Carne Guisada - A Tex-Mex Classic!

I made this recipe a few years ago and blogged about it, but I haven't made it since and I wanted to revisit the recipe, and tweak things and make it work again! In my childhood it was something I ate quite often. If it wasn't for my mother making it for me, I would be getting tacos at the local shop. It’s absolutely delicious and I never really thought about how it compares to other food in other countries. It really ends up being a stew, so I guess I would describe it as a Mexican stew. I even thought when I was done with it that it would be fantastic in a pie with a crust on it! Instead I went for tortillas, which will be cited below as a recipe. This is a simple dish made with cheap cuts of beef, stewed over a long period of time to make it completely tender and juicy. It’s easy to put this one on to cook and forget it, or you could even start it in a slow cooker although that wouldn’t be my personal preference. I decided to re-vamp the recipe and check all of the cooking times; the old recipe for reference is found here. There isn’t much I would change other than cooking it out a little longer. Depending on how you’re using this recipe, IE pie, or tacos or just simply on its own it can yield 2-4 servings.

Served with hot fresh tortillas :)

Ingredients:
400-500g lean diced stewing beef
2 green/red peppers
25g flour (about ¼ c.)
2 tbsp. tomato puree
4 cloves garlic
300ml water or beef stock
1 tbsp. cumin powder
1 tsp. Mexican dried oregano (regular oregano is fine)
½ tsp ground pepper
Salt to taste
Oil (if not using a non-stick pan)

To Start:
I don’t need oil because I use a non-stick pan, but if you aren’t, then heat oil in a large sauté pan.
Start to brown off the meat in a hot pan
Slice onions thinly along with the peppers.
Chop garlic – set aside.
Add to the pan and salt a bit to bring out some liquid.

To Finish:
When the peppers and onions have softened a bit add the garlic, cumin, oregano and flour.
Push the flour around in the pan for about 5 minutes cooking off the flour taste.
Next add the water/stock, and tomato puree, stir until well combined.
Bring to a boil, then reduce to low, cover and simmer for 1-2hrs.

Note: It’s easy for the liquid to evaporate so keep adding a little more in ¼ c. increments as needed every half hour or so. The meat will be done when the meat is tender and the sauce is a thick consistency. Happy cooking!