Our daughter’s boyfriend and Roz’s Dad made a great Christmas Eve dinner. It was so good that we wanted to make it for New Year’s Eve Dinner here. There are a lot of steps but what you yield in results makes it worth it.
Note* This recipe uses an Instant Pot (r)
Ingredients
2 lbs. beef stew meat (cut in large chunks)
6 dried California peppers
6 dried Guajillo Peppers
4 dried Pasilla peppers
2 dried Ancho chili peppers (add more if you want it spicy)
7 oz. canned Chipotle
2 yellow onions
6 garlic cloves
1 lime, halved and juiced
1/2 bunch fresh cilantro
2 cups beef stock
2 Tbsp salt and more for seasoning the meat
Pepper for seasoning the meat.
Vegetable Oil (for searing beef)
14 to 1/3 cup red table wine (or pomegranate juice)
Directions
Take all the dried peppers and remove the seeds and stems.
Cut 1 onion in 1/4 inch slices.
In a saucepan, add water. Add two tablespoons of salt to the water. Add the dried peppers, onion and garlic to the pot and bring it to a boil till the peppers are hydrated and soft 15-20 minutes.)
Drain the water using an 8 inch fine mesh strainer. Put the drained garlic, onion, and peppers in the food processor.
Add the cumin and juice of 1/2 lime to the food processor.
Open the can of chipotle peppers. We don’t need any of the juice in the can. Remove the peppers and wash the excess juice off completely. Remove the seeds. Add to the food processor.
Blend until the ingredients are liquified. Put the fine mesh strainer over a mixing bowl. Using 1/2 to 3/4 cups at a time, put the mixture in the fine mesh strainer and using a rubber spatula, press all the liquid into the bowl. We’re trying to remove all the bigger pepper bits and seeds from the red paste (leaving it in will make the sauce bitter). Wash the strainer to remove the bits and seeds. Repeat till it’s all done.
Add the strained paste/liquid to the Instant Pot.
Using a paper towel, pat the meat dry, removing excess water and blood. Salt and pepper generously on all sides.
Put vegetable oil in a cast iron skillet (don’t need too much, just a thin layer). Heat the skillet till piping hot then brown the meat. Once you’ve browned all sides, put the meat in the Instant Pot (r).
Use a small amount of red wine to deglaze the pan – add it to the skillet and scrape all of the bits using a wooden spoon. The reduction should be thick within 30 seconds. Pour the reduction into the Instant Pot. (r)
Add two cups of beef stock to the Instant Pot (r) and mix. If it doesn’t look like there’s enough coverage, add one more 1/2 cup.
Set the Instant Pot (r) to 15 min. on high pressure cooking.
While it’s cooking, create the onion cilantro mix. Dice the other onion and add to a bowl. Finely chop 1/2 bunch of cilantro and add it. Add the juice of the other 1/2 lime. Mix.
Once the Instant Pot (r) pressure cook is completed (use a fast release), remove the beef and shred it up into smaller pieces then return it to the Instant Pot (r) and combine with the sauce (you can also put it in a bowl and add the hot red sauce on top). Serve.
Put beef on a street taco tortilla. Add the onion and cilantro mix.
Enjoy and Ole’
