Sonoran Rice Food

SONORAN RICE

Steps:

• Heat oil in large deep skillet over medium heat. Add onion and cook, stirring frequently 2 minutes. Add rice and cook, stirring to coat with oil, until rice begins to brown, 5-8 minutes. Stir in garlic and cumin and cook 1 minute longer.
• Add remaining ingredients and heat to boiling. Reduce heat, cover skillet, and simmer 15 minutes. Remove from heat and let stand covered 10 minutes. Fluff rice gently with fork and transfer to serving dish.

SONORAN RICE

Steps:

• Cook rice, onion and garlic in oil,preferably in an electric skillet,stirring until rice is lightly browned.
• Stir in tomato, Paces,juice from tomato and chicken broth such that you add a total of 2 cups liquid in addition to the Paces.
• Simmer covered until liquid is absorbed (about 20 minutes), without stirring.
• Top with cheddar or Monterrey Jack cheese before serving.

SONORAN CARNE CON CHILE

Steps:

• Optional smoking step. Salt the venison the night before you plan on smoking it and set in the fridge. The next morning, smoke the meat at 185°F for about three hours. I use mesquite here, but whatever wood you like will do.
• Braise the Meat. Put all the other ingredients for the meat in a stewpot and bring to a simmer. Cover the pot. You can simmer this on the stovetop or in a 325°F oven.
• Toast the Chiles. Heat a comal or flattop or large, heavy frying pan over medium-high heat. While the pan heats up, remove the stems and seeds from the dried chiles. Using a metal spatula, toast all the chiles quickly, pressing on them to flatten. They will get pliable quickly. You'll only need about 30 seconds per side, and you can flip them back and forth if you want. Do not let them char or burn. Move them as you go to a large bowl. When they are all toasted, pour boiling water over them to soak.
• Continuing, you will want to spread the cumin seeds on the hot comal. Let them toast, moving them more or less constantly, until they smell nice, about a minute or two, tops. Move them to a spice grinder and grind to a powder. Can you use ground cumin? Sure, but it won't be as good.
• Now char the garlic and onion on the comal. Set them down on the hot surface and let them sit there until you get a nice char. You want blackening. Move them around to char on all sides. When they're ready, peel the garlic and roughly chop the onion.
• Move the rehydrated chiles, onion, garlic, cumin, oregano and a healthy pinch of salt to the blender. Add a little soaking water or some braising liquid and puree. You want the sauce to have the consistency of heavy cream.
• Optional Step: Push the sauce through a fine-meshed sieve to remove small bits of chile skin and seeds. They are not digestible, and doing this step makes a smoother sauce, and, well, largely prevents the "ring of fire" the following morning...
• Heat a pot over medium heat and add the lard. When the lard is hot, pour the sauce in and stir, stir, stir until the fat emulsifies. Bring it to a very gentle simmer and keep warm.
• Once the venison is tender, somewhere between 90 minutes and 3 hours or so -- you'll know when you can pull it apart fairly easily with two forks -- time to serve. I like to pull the meat into largish pieces and put it in the sauce pot to bathe for a few minutes before serving.