What is machacado ranchero? It’s a recipe that instantly transports me back to 2458 Kansas Ave. in South Gate, California! Most times mom would mix in eggs because it’s delicious that way and she had to feed eight of us! Am I the only one that used to steal the carne seca(dried beef) from the cupboard when mom wasn’t looking? Carne seca is so expensive these days, I only use it sparingly and I have stopped stealing it from the cupboard, lol! Could you imagine mom’s face when she went looking for the dried beef only to find that 3/4 of it was gone! I’m sure she figured it out. Miss you mom. I could hear you laughing. Makes me happy.
A La Mexicana! Ranchero!
If you are familiar with traditional Mexican dishes, you probably have learned that many dishes that include green chile peppers, white onion and tomato are many times referred to as A La Mexicana or Ranchero. It’s just understood that it will include those three ingredients. When I was little mom used to tell us how my abuelita would send them to el deposito(small home market). She would ask them to purchase la Bandera(the flag). Green chile peppers, white onion and red tomatoes, the colors of the Mexican flag. What a fun and clever way to remember those staple ingredients.
Traditional Mexican Ingredients Have Come A Long Way!
When I moved away from home back in the 80’s, I had no idea that it would be so difficult to find food ingredients I grew up with. Back then, there was no way I would be preparing machacado ranchero because it was difficult just to find any chile peppers of any sort. Not to mention cilantro, limes, avocados and most definitely no dried beef. Fast forward 35 years later! Still no carne seca(dried beef), but it’s available online. Whenever I travel, I make sure to stock up and ship it home. Store the beef in the freezer and it’s there when the craving strikes.
What If I Am Not Into Chunky Ingredients In My Machacado?
That is perfectly fine. Add your roughly chopped ingredients to the blender jar and prepare a fresh blended salsa. Mom often did just that and prepared many of our favorite dishes, like chicharrones, nopalitos, queso en salsa and more!
A Good Knife And A Good Cutting Board!
Every time anyone asks me what kitchen tools they should have in their kitchen, I immediately reply! A good set of knives and good cutting boards. Not to mention a good blender and assorted cookware, heavy and light, depending on the recipe. When I was first cooking on my own, I used to think that all my cookware had to be nonstick, lol! These days, I reserve a few nonstick skillets for cooking eggs mostly. The rest of my cookware consist of enamel covered cast iron, blue enamelware and some Mexican clayware.
Not Every Mexican Dish Has To Include Onions And Chile Peppers!
But, why not? I can’t imagine cooking my favorite dishes and not adding any onions or my favorite chile peppers. If you just don’t like the flavor of onion, I understand, but you enjoy the flavor and don’t want to chew bits of onion, there’s a way around that. The same with the chile peppers. Many times when mom would prepare certain recipes, she would add a few pieces of onion and a whole fresh chile pepper to the hot oil. The flavors would infuse the oil lightly. She would remove them before serving the dish or some of us ate them! Lol! We didn’t mind the onions really.
Lets Get To The Good Part! Bring On The Flour Tortillas!
In our family, it was customary to enjoy machacado with https://pinaenlacocina.com/flour-tortillas-no-baking-powder/homemade flour tortillas. The recipe will not be horrible without them, but it sure is delicious! Below is the photo of this mornings tortillas. I have to show great will power to not eat more than two tortillas!
Machacado Ranchero. Homestyle Mexican Dried Beef
Equipment
- 1 Large skillet
Ingredients
- 3 tbsps natural rendered pork lard or your favorite oil more if needed
- 1 c white onion, diced 124 gr
- 2 serrano peppers, minced 32 gr
- 8 oz Mexican style dried beef, carne seca
- 2 cloves of garlic, minced 7 gr
- 2 Roma tomatoes, 342 gr dice two and roughly chop one
- Fresh cracked pepper, to taste
Instructions
- In a large skillet, preheat 3 tablespoons of pork lard(or oil) at medium heat for a few minutes.
- To the hot oil, add the onions and serrano peppers. Season, to taste with fresh cracked pepper. Saute for 3-4 minutes. The dried beef has plenty of salt, so I did not need to add any.
- Mix in the dried beef. Stir well to combine. The beef will absorb all of the oil. If you want, you can drizzle in another 2 teaspoons at this time.
- Puree the roughly chopped tomato. Set aside. Mix in the diced tomatoes to the beef. Stir well to combine. Mix in the tomato puree and again stir well to combine.
- Lower the heat to medium low and cook for 8-10 minutes or until the tomatoes soften and release some of their juices. Serve right away with homemade flour tortillas, refried beans, your favorite salsa, avocado slices and pickled jalapeños!
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I have been looking for this recipe..my husband’s mother passed away. I don’t live in San Antonio Texas… I live in central Florida. Couldn’t find carne seca anywhere! Thank you for the recipe and the information!
Hi Rosia! Yes, there are several places online that sell carne seca. La Norteñita and Doña Blanca’s are two places I have ordered from in the past.