Sunday, August 20, 2023

Carne Guisada



Tip: Read directions completely before preparing.

Ingredients:
2 pounds beef top sirloin steak, cut into 1-inch chunks
4 tablespoons all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1/2 large white onion, chopped
3 garlic cloves
1/2 teaspoon black peppercorns
2 teaspoons comino (cumin)
1 medium tomato, chopped
1/4 cup chopped cilantro leaves
1 serrano pepper, slightly toasted, peeled, seeded, and chopped
1 1/2 cups beef broth
1/2 teaspoon Mexican oregano (regular is fine)
1/2 teaspoon paprika
1 teaspoon chili powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup water

Directions:
Dredge the cubed meat in flour, coating well.


In a heavy, deep-sided skillet or Dutch oven, add the oil and heat over medium heat. Add the cubed meat and brown thoroughly, stirring often.


 While the meat is browning, in a small saute pan, toast the comino seeds and then add them to the molcajete (mortar and pestal). Use the same pan to toast the serrano pepper.


In a molcajete which already has the comino, add the garlic, and black peppercorns. Grind into a paste. Add 1/2 cup of water and stir, this is to make sure you remove all the paste from the molcajete and set aside.




Once the meat is browned, add the garlic, comino and peppercorn paste and liquid from molcajete to the pot. Add the salt, paprika, oregano, chili powder, onion, tomatoes, cilantro, and serrano to the pot and saute for 3 to 4 minutes.

 

Add beef broth, bring to a boil and then reduce heat to low, cover, and cook for 1 1/2 hours, or until the beef is tender and the mixture has cooked down to a thick sauce. Stir every 20 minutes. Enjoy!



Tip:  You can serve this with rice, or beans or make some great tacos! I love breakfast tacos made with some carne guisada, scrambled egg and cheese! Carne Guisada is a Mexican inspired take on beef stew.

Yesterday I had to pick up some things from Dillard's at Barton Creek Mall and found that in their kitchenware department they now sell Molcajetes! They were made of granite and beautiful. Of course they are not made from the original basalt/lava stone. But they are really nice and will surely do the job! 

You can buy Mexican molcajetes online nowadays, but beware! The quality can vary enormously. There is a world of difference between the best quality molcajetes, made usually from dark ‘river rock’ basalt with low sand content, and cheap and cheerful ones made from grey, very porous lava-rock. The problem with the latter, to quote the gourmetsleuth.com website, is that ‘They are softer and easier to carve and thus less expensive. Unfortunately they are terribly sandy and no matter how you may try to cure them they will always be sandy. They are also typically very shallow so they don’t have a very usable capacity. These pieces are fine for decoration or serving only but we don’t recommend using them as a preparation or grinding tool.’ 

Taken from "http://www.mexicolore.co.uk/index.php?one=azt&two=wus&tab=aus&id=21""

18 comments:

Unknown said...

OMG - this was sooooo good! I made it for the family the other night, everyody loved it - could not get enough! I pretty much followed the directions - I did add another batch of the molcajete paste though for a little extra punch. This is better than anything you can find in a restaurant - you will love!

Isa said...

Hello I am also in Austin. Thank you so much for this recipe! This is so good. I am a big fan of your blog. I can tell you cook from the heart.
Thanks again! LLW.

Anonymous said...

I just made this for my family and they loved it! Thanks for a great recipe! Greetings from the Rio Grande Valley!

My Cocina My Kitchen said...

Glad you are enjoying the recipe!

Juanita Ryan said...

I am making this now and my kitchen smells like a wonderful Mexican restaurant! Thank you so much. Already I know it's going to taste like my mothers. Exactly like my mothers but with ingredient measurements!

Anonymous said...

This is the 2nd time I made your recipe and absolutely love it.
I didn't enjoy cooking growing up and now in my late 40's have enjoyed it a lot more BUT
I need a recipe for everything. LOL!
Your recipe is right on!!! Just like my Mom's!!!!!
I am so happy that I don't have to hear," It's so easy!! didn't you learn growing up?"
My answer, "No I didn't!" But thanks to your recipe, I won't have any problems now!!!
Thanks again!!
Yvonne
Mission, Texas

Unknown said...

OMG.I moved from Rockport to mississippi and have been unable to find in any Mexican restaurants. Feels just like home. Thank you.

Nina said...

I have been trying carne guisada recipes for a while now trying to find something "South Texas" style (Corpus Christi native, living in Phoenix) and finally found one! This was spot on, flavor and consistency was just right. I made a few modifications because I didn't have all the ingredients- used a can of rotel instead of the tomato and pepper, made my own beef broth boiling water and two beef bouillon cubes, and used minced garlic instead of fresh garlic- and still tasted great. Thank you for sharing, I will be using this recipe from now on.

Tammy said...

Making this right now and my kitchen smells amazing! Going to serve over rice and top with a fried egg 😊. YUM

Bren1462 said...

I have made this twice and it's amazing. My whole family loved it! Thank you for an awesome recipe. I do wish the recipes here had a printable version.

Anonymous said...

Delicious !!! Forgot to buy serranos so I improvised with jalapeños, very good, thank you !!!

Unknown said...

Thank you for the recipe. My boyfriend hasn't had this for 7 yrs and all the restaurants in Alaska do not make this. I made this for him and he said it tasted just like what he had down in Texas. It is our new favorite meal for the week.
Thank you - Renetta

My Cocina My Kitchen said...

Ernesto glad you are enjoying my recipes! Please do post the recipe and link back!

K Dawson said...

Made this tonight for dinner and it was outstanding! Thanks!

Anonymous said...

Absolutely the best Carne Guisada recipe I could have chose to make. I didn't exactly measure everything as I added together and I put one too many serrano peppers but it came out amazing! I dipped three tortillas in the juice become even making my taco. I def recommend making this one!

Anonymous said...

Absolutely the best Carne Guisada recipe I could have chose to make. I didn't exactly measure everything as I added together and I put one too many serrano peppers but it came out amazing! I dipped three tortillas in the juice become even making my taco. I def recommend making this one!

Anonymous said...

Made this a couple weeks ago and it was amazing. So amazing I couldn't stop thinking about it and made it again. The family absolutely LOVED it. Followed your recipe exactly and it was perfect! Thank you!

Anonymous said...

I cannot wait to make this. If I want it spicier, should I double the spices, add jalapenos maybe, or is there something else you would recommend? I love it as spicy as I can get it!