Search
by Ingredient

Mexican Spicy Beef Stew

Empty starEmpty starEmpty starEmpty starEmpty star

Submitted by 2151

Mexican-style spicy beef stew braises chuck cubes in a tomato, garlic, and roasted green chile sauce until fork-tender. Served with warm flour tortillas to scoop up the rich, brick-red gravy.

YIELD

6 servings

PREP

45 min

COOK

2 hrs

READY

3 hrs

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.

Ingredients

2 907.2
POUNDS G BEEF CHUCK
boneless *
2 473
CUPS ML BEEF STOCK
prefer veal stock if possible
1 15
TABLESPOON ML VEGETABLE OIL
2 30
TABLESPOONS ML TOMATO PASTE
2 2
CLOVES CLOVES GARLIC
peeled
¾ 3.8
TEASPOON ML SALT
1 1
EACH ONION
peeled
2 10
TEASPOONS ML CHILI POWDER
1 5
TEASPOON ML CUMIN
2 2
EACH EACH GREEN CHILI PEPPER
roasted *
0.6
TEASPOON ML BLACK PEPPER
6 6
2 2
EACH TOMATOES
fresh

Directions

Note: The meat filling can be spooned onto the tortillas. Trim the fat, gristle and connective tissue from the meat.

Fry the trimmings in a large (3-4 quart) stockpot until about 2 tablespoons (for 6 servings) of fat have been rendered.

Discard the trimmings.

Add oil to the fat in the pan.

Set aside.

Cut the meat into 1½ inch cubes.

Set aside.

Mince the garlic, onion and chiles together.

Peel and pulp the tomatoes.

Add to the onion mixture.

Heat the fat in the stockpot.

Sear the meat over high heat until browned on all sides.

Reduce heat.

Add the tomato and onion mixture.

Add all the remaining ingredients except the tortillas.

Cover.

Simmer until the meat is tender and the liquid becomes a rich sauce (1½-2 hours).

Adjust seasonings.

Serve with tortillas.

* not incl. in nutrient facts Arrow up button

Comments


 

 

Nutrition Facts

Serving Size 151g (5.3 oz)
Amount per Serving
Calories 64 36% from fat
 % Daily Value *
Total Fat 3g 4%
Saturated Fat 0g 2%
Trans Fat 0g
Cholesterol 0mg 0%
Sodium 653mg 27%
Total Carbohydrate 3g 3%
Dietary Fiber 2g 9%
Sugars g
Protein 6g
Vitamin A 14% Vitamin C 42%
Calcium 4% Iron 8%
* based on a 2,000 calorie diet How is this calculated?
Low Fat, Low in Saturated Fat, Low Cholesterol, Cholesterol-Free, Trans-fat Free, Low Carb
 

Email this recipe