This is a popular dish in the northern states of Nuevo Leon and Coahuila, and it’s very similar to the “carne guisada” dish made in the border towns of Texas. It consists of finely diced beef slow-cooked in a tomato stew. Well, pretty much everything in the recipe goes in diced, from the meat to the bell peppers, onions, and tomatoes. It is not a spicy meal, and in some border towns, the cooks add a little bit of flour to thicken the stew.
Easy Mexican Beef Stew to serve with flour tortillas
In Monterrey, NL it is served with a side of rice or pinto beans (or both). This dish is also used to make the popular appetizer called “Empalmes”, and in the border towns, it is used as a filling for burritos. I will write about the “Empalmes” in a later post.
For the meat, you can use a good quality cut of meat like beef tenderloin and the stew will be ready in less time, but this is a meal that’s usually made with the cheapest cuts of meat, slow-cooked for a long time. This will render a soft meat and a really tasty dish. Some variations use poblano peppers instead of bell peppers and others add diced potatoes, a good addition to the stew. This dish is also known as beef stew, (“Guisado de Res”)
If you’re the type of person that makes your own lunch to take to work, make yourself extra since this dish tastes even better the next day, and as a filling for burritos or tortas!
How to make Mexican Beef Stew
DIRECTIONS:
- Heat oil (or lard) in a large skillet, at medium-high. Season the meat with salt and add to the saucepan to cook. (Please check the ingredients list below)
- While the meat is cooking, grind the garlic, peppercorns, and cumin in the molcajete (mortar). Add 2 tablespoons of water to the molcajete mixture to form a paste and add it to the meat. By the time you add this spice mixture, the meat should be releasing its juices. Cook for 5 more minutes and lower the heat and place the lid to slowly cook the meat.
- Cook the meat for about 20 minutes and before all the liquid gets dry, add the diced onion and green pepper. Stir and cook for 3-4 minutes. Now, add the tomatoes, stir again, and place the lid to slowly simmer the stew.
- After 20 minutes, check the meat for doneness; depending on the cut of meat the cooking time will vary, it has to be fork tender. Just to be safe, keep checking the stew every 10 to 15 minutes, until you see that the meat is soft.
Season with salt a few minutes before it finishes cooking and serve with rice, pinto beans, and warm flour tortillas.
A BEEF STEW TO SERVE WITH FLOUR TORTILLAS
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons lard or vegetable oil
- 1 ½ pound of top round sirloin, or any other cut of meat
- without fat. Finely diced.
- Salt to season
- 2 garlic cloves chopped
- 8 peppercorns
- ½ teaspoon ground cumin
- ½ large white onion diced
- 1 green bell pepper diced
- 1 ½ pound tomatoes diced
- Water as needed
Instructions
- Heat oil (or lard) in a large skillet, at medium-high. Season the meat with salt and add to the saucepan to cook.
- While the meat is cooking, grind the garlic, peppercorns, and cumin in the molcajete (mortar). Add 2 tablespoons of water to the molcajete mixture to form a paste and add it
- to the meat. By the time you add this spice mixture, the meat should be releasing its juices. Cook for 5 more minutes and lower the heat and place the lid to slowly cook the meat.
- Cook the meat for about 20 minutes and before all the liquid gets dry, add the diced onion and green pepper. Stir and cook for 3-4 minutes. Now, add the tomatoes, stir again, and place the lid to slowly simmer the stew.
- After 20 minutes, check the meat for doneness; depending on the cut of meat the cooking time will vary, it has to be fork tender. Just to be safe, keep checking the stew every 10 to 15 minutes, until you see that the meat is soft.
- Season with salt a few minutes before it finishes cooking and serve with rice, pinto beans, and warm flour tortillas.
Notes
- Since this type of meat is very lean, I like to cook it with lard to add flavor, but you can use vegetable oil if you prefer.
- Grinding the fresh spices gives the meat a unique taste compared to dried spices, but you can still use the dried already-ground version.
- If you prefer to make a spicy version of this dish, add diced jalapeños in step 3. The amount will depend on your personal taste.
- Some versions of this recipe also add Mexican oregano.
Nutrition
Provecho!
Mely,
Carol García-Ramirez
Mely, if I want to add diced potatoes- should I boil the
And add - or at what point do I add them?
Thank you!
Carol
mmartinez
Hello Carol, Add then cut into small cubes right after you add the meat. They will cook together.
Theresa
MY family absolutely loved this!! My daughter gives 10 stars 😉 Thank you
mmartinez
Hello Theresa,
Thank you for coming back to let me know about it. So glad your family like it!
Erica Marquez
Thank you for this recipe, I was trying to find out which cut of meat my grandma would use for her famous carne guisada, I now know! We live in Texas so of course she would make hers like a gravy, and the cut of meat she'd use would always be so tender. I know exactly how she would make it. Thank you so much for your recipe. I am making it tonight for dinner!
mmartinez
Hello Erica,
I know every cook adds their own seasoning, I hope to can replicate your grandma's recipe. Don't forget to write it down to share with the future generations to keep the traditions alive. Thanks a lot for visiting.