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Carne guisada in a blue bowl
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Carne Guisada

Carne guisada is profoundly tender beef in a rich sauce with a deep smokey flavor and Mexican spices to transform your next South of the Border meal.
Course Main Course
Cuisine Mexican
Keyword Carne Guisada, Carne Guisada Recipe, How Do I Make Carne Guisada, How To Make Carne Guisada
Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 2 hours 40 minutes
Total Time 3 hours
Servings 6 servings
Calories 703kcal
Author Kathleen

Ingredients

  • 2 dried whole ancho chiles
  • 4-5 pounds boneless beef chuck roast, trimmed and cut into 1 1/2-inch cubed
  • 4 tablespoons vegetable oil
  • 1 large white onion, finely chopped
  • 1 tablespoon fresh garlic, minced
  • 1 jalapeño, seeds and ribs removed, minced
  • 1 tablespoon dried oregano
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin
  • 1/2 teaspoon chili powder
  • 3 cups beef broth
  • 1 (15-ounce) can tomato sauce

Options For What To Serve With:

  • tortillas or cooked rice
  • sliced avocado
  • cheddar, jack, or Cojita cheese grated or crumbled
  • sour cream
  • cilantro, rough chopped
  • tomatoes, chopped

Instructions

  • Stem, seed then tear or cut the Ancho chile pepper (2) into large pieces that can be flattened out. Heat a Dutch oven (dry) over medium heat. When hot, toast one at a time. Lay a piece flat in the hot pan, pressing down with a spatula, until the chile is fragrant (should take just a few seconds). Repeat with the remaining pieces. Transfer toasted chiles to a plate.
  • Dry beef pieces (4-5 pounds) with a paper towel then evenly sprinkle 2 teaspoons of salt and 1 teaspoon of pepper over the beef. Heat 1-2 tablespoons of oil in the Dutch oven over medium-high heat. 
  • When oil shimmers, add half the beef and brown on all sides, about 7-10 minutes. Transfer beef to a plate, then repeat with remaining beef, adding more oil as necessary.
  • Heat 1-2 tablespoon oil, in the same Dutch oven, then add onion (1 large) and 1/4 teaspoon salt and cook over medium heat, scraping up the brown bits from the meat, until soft, about 5 minutes. 
  • Add garlic (1 tablespoon), jalapeño (1), oregano (1 tablespoon), cumin (1 1/2 teaspoons), and chili powder (1/2 teaspoon) and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Return toasted peppers and meat to pan. Add broth (3 cups) and tomato sauce (1 can) and bring the mixture to a boil. Reduce heat to a simmer, partially covered, until meat is tender and sauce is nice and thick, about 2- 2 1/2 hours. Adjust seasoning if needed.
  • Serve with fresh tortillas and avocado, cheese, sour cream, fresh tomato, cilantro!

Notes

  1. Beef – Make sure you brown the beef in batches so it gets a nice crust. If you crowd the pan too much, the beef will steam instead, and you’ll miss out on all the good stuff that sticks to the pan during the browning process. I usually brown the meat in 2 or 3 batches depending on the size of the chunks and the size of my pan. Using pre-cut stew beef is not my choice for this dish, mainly because the pieces are scraps from different cuts, all with different amounts of marbling and fat. Sometimes, though, the price will make the decision for you, so if you need to substitute it, be sure to pick the package(s) with the most uniformly sized marble pieces.
  2. Ancho chilies are dried poblano peppers, the ones you see sliced and sizzling on a fajita skillet or stuffed with queso asadero and fried for chile relleno. They’re already a very mild pepper, served fresh when they’re green, but they turn red as they ripen and mellow out even more. This is when they’re picked and dried.
  3. Serving – I usually serve this as Carne Guisada tacos, with a bit of avocado, cilantro, and my family’s favorite taco toppers, but this Carne Guisada is so versatile I often make a double batch and freeze it for whatever my imagination conjures up on a random weeknight. You can make burritos (with a little refried beans and cheese), use it as a filling for sopes, serve it on top of polenta or noodles, make an epic shepherd’s pie, or serve it on game day as a new twist on Frito pie (queso fresco, chopped onion and cilantro, and a mountain of jalapeno slices – doesn’t get any better than that!).
  4. Cooking options – You can definitely adapt this for a Carne Guisada slow cooker recipe, doing all the toasting, browning, and sautéing steps, then dumping everything into your slow cooker to work its magic on low for 6 – 8 hours. If you need to shorten the cooking time, you can also do all the early work on “Saute” in your Instant Pot, then cook it on high for about 35 minutes (naturally release or manually if the smell’s making you impatient). Note that you might need to add some thickener with this method since the time’s not working in your favor to create a nice thick gravy.
  5. Readers Comment on the Gravy: Very flavorful. I was skeptical that the gravy would be thick enough without using a roux, but it was absolutely perfect. I might use Serrano peppers next time rather than jalapeno for a little more heat, but this recipe is definitely a keeper. Thanks for posting it. Thank you, Dorothy! <3

Nutrition

Serving: 1/6 of the recipe | Calories: 703kcal | Carbohydrates: 15g | Protein: 62g | Fat: 45g | Saturated Fat: 23g | Cholesterol: 209mg | Sodium: 1078mg | Potassium: 1568mg | Fiber: 5g | Sugar: 9g | Vitamin A: 3525IU | Vitamin C: 13mg | Calcium: 98mg | Iron: 9mg