Carne Picada (Recipe 159 of 150)

Who'da thunk I'd add a 2022 favorite in the last week of the year. But a favorite is exactly what I found. 

Carne Picada is a hearty, savory, and a bit spicy beef stew that you have to try. I cannot express it enough how yummy this was. 

I did make one small modification and that was in the time I cooked it. I was using stew meat again (I got a deal on it a couple of weeks ago so I had several packages that needed to be used up). And because it was stew meat it needed more cooking than the hour she suggests. I cooked it on a medium simmer for 2.5 hours. That did the trick for sure. And I think the flavors combined really well together too. 

If you want to make this within the time she suggests below, you may want to buy a nicer piece of meat that isn't so tough. 

This recipe can be spicy. I didn't rib my jalapeno and so that made it a little more spicy. It was the perfect spicy. 

I served it with some Mexican rice - well rice cooked in tomato bouillon. It's the best. Tomorrow's left overs will be served with low carb tortillas. 

Carne Picada

Recipe from Hola Jalapeno

Serves 4

• 2 T olive oil
• 3 pounds beef chuck roast, cut into 1-inch pieces
• 1 T kosher salt
• 2 tsp ground cumin
• 2 tsp dried oregano (preferably Mexican oregano)
• 2 medium poblano peppers, stemmed, seeded, and diced
• 1 large white onion, diced
• 2 jalapeños, diced (remove seeds if you are sensitive to heat)
• 6 cloves garlic, chopped
• 2-4 chipotle chiles in adobo, chopped (depending on how spicy you like things)
• 1 (14.5 ounce) can fire-roasted tomatoes
• 1 c beef broth
• Sour cream and chopped cilantro, for garnish (optional)

Brown beef. Heat oil in a large, deep frying pan that is big enough to hold the meat. If you don't have a frying pan big enough use a large Dutch oven. Add beef, salt, cumin, and oregano and cook over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally, until beef is browned, about 8 minutes.

Sauté veggies. Add poblanos, onion, jalapenos, garlic, and chipotles and continue cooking until veggies begin to soften, about 10 minutes more.

Braise. Add tomatoes and broth, bring to a boil then reduce heat to low, cover and simmer for 30 minutes. Remove lid and continue simmering until beef comes apart when pressed with a fork and sauce is thickened, about an hour and a half more.

Serve. Spoon over rice and top with sour cream and chopped cilantro or serve as tacos.