Michoacan Beef Recipes

CARNITAS MICHOACAN

Steps:

• If the roast has skin or bone, leave them on. Rinse the roast and place in a large pot. Add enough water to barely cover.
• Chop the onion into large pieces (about 8) and add to the pot. Add the salt.
• Bring the water to a boil, then cover and simmer until the roast is tender, but not quite falling apart, about 2 hours.
• Remove the roast and drain, discarding the onion. Remove any skin or bones. Cut or separate into large cubes of about 4 inches.
• Put the lard in a heavy pot, melt and raise to a medium-high temperature. Test the temperature by dropping in a slice of bacon. It should boil immediately and take about 2 minutes to cook.
• Cook all of the bacon in the lard, remove it and set it aside for another use. (This step is to flavor the lard). If using bacon fat, add it at this time and skip cooking any bacon.
• Add the pork cubes a few at a time to the lard. Cook until they are starting to get crispy on the outside. I prefer to remove them when they are roughly halfway between totally crispy and not crispy at all, but that's a matter of personal preference.
• Drain the pork, and salt if desired.
• Use the carnitas for tacos, burritos or by itself with sides of rice and beans.
• The lard can be cooled and reused. Store it in the refrigerator and smell before reusing. If stored too long, even in the refrigerator, it will go rancid.

MICHOACAN BEEF

Steps:

• NOTE: to reconstitute dried chipotle chilies place the chilies in a pan with enough water to cover. Protecting your face against fumes and making sure the kitchen in well ventilated, bring the chilies and water to a boil. Cook for about 5 minutes then remove from heat. Cover and let stand until softened.
• Place the flour in a large bowl and season with salt and pepper. Add the beef and toss to coat well. Remove from the bowl, shaking off the excess flour.
• Heat the oil in a skillet and brown the meat briefly over a high heat. Reduce the heat to medium, add the onions and garlic and cook for a further 2 minutes.
• Add the tomatoes, chilies, and stock. Cover and simmer over a low heat for 1 1/2 hours or until the meat is very tender. Top and tail the green beans and add them to the pan 15 minutes before the end of cooktime or until the way your like them. Skim off any fat that rises to the surface.
• Transfer to individual bowl and serve with beans and rice.
• Transfer to.

MICHOACAN BEEF WITH NOPALES

Steps:

• Season the flour to taste with salt and pepper; toss the meat to coat. Brown in hot oil, then add the onions and garlic and saute a couple of minutes until fragrant.
• Add the tomatoes, chipotles and stock. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, cover and simmer about 2 hours until meat is tender. About 15 minutes before the end of cooking time, add the nopales and sugar.
• Serve with warm corn tortillas.

BEEF BIRRIA

Steps:

• Cut each beef short rib through the middle, all the way down to the bone. Cut beef chuck in half; cut each half into 3- to 4-inch pieces.
• Place beef chuck and short ribs into a soup pot and season with salt, black pepper, oregano, cumin, cinnamon, and cloves. Toss very thoroughly until the meat is evenly coated with the spices, 2 to 3 minutes.
• Cover and transfer into the refrigerator for at least 6 hours, or overnight.
• Prep guajillo chiles by snipping off stems with scissors; slice open and scrape or shake out the seeds onto a plate to discard.
• Heat olive oil in a saucepan over medium heat. Add dried guajillo chiles and toss in the hot oil, about 30 seconds. Add chopped onion, garlic, and ginger; toss to combine. Add tomatoes and water, raise heat to high, and bring the mixture to a simmer. Reduce heat to medium-low and let simmer for 30 minutes.
• Turn off heat and use an immersion blender to blend the mixture as smooth as possible, or transfer to a regular blender, working in batches as needed.
• Remove the soup pot with meat from the refrigerator. Strain the reserved chili mixture into the pot using a large mesh strainer. Add bay leaves, honey, vinegar, and chicken broth.
• Bring to a boil over high heat, and then lower to medium-low. Simmer gently, stirring occasionally, until the meat is falling-apart tender, 3 to 4 hours. Skim fat off of the top and reserve for future birria queso tacos.
• Place some chunks of beef into a soup bowl and ladle some of the cooking liquid over top. Top with white onion and chopped cilantro and squeeze lime juice over top.