Carne Guisada

Carne guisada literally translates to stewed meat.

It's a slow cooked, tender, flavorful dish 

[comparable to American beef tips] 

that can be served in tacos, 

I ate mine with avocado and sour cream,

or alongside rice and beans or with mashed potatoes and salad

or like Juan in a Million, with fried potatoes, beans, 

and queso covered scrambled eggs.

(an Austin must... and this is better than their Don Juan!)

So here's how you make the carne guisada!

What You'll Need:

(serves 2)

1 pound of chuck or bottom round beef, cut into 1-inch cubes

(This would be optimal, but I used lean stew meat because it's what I had!)
1 tablespoon of canola oil
1/4 medium onion, diced
2 cloves of garlic, minced
1 diced tomato
1 jalapeno pepper, diced
1 teaspoon cumin
1 teaspoon chili powder
1/2 teaspoon oregano
1/4 cup of chopped cilantro
1 bay leaf
1 1/2 cups of water

1 tablespoon of flour (optional)

What To Do:
In a large pot or a Dutch oven, brown the beef on medium high heat in the oil.

Remove beef from pot and cook on medium heat the onions and jalapeno for about 10 minutes or until the onions are translucent. Add the garlic and cook for another minute.

Throw in the browned beef, add the herbs, spices, water, tomatoes and mix everything really well. Turn up the heat to high, bring the stew to a boil and then turn heat down to low and simmer for five hours, stirring occasionally.(I actually transferred the meat to the slow cooker and this point so I didn't have the stove burning all day.) 

Optional- Once cooked, remove the beef with a slotted spoon and pour the remaining liquid into a blender or food processor and puree. Return liquid to your pot and add beef back in, simmering another fifteen minutes. 

Also, if the gravy is not as thick as you'd like, remove one cup of liquid. Stir one tablespoon of flour into the liquid until combined. Pour back into the pot and stir well, allowing to simmer and thicken.

Recipe adapted from Homesick Texan

It's really good!