Many Tex-Mex restaurants offer a dish similar to this Steak Ranchero. Some slice the meat into strips or cut it into cubes, and some serve it like in this recipe, with the steak whole and covered with the sauce. I’m sure you’ve seen this dish before when eating out at Mexican places.
1PoundRib Eye steak*2 steaks, each ⅓ or ½ – in. thick
1Large garlic clove or 2 small garlic cloves**
6peppercorns
2tablespoonsof water
Salt to taste
2tablespoonsof vegetable oil
½large medium white onionsliced
2jalapeño peppers or 4 Serrano pepperssliced
4 Large Plum tomatoescut into slices
⅓cupbeerpale lager
Instructions
Grind the garlic and peppercorns in your molcajete until you have a fine paste. Add the 2 tablespoons of water and stir. Rub this paste all over the steaks and season with salt.
Heat the oil in a large skillet (make sure the skillet is big enough for the two steaks). Once it is hot, add the steaks and cook for about 3 minutes per side.
Add the onion and peppers to the skillet and cook for 3 more minutes, until the sliced onion starts looking transparent. Stir to make sure everything is cooking evenly.
Now, place all the tomato slices on top of the meat, as shown in the picture. Cover the skillet and let it cook for about 5 minutes. After this time, the tomatoes will start releasing their juices. Pour in the beer, season with salt, and keep cooking for 5 more minutes, stirring from time to time. Serve with fried beans, rice, and warm corn tortillas.
Notes
* Other cuts of meat to use for the steaks include Chuck or Sirloin.** You can substitute the fresh garlic cloves and peppercorn for the powered versions, but believe me, using the fresh ingredients will take the dish to a whole new level of flavor! It’s worth your time to grind those ingredients.*** The Tex-Mex version has cumin and oregano.