Chile Con Carne Rojo Sonoran Style Recipes

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.

CARNE CON CHILE ROJO(BEEF AND RED CHILE)

Steps:

• Preheat 3 tablespoons of oil to medium heat for a few minutes. Add the dried chiles and cook for 2 to 3 minutes. Add the onion, garlic and cumin seeds and cook for 3 more minutes. Add the 2 cups of broth and cook for 5 to 7 more minutes or until dried peppers have become soft.
• Transfer all of the ingredients from the skillet with chiles into the blender. Season with salt and pepper to taste, using a kitchen towel to hold down the lid to the blender, blend on high until smooth. Taste for salt. Strain chile sauce into a large bowl using a wire mesh strainer. Set aside.
• In that same skillet, add 2 more tablespoons of oil and preheat for a few minutes. Season the beef with salt and pepper and place into hot oil. Cook and sear until golden brown on most sides. Add the strained chile sauce, remaining broth and spices. If you like the a carne con chile with more broth, add all of the remaining broth. Bring to a boil, reduce to a simmer. Taste for spices and cover partially while is slow simmers for the next 2 to 2 1/2 hours or until the beef becomes tender. Serve with your favorite sides and warm, homemade flour totillas.

CARNE CON CHILE ROJO

Steps:

• Cook the tomatoes and peppers together in a small saucepan, or in the microwave until softened. Place into the bowl of a blender with the garlic clove, and puree until smooth.
• Meanwhile, heat the vegetable oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Season the beef with salt and pepper to taste, then fry in the skillet until no longer pink.
• Once cooked, pour in the tomato puree, and add the bouillon cube. Stir until the bouillon cube dissolves, then cook for 3 minutes.

AWARD WINNING CHILI CON CARNE

Steps:

• Heat oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Cook green pepper, and onion, until softened. Add the ground beef and cook until browned. Crumble over bouillon cubes, and stir in wine; continue to cook for a few minutes. Stir in chopped tomatoes, garlic, and tomato paste. Season with paprika, chili powder, cayenne pepper, basil, oregano, and parsley. Stir in salt and pepper.
• Bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce heat to medium low. Cover, and simmer for 90 minutes, stirring occasionally.
• Stir in kidney beans, and hot pepper sauce. You can add the reserved tomato juice if more liquid is needed. Continue to simmer for an additional 30 minutes.
• In a small bowl, whisk together the flour, corn meal, and water until smooth. Stir into chili, and cook for a further 10 minutes, or until chili has thickened up.

CARNE CON CHILE ROJO (CHUCK BRAISED IN CHILE)

Steps:

• To make the bison: Heat oven to 275 degrees.
• Sprinkle the sugar and salt all over the roast. Heat the oil in a large Dutch oven over high heat. Add the roast and sear until dark brown on all sides, 7 to 10 minutes. Transfer to a plate and reduce the heat to medium. Carefully add 1 cup broth (the hot fat will spatter) and scrape up all the browned bits from the pan. Return the roast and any accumulated juices to the Dutch oven and add the tomatoes, onion, chiles, sage, bay leaves, syrup and remaining 3 cups broth. Bring to a boil, then cover and transfer to the center of the oven.
• Braise until the meat is very tender, about 3 1/2 hours. A fork should slide through easily. Uncover and cool for 15 minutes, then transfer the roast to a large bowl. Finely shred the meat using your hands if cool enough to handle or with two forks. Strain the cooking liquid and reserve.
• To make the chile rojo: Bring a medium saucepan of water to a boil. Add all of the dried chiles, reduce the heat to medium, and simmer steadily until softened and lighter in color, about 10 minutes. Transfer the chiles to a blender, along with the garlic, onion, salt and 2 cups of the braising liquid. Save any remaining braising liquid for another use (see Tip). Blend until very smooth.
• Heat the oil in a large, deep skillet over high heat until shimmering. Carefully add the chile sauce (it will splatter) and immediately reduce the heat to medium. Simmer, stirring often, until thickened and brick red, 8 to 10 minutes. Add the shredded meat and any accumulated juices and stir to evenly coat. Reduce the heat to low and simmer for 10 minutes. Season to taste with salt. Serve immediately or cool to room temperature to use as a filling for tamales. The sauced braised meat can be refrigerated for up to 5 days or frozen for up to 3 months.

CHILE CON CARNE ROJO, SONORAN STYLE

Steps:

• Put the cut-up beef in a dutch oven or similar large kettle, cover with water and boil with salt, pepper, garlic, onion, and 3-4 bay leaves. Boil until meat is tender.
• Remove bay leaves and throw them away. Remove the meat.
• Pour the liquid into another container. (I use a good-sized plastic pitcher.).
• Stir the chili paste into the liquid. ( Or use 8 ounces of the paste and 8 ounces of made-from-scratch chile sauce. Or if you have an asbestos tongue, skip the commercial stuff entirely!).
• Melt shortening in the bottom of the kettle. Add flour and cook until brown, stirring almost constantly.
• Add 10 cups or so of the beef stock/chile mixture gradually, while stirring. (It's like making gravy.).
• Reduce heat and add oregano, cumin, more garlic, and salt to taste.
• Stir in the meat.
• DO NOT add tomatoes, tomato sauce, tomato paste, stewed tomatoes, or any other tomato product!
• Serve with flour tortillas and refried beans. Or make your own burros and serve it that way. Left overs (if any) freeze well.

MOM'S CHILE CON CARNE (KID FRIENDLY)

Steps:

• Cook ground beef and onions over medium heat in a large sauce pan or dutch oven until beef is browned and onions are tender. Drain and return to pan.
• Add tomatoes and kidney beans (do not drain off juce).
• Add spices and stir until blended.
• Bring to boil, then reduce to low heat, cover and simmer for 30-45 minutes.
• You can taste and adjust spices after 20-30 minutes - add more chile powder or a bit of cayenne pepper if you like it spicier - let it simmer another 20 minutes to blend flavors.
• Serve in bowls with shredded cheese, onions, sour cream or crackers if desired. I like it with saltines broken into the chile with a little cheese on it.

MARTHA'S CHILE CON CARNE

Steps:

• Toast chiles in a skillet over medium heat, turning often, until fragrant and puffed up (2 minutes).
• Cut in half and remove cores, reserving seeds. Transfer chiles to a bowl and cover with boiling water; set aside.
• Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat.
• Add pork; cook until browned, 3 minutes per side. Transfer to a plate.
• Working in batches, cook beef until browned, 3 minutes per side, adding more oil as needed and transferring browned meat to the plate.
• Meanwhile, puree chiles and 1/2 cup soaking liquid in a blender.
• Reduce heat to medium-low. Add onion and garlic, and cook, stirring often, until softened (6-8 minutes).
• Stir in cumin, oregano, bay leaf, 1 teaspoon salt, and 2 tablespoons reserved chile seeds (more for heat, if desired). Cook 1 minute.
• Add chile puree. Raise heat to medium-high; cook, stirring, 2 minutes.
• Return meat to pot. Add 2 teaspoons salt, tomatoes, and beer, and bring to a boil.
• Reduce heat to medium-high. Simmer, stirring occasionally, 1 1/4 hours.
• Reduce heat to medium-low; simmer, stirring occasionally, until meat is tender and sauce is thick, about 30 minutes more.
• Discard bay leaf. Stir in vinegar.
• Serve chili with avocado halves, scallions, tortilla chips, and grated cheese.

RED CHILE CON CARNE

Steps:

• Trim the meat of any visible fat and season with salt and pepper.
• Heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Place roast in the skillet and brown quickly on all sides. (This step can be skipped if cooking from frozen, or if you're short on time.).
• Transfer the meat to a crockpot and add all of the remaining ingredients except for the green chilies and hot sauce.
• Cook on low for 8 hours.
• One hour before done, shred the roast with a fork and stir in the green chiles and hot sauce to taste.
• Serve with grated cheddar cheese in a warmed tortilla.

CHILI CON CARNE

Steps:

• In a Dutch oven, cook beef over medium heat until no longer pink, 5-7 minutes; crumble beef. Drain and set aside. , In the same pot, heat oil; saute onions until tender. Add garlic; cook 1 minute longer. Stir in the green pepper, salt, chili powder, bouillon, cayenne, cinnamon, cumin and oregano. Cook for 2 minutes, stirring until combined. , Add tomatoes and browned beef. Stir in water. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for about 1 hour. Add beans and heat through. If desired top with sour cream and jalapeno.