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""

Tacos de Chicharron Guisado (Stewed Pork Rinds/Crackings in Tacos)

Tip: Read directions completely before preparing.

Ingredients:

1/2 pound, chicharrones, (fresh pork rinds/cracklings)

2 teaspoons, canola oil

1 small, white onion, chopped

1 large, plum tomato, chopped

1/2 large, jalapeño, chopped (more is preferred hotter)

3 cloves, garlic, minced

1 ½ cups, chicken broth

1 teaspoon, comino (cumin)

1/8 teaspoon, black pepper

Directions:

In a medium pot, add oil and heat over medium-heat, until shimmering. Add onions and cook, until onions are transluscent, about 1 – 1 1/2 minutes.

Add jalapeño and garlic cook, stirring constantly, another minute.

Add, tomatoes, comino, black pepper, chicken broth, and chicharrones. Bring to a boil, then lower heat to simmer for 35 to 40 minutes, until the chicharrones (pork rinds/crackings) are tender.  Enjoy!

Tip:  Enjoy these tender pork rinds/cracklings by serving on tacos! On corn or flour tortillas! Serve with breakfast, with a side of eggs! Serve with rice and beans!!!  And so much more!

Pork Posole (Pork and Hominy Stew)

Tip: Read all directions completely before preparing.

Ingredients:

Chili Sauce:

6 dried Ancho chilies

1 Guajillo chili

1 Japon chili (Japan Chili)

4 cloves garlic, smashed

2 teaspoons Kosher salt

Pork Posole:

2 pounds boneless pork shoulder, trimmed and cut in 1” chunks

2 teaspoons comino, fresh ground, (cumin)

2 teaspoons Kosher salt

3 cloves garlic, minced

2 tablespoons coconut oil

1 large white onion, chopped

8 cups chicken broth

2 teaspoons dried Mexican oregano, crushed

1 bay leaf

2 (15.5 ounce cans), white hominy, drained and rinsed

Directions:

Chili Sauce

Rub gently the chilies with a wet paper towel and remove and dust or dirt. Break the stems off the Ancho, Guajillo, and Japon chilies, open and remove all the seeds. Tear in pieces.

Toast the chilies in a pan, on medium heat. Not smoking, but a heat just enough to toast the chilies and let the oils begin to come out of the chilies. About 3 minutes. Constantly stirring every few minutes. There will be a nutty aroma released.

Turn off and place the chilies in a pot of boiled water; weigh down the chilies with a plate to keep them submerged and soak until soft, about 25 minutes.

Transfer the chilies and 2 cups of the soaking liquid to a blender. Add the smashed garlic, and 2 teaspoons sea salt and blend until smooth. Strain through a fine-mesh sieve into a bowl, pushing the sauce through with a rubber spatula; discard the solids.  Makes approximately 2 cups. Save the leftover sauce to make Enchiladas, Menudo, Chili and a variety of other recipes calling for chili!

Pork Posole:

Rub the pork all over with the 2 teaspoons comino and 2 teaspoons of kosher salt; set aside.

Heat the coconut oil in a pot over medium heat. Add the pork and sear, turning, until lightly browned on all sides, about 5 minutes. Then remove the meat and set aside. Sear the pork in two batches

Add the onion and garlic to pot and sauté for about 1 minute.

Add the chicken broth, oregano, bay leaf, and ½ cup chile sauce to pot. Bring to a low boil, then reduce the heat to maintain a slow simmer. Partially cover and cook, stirring a few times, about 1 hour. Stir in the hominy and continue to simmer, uncovered, for about 15 minutes. Remove the bay leaf.  Season with salt if needed. Enjoy!!

Tip:  Serve with assorted toppings, such as cilantro, onions, fresh squeezed lime.

Mexican Menudo

Tip:  Read directions completely before preparing.

Ingredients:

(For Pre-Simmering Tripe and Beef Feet)

4 pounds of beef tripe

2 1/2 pounds beef feet cut into pieces

1 onion cut in 8

1 tablespoon of salt

water

(For Cooking Menudo)

Pre-cooked menudo/beef feet

1 medium onion, chopped roughly, large chunks

2 1/2 tablespoons salt

5 large garlic cloves

1 teaspoon Mexican Oregano

1/2 teaspoon allspice berries

1/2 teaspoon black peppercorns

1 teaspoon comino seeds (cumin)

1 tablespoon lard

5 Guajillo peppers

5 Ancho peppers

2 Japones pepper

3 Arbol

1 large (29 oz.) can of cooked hominy

water

(For Garnish, Sides)

lemons, cut in wedges

onion, chopped

bread rolls

cilantro

serrano peppers, chopped (optional)

Salt to taste

Directions:

(For Pre-Simmering Tripe and Beef Feet)

Cut the beef tripe into pieces slightly larger than bite size, about 1 by 1 inch pieces. Clean and rinse, the tripe thoroughly.

Wash and thoroughly clean the beef feet.  When the feet are cut by your butcher, sometimes you will find grit like pieces of bone that need to be cleaned off.

In a large pot, add the tripe and beef feet, cover with water about 1 1/2 inches above the meat level.  Add 1 tablespoon salt to water, bring to a boil, then lower heat to medium low and pre-simmer in the boiling water for 30 minutes.  This will help reduce the smell that comes from cooking tripe.

Once simmering is complete drain the tripe and beef feet through a colander and rinse off thoroughly. Set aside.

(For Cooking Menudo)

In a large pot, add the pig's feet, tripe, chopped onion and 2 1/2 tablespoons of salt.  Add water to cover everything, about 1 1/2 inches above meat level and bring the mixture to a boil.  Cover and then lower heat to medium low, simmering for two hours.

While the menudo is simmering, in a molcajete (mortar and pestle) add the garlic, Mexican oregano, allspice berries, black peppercorns, and comino seeds.

Grind the spices and garlic into a paste.

Add water and stir the mixture.  Set aside.

Using plastic gloves, with a damp cloth, clean off all the residue from the chili peppers.

Over a large bowl, remove the stems, seeds and veins from the chili peppers, throw them away.  In a large same large bowl shred the chilies into pieces.

In a skillet, add 1 tablespoon of lard.  Over medium heat, heat the oil then add the shredded chilies and fry them for about 1 minute.  Remove them immediately; you do not want to burn them.

Add hot water to the bowl with the chilies and let them sit for 30 minutes to soften.

Once the chilies have softened, place them in a blender, with 2 cups of the water that they soaked in.

Puree the chilies until smooth.

Strain the chili puree through a strainer.  You should produce about 2 cups of the chili puree.  Set Aside. You will only need 3/4 cup of the puree for the Menudo.  Save the rest for making enchiladas or more Menudo later.

Open the can of hominy and rinse.  Set aside.

After the tripe and beef feet have simmered for two hours, add 3/4 cup of the chili puree, all the spice mixture from molcajete, hominy and simmer for one more hour.  Add more water if you see that if is not at least 1 inch above the meat level. Enjoy!

Tip: For plating, serve the Menudo in a large bowl, and in another small bowl, add chopped onion, lemon wedges, chopped cilantro and chopped Serrano peppers.  This is great with the bread rolls (Bolilo), using them to soak up some of the Menudo soup.