to roast your own.

The high-heat sear on the cubed beef is the second flavor-building moment. Don’t crowd the pan; cook in batches if needed. Steaming the meat gray instead of searing it brown will give you a stew that tastes flat no matter how long it simmers.

Chef Tips

• Use beef chuck, not lean cuts. The fat marbling melts into the sauce as it cooks and gives you that silky finish; lean cuts go dry and stringy.
• Don’t lift the lid often during the simmer. Each peek releases steam and adds 5 to 10 minutes to the cook time.
• The sauce should reduce to a coating consistency that clings to the meat. Too thin and it won’t load onto a tortilla; too thick and it tastes pasty.
• Make this a day ahead. The flavors deepen overnight in the fridge and the spice notes integrate more fully.

Variations

• Add 2 fresh jalapenos along with the green chiles for more aggressive heat.
• Stir in a tablespoon of chipotle in adobo for smoky heat and color.
• Use corn tortillas instead of flour for a more traditional Mexican presentation.