Carne con chile, beef with red chili? Without even thinking about it, I tend to always want to add my recipe titles in Spanish first. My first language was Spanish and my whole life growing up, I only spoke to my parents in Spanish. When I recall the recipes and dishes, I always refer to them in Spanish. I hope it’s not confusing for you all. Just think of it as a quick Spanish lesson for the day. This way when you go to your favorite Mexican restaurant, you can ask for these dishes and know what to expect, lol!
Here We Go Now!
Yet, another recipe revisited with a ribeye twist and a more spicy chile rojo sauce! Back in 2015 when I posted the original recipe for carne con chile rojo, it received a huge response on social media. I was fairly new to producing videos and I did my best, lol! I look at that old video now and see there was a way to go before I kind of got the hang of it! The original video can still be seen on YouTube and on my blog. The comments I received were mostly positive. Some felt that the chile rojo was not spicy enough. I tried to explain, that just because one uses dried red chiles, does not always mean it’s going to be spicy. Just like when you prepare the American version of chili, there are various levels of heat. This time around I added some chile japones(similar to chile de arbol) and I was happy with the results.
What’s The Difference Between Chile Rojo and Chile Colorado?
Good question! Growing up in southern California and Monterrey, Nuevo Leon, the Mexican food could get a little blurred. A family recipe shared for many generations is Asado de Puerco, also referred to as chile colorado. The colorado part of the name is referring to the color of the chiles, which are typically red, not the state of Colorado. In California, there was a popular Mexican restaurant that Dad used to maintain their tortilla machinery back in the 70’s. They were famous for their burritos! Ramona’s Mexican Food was and is still popular for the beef red chili burritos, carne con chile rojo. So when you said, chile colorado, we knew it was pork and when you said, chile rojo, we knew it was beef. See what I mean? But, I see where it can get a bit confusing. Mom used only chile ancho pods for preparing her asado de puerco and for carne con chile, she used chile California or guajillo. The California and guajillo peppers will yield a more bright, fiery red sauce. The chile ancho will yield a darker sauce, sometimes almost looking dark brown when cooked for many hours.
It’s Easier To Accept The Diversity, Than To Fight Against It!
I have encountered mostly positive response from followers when I share recipes and videos. But, of course you have to expect those negative responses and comments as well. Once you understand that my mom’s recipe for Mexican rice, chiles rellenos and picadillo will more than likely be different than your abuela’s, mom’s or tia’s recipes, it makes life easier. Mexico is huge and there are many regions, many cities, many towns and the recipes will vary. Heck, I even added my own touch and flare to some of mom’s recipes. She had no written recipes and that was how I learned to cook growing up.
Chopped, Sliced, Shredded or Ground?
Whether you prefer your beef to be chopped, sliced, shredded or ground, the results will be delicious using this easy recipe for chile rojo. The possibilities are endless. And of course, don’t limit yourself thinking you can only use beef. There’s pork, of course. Chicken is amazing seared and then braised in chile rojo. Calabacitas(squash) with roasted poblano strips(rajas) and mushrooms makes for tasty meatless chile rojo. Even just potatoes in chile rojo as a side dish is delicious! Impress your friends with an American style chili prepared with a chile rojo sauce, mixed beans, bacon and roasted chopped jalapeños. I would need a lot of crushed corn chips and a good melting cheese with that chili!
Technically I Am A Small Business Owner!
Never in my wildest dreams did I imagine making a living off what I love to do most, which is cooking Mexican food!
My cookbook MEXICAN SALSA has been out since March. Followers ask often, “Is it only salsa recipes?” The book features twenty six salsa recipes, but it’s much more than that. I purposely picked recipes that , I hope, you will refer to often for preparing tasty Mexican dishes. There are red and green enchilada sauces that can be used for so many dishes, such as chilaquiles, burritos, chiles rellenos, pozole and so much more. Specialty recipes like pickled red onions, escabeche, homemade corn and flour tortillas to have the best taco night experience at home. Major recipes like, pork tamales, beef birria, beef tongue tacos, tacos gobernador and carne con chile just to name a few. And I could not leave out my favorite adobo recipes. Recipes that I use all the time for preparing homemade chorizo, al pastor and asado de puerco! If you follow mw on social media, you know that I promote the book often. Well, if I don’t do it, who will. I believe in my book and it’s content so much, that I feel that every foodie that loves cooking Mexican food should have a copy! Thank you for all your support!
Ingredients
- 1 lb ribeye, beef shoulder or chuck steak cubed
- Salt and Pepper, to taste
- 6-8 chile guajillo, California or New Mexico 33 grams in weight, stems and seeds removed
- 6 chile japones or chile de arbol
- avocado oil
- 1/3 white onion
- 3 large cloves of garlic
- 1 tsp cumin seeds
- 3/4 tsp peppercorns
- 3/4 tsp oregano
- 1/2 tsp coriander seeds
- 2 1/2 cups water or broth
- 3 small yellow or white potatoes washed and cubed
Instructions
- Cube and then season the beef with salt and pepper, lightly. Set aside.
- In a cold skillet, add the dried chiles. Turn heat to just below medium. After a few minutes, chiles will begin to toast and become aromatic. Drizzle in 1 tsp of oil. Add the onion and garlic. Saute for another minute. Add the cumin, oregano, peppercorns, coriander and 1/2 tsp of salt. Saute for a few seconds. Pour in 2 cups of water or broth. Bring up to a light simmer and cook for 10 minutes. Remove from heat and let stand.
- While sauce ingredients are cooling, preheat a deep skillet to medium for 3-4 minutes. Drizzle in 2 tbsps of oil. After a few minutes, add the cubed beef. Spread out evenly in skillet. Let brown and sear for 3 minutes, then stir as needed until nicely browned.
- Transfer all the the red chile sauce ingredients from the reserved skillet to the blender jar. Blend on high until very smooth. If you don't have a power blender, you may need to blend an extra minute on high. If the red chile sauce is not smooth and glossy, strain through a wire mesh strainer before adding it to the beef. If it's smooth, then pour into the skillet. Stir well to combine. Cover and reduce heat to a light simmer.
- While the beef simmers, fry the cubed potatoes in a little preheated oil. Season lightly with salt and pepper as they fry. Once golden on most sides, remove from heat and set aside. Before adding the fried potatoes, I cook the beef low and slow, so this may take 45 minutes to 1 hour to ensure it's very tender.
- Once the beef is tender, taste for salt, then add reserved potatoes. Stir well to combine. Cover and cook for another 20 minutes.
Notes
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in the grocery store meat case, they often have packages of “stew beef” which is already cubed. Would that be good for this recipe?
Stew meat is fine, it just sometimes has less fat and can tend to dry out or take longer to become tender. This is why I choose chuck, shoulder or ribeye with fat marbling through out. You can just slice the stew beef smaller.
thanks !
Sonia, Hi! I have your cookbook and love your recipes! I love the ingenuity of Mexican cooks, and how beautiful they make their plates, as I see in your photos in this post! I think it is great how you tell us about the recipe, how it can be altered simply by changing the meat, either from steak to hamburger, or using different meats. “Mexican” cuisine is my favorite because it is so flavorful!
Hi Joyce! Thank you for taking the time to write. I am so happy to hear you have a copy of my book. Have a wonderful day!
Do you take the seeds out of the dried chiles before you start roasting them? Also, when I cooked this dish, I tried to cook the meat for 45 minutes as you suggested, but the sauce dried out. Do you have any suggestions to prevent the chile sauce from drying out?
I simmer on low at the end. Never had a problem with sauce drying out completely. Maybe turn heat to low, You really are just cooking it long enough until beef is tender. You could double the ingredients for the red chile sauce if you like it more saucy. The video I shared is exactly the way it came out. I always remove the seeds from large chile pods, but not from the small chiles because I want the heat. I will revise the recipe to make sure I state that in the instructions. Thank you.