So, I got this huge slab of carne asada from Trader Joe's one day — though I seldom eat beef it looked so delicious! the dead flesh compelled me — and I thought to myself what would I do with it? At first I thought of using the meat for tacos, omelettes, and even stuffed peppers, but as I approached home the lightning bolt struck me, screaming CHILI! And a totally different kind than the Southwest chilis I usually make. This one is probably more Tex-Mex in how elegantly simple and spicy it is.
If you want to make carne asada from scratch, which I will one day, search for recipes online. Here's one that looks pretty good to me.
(shown without the toppings)
Preparation: ½ hour, longer if preparing carne asada from scratch.
Cooking: 5 hours, incl. 1 to cook carne asada.
Servings: 20, each serving being a 16 oz. bowl.
Today's Specimen
Ingredients
- 2½ lbs. carne asada
- 2 (14 oz.) cans black beans
- 2 (14 oz.) cans kidney beans
- 2 (14 oz.) cans diced tomatoes
- 6 tbsp. tomato paste
- 10 (ca. 1 cup) serrano peppers, fine dice
- 3 lrg. (ca. 6 cups) yellow onion, dice
- 6 cloves (ca. ½ cup) garlic, fine dice
- 2 cans (ca. 28 oz.) water, 1 cup beef broth from carne asada
- 3 tbsp. chili powder
- 1 tbsp. ground cumin
- 1 tbsp. ground oregano
- 1 tsp. ground black pepper
- ¼ tsp. ground cayenne pepper
- ¼ tsp. kosher or sea salt
- ⅛ tsp. ground nutmeg
- 3 tbsp. olive oil
Directions
- In a large frying or sauce pan on medium temperature sear both sides of the carne asada, then drop the temperature to medium-low and cover the pan as best as you can and simmer the meat for half an hour on each side, occasionally adding enough water to cover the bottom of the pan.
- While the meat is cooking sautee onion, serrano, and garlic in olive oil on medium-low heat in a large (ca. 5 qt.) pot, stirring every ten minutes, for the hour the meat cooks.
- When the meat is cooked (you want it to be rare or medium-rare) add the beans (with juice) and tomatoes (also with juice) and water and beef broth to the pot and turn the temperature up to medium-high.
- Slice the meat into bite-sized pieces and add to the pot, stirring and adding a cup or two of water if the mixture is too thick (you want about an 1½ inches of water above the solid ingredients).
- Add the seasoning, stir, and once the chili starts boiling reduce the temperature to low and cover. After about half an hour reduce the temperature to simmer and let the chili cook for four hours — stirring every hour or so if you feel so inclined.
- A great way to serve this chili is with grated extra-sharp cheddar cheese, a few thin slices of avocado, a dab of sour cream, and a bit of chopped cilantro as a garnish. The avocado and sour cream will help cool it; this is pretty spicy.
Next Time in the Lab
This is the first and the final recipe. I'll be damned.
