You’ll see a lot of Mexican recipes on my blog because I love anything Mexican or Tex-Mex. The bold flavors, the sauces (Moles), and the toppings, I love them all! Today I found a dish I had to make, called Carne Guisada. This dish is not found so much in restaurants but is well-known throughout Texas. Mexican mothers and grandmothers braise beef with potatoes in an aromatic chili-based sauce, then serve simply with a squeeze of lime and a few cilantro leaves, taco style. It’s comfort food at its best.

I have to say one thing: I do not like green peppers, so for this dish, I’m using red bell peppers as a substitute.

Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 2 hours 30 minutes
Total Time: 2 hours 45 minutes
Yields: 6 servings
Equipment: 1 (6-quart) braising pot, mesh sieve, chef’s knife, potato peeler, meat-safe cutting board, silicone spatula (or wooden spoon)

Ingredients For the Chuck Roast:
1 (3-pound) boneless chuck roast, trimmed and cut into 1-inch pieces
1 1/2 tablespoons of Kosher salt
1 1/2 teaspoons of freshly ground black pepper
2 tablespoons of grapeseed oil (substitute vegetable oil)

Ingredients:
2 large onions, finely diced (approx. 2 cups)
2 tablespoons of tomato paste
6 cloves of garlic, finely minced
1 tablespoon of chili powder
1 tablespoon of dried oregano
2 teaspoons of ground coriander
1 1/2 teaspoons of ground cumin
1 tablespoon of Kosher salt
1 teaspoon of freshly ground black pepper
1 tablespoon of all-purpose flour
1 (14.5-ounce) can of fire-roasted tomatoes (substitute diced tomatoes), drained
1 cup of chicken broth, unsalted
1 pound (2-3 large potatoes) Yukon Gold potatoes, peeled and cut into 1/2-inch pieces
2 red bell peppers, seeded, stemmed, and cut into 1/4-inch strips ( substitute green bell pepper)
4 limes, cut into wedges
1 (20 ct.) pack of flour tortillas, 6 (7-inch size) flour tortillas, warm
Garnish:
Fresh cilantro leaves

Instructions:
You want to start by cutting the chuck roast into 1-inch slabs of meat. Trim the large pieces (hunks of fat) of fat. Then cut into chunks. Next, pat the beef dry well—season with Kosher salt and fresh ground black pepper.

Preheat a large, heavy-bottomed, braising pot. Add the grapeseed oil (vegetable oil) over medium-high heat. Once the oil begins to shimmer, add half of the beef to the pot. Do not overcrowd the beef. You want to create a fond in the bottom of the pot. This is super important to add lots of flavor to this dish. Brown the pieces of beef on all sides, for about 10 minutes. The beef should be brown and caramelized. Remove the browned beef from the pot and transfer it to the bowl containing the uncooked beef. Set aside

In the meantime, dice the onion and mince the garlic. Next, drain the juice from the diced tomatoes. Set aside.

Preheat oven to 325°F.

Still, over medium-high heat, add the diced onions to the pot. Cook until the onions soften, about 5 minutes. As the onions cook, stirring frequently with the silicone spatula (or wooden spoon) to scrape up all the bits from the bottom of the pot.

Next, add all the spices and tomato paste, and stir to combine. Cook the spices for around 1 minute until they’re fragrant. Add 1 tablespoon of all-purpose flour, and stir to combine. This will give body to the sauce and allow it to thicken slightly during the cooking process. To the pot, add the chicken broth and stir to combine. Lastly, add the drained fire-roasted tomatoes, again, stir to combine. The sauce is ready for the beef.

Return the browned and unbrowned beef, with any accumulated juices, to the pot, and stir to combine. Transfer the oven and cook for 1 hour and 30 minutes.

Now it’s time to add the diced potatoes and bell pepper strips to the pot. The meat is almost fork-tender. The stew needs another 45 minutes in the oven. The beef needs to be fall-apart tender, and the potatoes are cooked through. You can test if the meat and potatoes are fully done by first using a fork to pick up one of the pieces of meat. If it goes through the meat with no resistance, it’s done. Same for the potatoes.

This step is best done right before serving. Warm the tortillas up by lining a plate with a paper towel. Set a small stack of tortillas, 4 to 6, on the plate. Lightly dampen another sheet of paper towel with water, and squeeze any excess water out of the paper towel. Straighten the paper towel back to normal. Lay the dampened paper towel on the tortillas and microwave for about 30 seconds. Keeping a close eye on them, check them after 15 seconds to see how they’re doing. Transfer the tortillas into a tortilla warmer lined with a dry paper towel (or a small clean dish towel) and cover.

Spoon a little of the stew, making sure to get a little of everything into the center of the warm tortilla. Spritz with some lime, and add a few cilantro leaves over the top.

There you have it, my version of Carne Guisada. So delicious!🌮🌮🌮

Notes:
1) During the last 10 minutes of cooking, go ahead and prep the remaining vegetables for this dish. Seed and slice the bell pepper, and peel and dice the potatoes.

2) Linda Lou Hamel is not a nutritionist or dietitian, and any nutritional information shared is an estimate. If calorie count and nutritional value are important to you, I recommend running the ingredients through the online nutritional calculator of your choice. Calories and values can vary depending on the brands you choose.

https://lindalouhamel.com/2019/07/10/summer-time-flowers-and-herbs/