Homemade Machaca Northern Mexican Dried Beef Food

MACHACA (AUTHENTIC MEXICAN SHREDDED BEEF)

Steps:

• Place meat in large saucepan. Add water, peppercorns, 1/4 onion and salt to taste. Bring to a boil, reduce heat. Cover and simmer until meat is very tender, about 1 1/2 hours.
• Cool meat in broth. Drain, reserving 1/3 cup broth. Mash garlic with 1/4 teaspoon salt to make a paste. Heat oil in a large skillet. Add chopped onion and garlic paste. Cook until onion is tender. Cut chili into short strips. Add chili strips and tomatoes to cooked onion.
• Cook 3 to 4 minutes. Add meat, cumin and freshly ground pepper to taste. Cook until meat is heated through. Stir in reserved broth. Taste and add salt if needed. Keep warm.
• NOTE: Can be served as a main dish or in tacos or other tortilla dishes.

MACHACA RECIPE, MEXICAN BEEF

Steps:

• First, slice your onion into half moon slices about 1/4in. thick.
• Cut the tops off your Anaheim chili's. Slice them in half lengthwise and remove the seeds. Depending on the size of your chili's, cut them in half or into thirds. You want strips about the same length as your onions.
• Then cut them into strips like the onions, about 1/4in. thick. Place your prepped veggies on a plate or in a bowl, cover and set aside or refrigerate. We'll get back to these later.
• Next, trim the fat off of your chuck steak. Dice into big cubes, about 1 1/2-2 inch cubes. You'll want them big so when it starts to break down you'll still have nice chunks.
• Add the salt, pepper, onion powder and garlic powder to a small bowl so it will be easy to add to the meat.
• Preheat your pot to medium high heat. If you are using a non-stick pan you do not have to add the oil. If your pan is not non-stick you'll want to add the oil to keep the meat from sticking to the bottom of the pot. Add your cubed meat to the hot pan along with your little bowl of seasoning.
• Fry the meat stirring often until it has browned, about 10-15 minutes or so.
• Pour in enough water to barely cover the meat, about 1/2 gallon or so.
• Turn the heat to high and cover. Once the meat comes to a boil, back the heat off until you have a "hard simmer". This means that the liquid is bubbling but not boiling over. You want to have it bubbling as hard as possible, covered, without it boiling over. Cook it for about 2-3 hours stirring occasionally.
• Note: You want a very tight fitting lid because you don't want the liquid to evaporate too quickly. If you notice the liquid evaporating fast you may need to add more water so keep this in mind.
• After 2-3 hours poke the meat to see if it is starting to break up. If it is, remove the lid, turn the heat down "just a little" and keep simmering until most of the liquid has evaporated. If it is not breaking down yet just put the lid back on and continue simmering until it is breaking up.
• The point here is to keep as much liquid in your pot until the meat starts to break up. Only at this point do you want to remove the lid and let the liquid evaporate. This will ensure your meat is extremely tender and falling apart. All together the meat will take about 3 1/2-4 hours. Keep monitoring your meat and stirring during the last hour.
• Machaca Beef ShreddedOnce the liquid has almost completely evaporated use a wood spoon to break the meat down. You don't want to completely shred it with your spoon, just to the point where some of the meat is shredded but you still have some nice chunks. At this point the meat is ready for the next step, onions and chili's... Yum!
• Adding Your Chili's And Onions To The Machaca.
• Preheat a very large skillet to medium high heat, preferably non-stick (if you don't have non-stick you'll need about a teas. of oil).
• Add your prepped veggies to the dry pan (if you're using non-stick) and grill them until they're just tender, about 2-4 minutes.
• Turn the heat off and add your warm beef Machaca Finishedand stir until thoroughly mixed. That's it, your meat is now ready.