Chile Ancho Braised Beef in the Slow Cooker

Do you ever just have those days when the slow cooker is your best kitchen appliance? I don’t remember many crockpot meals as a kid, except for the shredded beef my Mom would prepare for tacos or tortas. It was simplicity at it’s best! Seasoned with just salt, pepper and garlic powder, the beef was shredded and served with warm corn tortillas, avocado slices and a freshly made bowl of pico de gallo salsa. On the weekends my dad would buy warm pan bolillo(rolls) from la panaderia and we would make the best tortas (mexican sandwich).

Ingredients

1 1/2 pounds beef skirt or flank steak, sliced into 2 inch pieces
Salt
Pepper
Garlic powder
Mexican oregano
Cumin
Olive oil
2 large roma tomato
1/2 white onion
3 cloves garlic
2 jalapeños or serrano peppers
5 chile ancho, stems and seeds removed
1 cup red wine (cabernet), you could also use beer instead of wine, but if you don’t want to use alcohol, just use broth instead
1/2 cup chicken or beef broth broth

Directions

1. Season the beef evenly with salt, pepper and garlic powder, to taste, set aside. Roughly chop the tomatoes, onion, garlic and chile peppers. Transfer them to the bottom of the slow cooker, season lightly with salt and pepper.

2. Add the chile ancho to some boiling water, reduce heat and cook for 10 minutes. Drain and transfer to the blender. Add 1/2 cup water, 1/4 teaspoon of salt, 1/4 teaspoon pepper, 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder, 1/2 teaspoon oregano and 1/2 teaspoon cumin. Blend on high until smooth, add to slow cooker and stir to combine.

3. In a large skillet, preheat 4 tablespoons of olive oil to medium heat for 3 minutes. Sear and brown the pieces of beef for a few minutes per side. Add the the slow cooker as you cook them.

4. In that same pan that you browned the beef, add the red wine and broth to de-glaze the pan. Season with salt and pepper, cook for a few minutes. Pour into slow cooker, cover and cook on for high for 4 hours on high or on low for 6 hours. Before serving, remove beef from slow cooker and transfer all vegetables and broth to the blender. Blend on high until smooth, serve over beef. Yields up to 6 servings.

*A quick Pico de Gallo, 2 roma’s diced, 1/3 cup diced white onion, 1 minced serrano, 1/4 cup chopped cilantro, juice of 1 small lime, 1 tablespoon olive oil, salt and pepper to taste. The Chile Infused Tortillas recipe and Charro Beans were just posted a few days ago onto the blog.

Tips~ If you are adventurous and experienced with the pressure cooker, this meal cooks in 40 minutes using the pressure cooker. It’s great served as is over rice or noodles, but makes for some super tasty tacos!!