When somebody poses a question or a challenge like this, I just have to answer... "I am very sad, my friend's had two great Mexican restaurants but they closed the one by my house and the cook at the other is not as good. So, now I am planning on learning to cook good Mexican all by myself! Do you have a good recipe for Chile Colorado? I adore that chunked beef in sauce, but when I asked them the recipe, a lot of what they used didn't resonate with me..."...it's in my nature. That would be my friend and one of my #24T's co-hosts Alex from A Moderate Life. To be completely honest though...I had never heard of Chile Colorado until she mentioned it. So, I turned to the expert (not Mexi, the other one...Mr. Bayless). Actually Mexi hadn't heard of it either, so it must not be popular in the region of Mexico that he is from. I kind of went into it thinking that it would be a type of stew, similar to chili. Like chile con carne. It's not. What it actually is is a filling...for tacos, tamales, enchiladas...you name it! So, carne con chile. Well, okay then.
Although Rick gives a few variations on chile colorado, I decided to go with the one that uses beef. It was, afterall, the chunked beef that Alex adored so much...how could I not?
Chile Colorado
ever-so-slightly adapted from Authentic Mexican by Rick Bayless
yield: ~4 svgs.
5 Ancho chiles- stemmed, seeded, deveined
3 garlic cloves, peeled & roughly chopped 5 peeled & smashed
1 tsp. dried Oregano
1 1/2 tsp. Cumin seeds (or a generous 1 1/2 tsp. ground)
1 1/2 Tbs. lard or veg oil bacon grease
2 lbs. beef chuck, coarse ground or chopped I just chunked it
salt, ~1/2 tsp.
2 Tbs. Masa Harina
2 Tbs. Masa Harina
Heat a heavy skillet over medium and tear chiles into flat pieces. Toast them on hot surface a few at a time, pressing them down firmly w/ a spatular for a few seconds, until the crackle and change color, flipping and repeating. Transfer them to a large bowl and cover w/ boiling water, using a plate to keep them submerged, soaking for 30 minutes. Drain, reserving ~1 c. of the soaking liquid.
Transfer the chiles and reserved liquid to a blender jar. Add garlic, oregano, & cumin (pulverized first if using whole seeds) and blend until smooth. Strain through a medium-mesh strainer.
Heat the fat in a large skillet I used a Dutch Oven over medium-high. Dry the chunks of meat w/ a paper towel and lay in hot skillet in an uncrowded, single layer. Fry until meat is nicely browned, ~10 mins, turning and scraping as needed.
Add the chile puree to the pan. Continue to fry for ~4-5 mins, stirring & scraping, or until puree is very thick and noticeably darker. Scrape mixture into medium-sized saucepan or just leave it in the Dutch Oven. Stir in salt and liquid. Bring to a boil, partially cover. Reduce heat to simmer and cook, stirring occasionally for ~1 hour, or until meat is very tender. Actually, took mine ~90 mins. Just before serving, thin with a little water or broth and stir in the masa harina. Let simmer until nicely thickened. Adjust seasoning, if necessary.
*This post is linked to:
Culinary Smackdown Battle: Sandwich
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