Chile Braised Beef Two Ways Food

BRAISED BEEF AND RED CHILES

Steps:

• Add the chiles and garlic to a saucepan, cover with water and bring to a boil. Remove from the heat and steep for 20 to 30 minutes. Pour off half the cooking liquid. Using an immersion blender, puree the peppers, garlic and remaining liquid until smooth. (Alternatively, you can use a regular blender. Be careful when blending hot or warm ingredients.)
• Preheat the oven to 275 degrees F.
• Heat the oil in a Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Season the chuck roast with the salt, pepper, chile powder and cumin. When the oil is hot, add the meat to the Dutch oven and brown on all sides, about 3 minutes, then remove to a plate.
• Add the tomato paste and onion to the pot and cook, stirring, for 1 minute. Add the stock, sugar, bay leaves and pepper puree to the pot and stir to combine. Return the beef to the pot and cover. Roast until the meat is fall-apart tender, 2 1/2 to 3 hours.
• Remove the bay leaves. Shred the meat in the pot and serve on warm tortillas with shaved cabbage, sour cream, lime and cilantro.

BIRRIA DE RES TACOS (BEEF BIRRIA TACOS)

Steps:

• Fill a pot with water and bring to a boil. Add guajillo, ancho, and arbol chile peppers; boil for 5 minutes. Remove pot from heat and allow peppers to soak until cool. Drain, reserving 1/4 cup of the water.
• Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C).
• Rinse meat and pat dry with paper towels. Season with salt and pepper.
• Heat oil in a Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add meat and cook until browned on all sides, about 10 minutes. Remove from heat.
• Line a heavy cast-iron grill pan or griddle with aluminum foil and place over high heat. Arrange tomatoes in a single layer on top. Grill until tomato skin is burned on all sides and begins to peel, 3 to 5 minutes.
• Combine soaked chile peppers, cooked tomatoes, vinegar, garlic, 2 teaspoons black pepper, cloves, cinnamon, cumin, thyme, marjoram, oregano, and salt to taste in a blender. Pour in reserved 1/4 cup of chile water; blend until smooth.
• Strain chile sauce through a mesh strainer and pour over the browned meat in the Dutch oven, turning roast so it is completely covered with sauce. Cover the Dutch oven and place in the preheated oven.
• Bake, basting meat every 45 minutes with the sauce, until birria begins to fall apart, 3 to 4 hours. Remove lid and bake uncovered until birria is crispy on top, about 20 minutes. Remove from oven, cover with 2 layers of aluminum foil, and allow to rest in a warm area for 10 minutes.
• Meanwhile, warm tortillas on a griddle. Fill each tortilla with birria and top with chopped onion and cilantro.

CHILE-BRAISED BEEF, TWO WAYS

Steps:

• Place beef in a large pot and season with 1 tablespoon salt. Add 1 onion half, 5 garlic cloves, bay leaves, and enough water to cover meat by 1 inch (8 to 10 cups). Bring to a boil, skimming impurities from surface. Cover, reduce heat to medium-low, and simmer until tender enough to easily pierce with the tip of a knife, about 2 hours.
• Meanwhile, preheat broiler, with rack 6 to 8 inches below heating element. Arrange chiles on a rimmed baking sheet. Broil with oven door cracked open, turning once, until blistered in places on both sides, fragrant, and beginning to smoke, 30 to 45 seconds. Transfer to a saucepan. Arrange tomatoes and remaining onion half and garlic cloves on baking sheet. Broil, turning a few times, until blistered in places and beginning to soften, 8 to 10 minutes.
• Transfer to saucepan with chiles; add enough water to just cover vegetables (4 to 5 cups). Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to medium-low and simmer, uncovered, 10 minutes. Strain, reserving 1 cup cooking liquid, and transfer to a blender with reserved liquid, vinegar, cinnamon, cloves, cumin, oregano, and 2 teaspoons salt. Purée until smooth.
• Transfer beef to a plate and strain broth through a fine-mesh sieve, discarding solids. Return beef to pot with 5 cups broth and puréed-chiles mixture (any remaining broth can be cooled and stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator up to 1 week, or frozen up to 6 months; if you'll be serving the dish as a soup, reserve and keep warm).
• Bring beef to a boil. Partially cover, reduce heat to medium-low, and simmer until beef is fork-tender, 1 1/2 to 2 hours more. Shred meat into bite-size pieces.
• To serve as a soup, add reserved warm broth to pot, a little at a time, to reach desired consistency (it should be soupy but still have some body to it). Scatter with chopped onion and cilantro and serve, topped with radishes and avocado, with lime wedges alongside.
• To make tacos, dip tortillas into chile broth, flipping to fully coat, and transfer to a plate, stacking them one on top of another. Fill each with about 1/3 cup shredded beef and a little more chile broth. Fold in half. Heat a generous slick of oil over medium-high in a large, heavy skillet, such as cast iron. When it shimmers, add tacos in a single layer and cook, flipping once (if browning too quickly, reduce heat to medium) until crisp and golden brown in places, about 2 minutes per side. Serve with chopped onion, cilantro, hot sauce, and lime wedges.

CHILE-BRAISED SHORT RIBS

Steps:

• Toast chiles in a dry large skillet over medium heat until slightly puffed and lightly darkened on both sides, about 2 minutes. Remove from skillet; let cool. Stem chiles and halve lengthwise; discard seeds. Place in a medium bowl and add boiling water to cover. Let chiles stand until soft, about 20 minutes. Drain.
• Combine chiles, garlic, lemon zest and juice, oil, salt, coriander, and cumin in a blender or food processor; purée until marinade is smooth.
• Toss short ribs and onion with marinade in a shallow baking dish; cover dish and chill ribs overnight.
• Preheat oven to 350°F. Transfer onion, short ribs, and marinade to a large heavy pot. Add broth. Bring to a boil on stove-top and cover pot. Transfer to oven and braise ribs for 2 hours.
• Add potatoes, carrots, and tomato paste (keep meat and vegetables submerged); cover and return to oven. Continue braising until meat is fork-tender and separates easily from the bone and vegetables are soft, 50-60 minutes longer.
• Transfer short ribs and vegetables to a large rimmed baking sheet. Cover baking sheet with foil. Strain cooking liquid into a large saucepan. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer, skimming fat from surface occasionally, until sauce is reduced to 4 cups, 8-10 minutes. DO AHEAD: Short ribs, vegetables, and sauce can be made 2 hours ahead. Cover sauce. Let sauce and ribs and vegetables stand at room temperature.
• Place covered baking sheet with ribs and vegetables in oven until reheated, about 15 minutes. Stir olives and parsley into sauce and rewarm, stirring occasionally, over medium heat.
• Divide short ribs and vegetables among plates and spoon sauce over.

CHILI-BRAISED BRISKET

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Combine chili powder, fennel seed, 1 teaspoon salt, and 3/4 teaspoon pepper and rub all over brisket. In a large heavy ovenproof pot, heat oil over medium-high. Cook brisket until browned on all sides, about 8 minutes total. Transfer to a plate.
• Add onion to pot and saute 5 minutes. Stir in garlic and tomato paste and saute 1 minute. Add beer and 2 cups water, scraping up browned bits with a wooden spoon. Bring to a boil; return brisket to pot, cover, and transfer to oven. Braise until brisket is almost tender, about 3 hours. Tilt pot and spoon off fat from liquid. Add potatoes, carrots, and 1 cup water; braise until meat is very tender, 50 minutes more. Transfer brisket to a cutting board and let rest 10 minutes, then slice. Stir vinegar and cilantro into vegetables; serve with meat, sprinkled with more cilantro.

CHILE-BRAISED BEEF BRISKET

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350°F.
• In a small skillet over a medium heat, toast the star anise and fennel seed. Move the pan across the heat, letting the spices gently roll inside. Do that for about 3 to 4 minutes or until you begin to smell the toasting spices. Transfer into a spice mill or a coffee grinder. Add 5 of the chiles and grind until finely ground. Season the brisket with salt and pepper, rub with the spice blend, cover, and refrigerate while continuing with the recipe.
• Put the remaining 7 chiles in a bowl and cover with the boiling water. Set aside and let soak until the chiles have softened, about 30 minutes. When soft, reserve the chiles and 1 cup of the reconstituting water. Discard the rest of the water. In a blender, liquefy the chiles, the 1 cup reserved soaking water, and the sherry vinegar. Set aside.
• In a large Dutch oven, heat the olive oil over high heat and sear the brisket in the hot oil on all sides until well browned, about 5 minutes per side. Remove the brisket from the pan and set aside. Add the onions to the pan and sauté until they become translucent, about 3 minutes. Stir in the tomatoes, stock, and chile mixture and bring to a boil. Remove the pan from the heat, add the brisket, cover, and braise in the oven until fork tender, 3 1/2 to 4 hours, skimming occasionally to remove excess fat.
• When done, slice and serve hot with the braising liquid alongside.
• To Drink
• The hot climate of southern Oregon produces one of my very favorite Spanish varietals, Tempranillo, which loves meat braised with tomatoes, ground chiles, and spices. The black-fruit flavors of this grape and the tannins stand up well to the braised beef. Two Oregon wineries, Abacela and Dominio IV, produce fine examples of this grape varietal. A companion choice would be a French Rhône wine from Chapoutier: Châteauneuf-du-Pape, Saint Joseph, or Crozes-Hermitage. These wines have spice, smoke, and lingering tannins that speak to all the flavors of the brisket. -K.P.