Braised Mexican Beef

Moist and tender beef is braised in a rich and sweet tomato-based sauce with onion, garlic, chipotle in adobo sauce, and brown sugar. The secret to absolutely delicious Braised Mexican Beef is allowing the meat to cook for hours in a pot with a heavy lid. Braising cannot be rushed and patience is greatly rewarded with just one bite!

It’s wintertime here in Ontario, and I absolutely love it! Winter affords me the ability to prepare recipes that require a long cooking time, just like with this Braised Mexican Beef. It’s hearty food like this that we crave in the wintertime, and I say take advantage of it! Eat as much as you can, because soon enough, summer will be here and it will be too hot to heat up your kitchen!

If I’m being honest though, the hot and humid weather of summer doesn’t really stop me from cranking up the stove and/or oven. You can easily find me preparing soups or baking bread in the summer. And, when late August arrives, I break out my canning equipment and can tomatoes, pickles, beets, etc., for a week or two straight.

Even though I don’t mind working in a warm kitchen during the summer months, last year, I was smart and purchased an outdoor stove. It has three large propane-lit burners and I was able to do all of my canning out there. To be honest, I don’t think my glass-top stove could handle the weight of two canners and a pot or two of whatever I’m canning at the same time! Anyway, I digress! Let’s talk about this beef!

INGREDIENTS NEEDED TO PREPARE THIS RECIPE

The following is a list of the ingredients needed to prepare this Braised Mexican Beef recipe. For exact amounts and measurements, refer to the printable recipe card located near the bottom of this post.

• Olive Oil – I always use extra virgin light olive oil so that the flavour is muted.  Olive oil has a high heat tolerance, so it’s perfect for browning.
• Beef – Use cheaper cuts of beef that are best when cooked slowly and on low heat for longer periods of time, much like brisket, chuck roast, flank steak or packaged stewing beef. In this case, I’m using brisket.
• Salt & Ground Black Pepper
• Onion – I use yellow, white, and sweet onions interchangeably.  Either of them will do just fine.
• Garlic – Fresh garlic will result in the best flavour every single time. 
• Canned Chipotle Peppers in Adobo Sauce – For a mildly spicy Braised Mexican Beef, use two peppers that have been well minced. You can add more chipotles depending on how hot you would like the beef.
• Canned Diced Tomatoes – You will need two cups, including the juice. Store-bought is fine, but I used my homemade canned tomatoes.
• Water
• Cumin
• Dried Oregano – The oregano adds what I call homemade flavour!
• Brown Sugar – This will enrich, sweeten, and thicken the sauce.

HAVE A DUTCH OVEN? USE IT!

A proper Dutch oven is the perfect cooking vessel to get this Braised Mexican Beef just right. I have several to choose from. But, that’s because I have purchased them over the years and not all at once. And, because I cook and bake all the time. Dutch ovens are a huge investment, but they are very much worth it if you use them often enough. For this particular recipe, I used my 6.7 litre round Le Creuset. You can most certainly use a smaller or similar-sized pot, depending on whether or not you are halving or doubling this recipe.

You most certainly can use an oval Dutch oven if that’s what you have! And, it does not need to be a Le Creuset brand either! In fact, I have a cheaper version that I often use. It’s a Pioneer Woman brand. I think I paid less than $50 for it! Essentially, if you have a cast iron pot with a heavy cast iron lid, then it will work perfectly as well. The key is to keep the heat and liquid in the pot, which will ensure that the beef cooks properly.

ADOBO SAUCE

Now that we know the peppers are dried and rehydrated jalapenos, just what is adobo sauce? The Spanish word adobo means marinade or seasoning. However, depending on what part of the world you’re in, the style of seasoning can vary greatly. For example, in Cuba, adobo is a seasoned salt or spice mix. In contrast, in Mexico, adobo is more likely to mean a spicy tomato-based sauce, which most resembles what I’m using.

The Filipino style of adobo, which involves stewing meat, usually pork or chicken, in a flavorful mixture of soy sauce, vinegar, garlic, bay leaves, and black peppercorns. So, you see, it can vary greatly depending on where you live. For the purposes of this Braised Mexican Beef, I’m using canned chipotle peppers in adobo, which you can find right here. This is the exact can I used!

LEFTOVER CHIPOTLES IN ADOBO SAUCE

Some of you might be familiar with a spicy mayo sauce called crema. You can make your own version with your leftover chipotles! Anywhere you would use crema, you can use this Creamy Chipotle Sauce. That would apply to things like tacos, burritos, enchiladas, and even soups! I would totally support stirring a dollop of this sauce into my Mexican Corn Soup.

I guess when it comes to dollops, you can apply this sauce to other dishes as well. It would be delicious on this Vegetarian Chili, or on these Chorizo and Black Bean Bowls. You can use this sauce as a dip too. I think these plain Salt and Pepper Chicken Wings would work well dipped into this sauce. Of course, the most obvious use might on a sandwich. Smear it liberally on bread with toppings that would pair well with the sauce, like roast beef or chicken. Don’t forget the tomatoes!

There are too many uses to list, but I have to make mention of this one before I move on. Transfer some of the sauce to a resealable bag and use scissors to cut just the tip of one lower corner of the bag away. Lift the bag over a plate of nachos or a plate of crispy fries and drizzle the sauce all over the top. I absolutely love this sauce over nachos! And, it goes great with melted cheese, salsa, and guacamole!

HOW TO MAKE BRAISED MEXICAN BEEF

Step 1: Searing and making the Sauce

Please note that this recipe works for two to three pounds of beef. You do not need to alter the rest of the recipe based on whether you are preparing two or three pounds. Even if you use one pound, you’ll just have extra sauce left over and that’s never a bad thing!

Pat the cubed beef dry with paper towels and season each side with salt and pepper. Over medium-high heat, add the olive oil to your Dutch oven and place the beef into the pot. Sear for about two minutes per side. The beef will not be cooked all the way through, so don’t worry about that. Just get the outside nice and brown without burning. Once done, remove the meat from the pot and set it aside.

Next, add the onion to the pot and cook for 2-3 minutes or until the onion is just translucent. Add the garlic, salt, ground black pepper, cumin, and chipotle peppers. Stir well and cook for another 2 minutes. Next, add the water, canned diced tomatoes with juice, and brown sugar. Stir to combine.

Step 2: Braising the Meat

Use tongs to add the seared beef pieces back into the pot. Be sure to nestle them into the sauce so that they are touching the bottom of the pot. The sauce should be rising up the sides of the meat. Place a lid on the pot and reduce the heat to simmer. Simmer for 2 hours, checking every 30 minutes to see if the liquid has not evaporated too much. The sauce will reduce and thicken, but should never be lower than an inch in the pot. If the liquid evaporates too much, add enough water to bring it up to the one-inch level. Once done, the beef will be very tender.

SERVING SUGGESTIONS

Braised Mexican Beef is quite filling because the meat is very rich. I would assume that four to five pieces per person are good, especially if you are pairing it with some form of carb-heavy side and a vegetable. However, please be fair warned that this beef is so good that you might want more than five pieces. Look at my plate; I had at least 10! As you can see, I plated it with rice and a dollop of sour cream on the side.

The sweet, spicy, and savoury sauce, which I like to call tomato gravy, is perfect for steamed rice. But, if you want to jazz it up a bit, you might want to consider carrying through with some good Mexican flavours. I have this great recipe for Mexican One Pot Instant Rice. It has everything in it to create a full meal! This Mexican Corn and Black Bean Salad would also be a really good pairing.

There are two other sides that I can think of that would work perfectly with this beef, although they are not what I’d consider typical Mexican cuisine! First, the most obvious is mashed potatoes or a creamy polenta or grits. The key is to use a hearty side, but one with muted flavours so that the beef is the star. And, no matter what side you choose to pair the beef with, be sure to ladle over lots of that deliciously sweet, spicy, and savoury sauce. It really is absolutely wonderful! Garnish according to your own tastes. I thought some finely chopped fresh parsley was enough. Enjoy!