Carne en su Jugo

Start by preparing all of your ingredients. Once prepared add one cup of the stock to a blender. Toss in half of the fresh cilantro, the chipotle chili peppers, and the garlic. Put the lid on and blend until you have a smooth texture. Set aside.

Next, heat a medium, to large size pot on the stove over medium-high heat. Toss in the oil, then once it’s hot add in the chopped beef. Spread the beef evenly and let it cook for about 5 minutes, undisturbed. Give it a good stir. Add the chipotle/beef stock mixture, and give it a good stir. Add the remaining stock, the cumin powder and the pinto beans. Stir, cover and reduce the heat to a simmer. Cook for about 45 minutes. Add salt and pepper if needed.

During this time, cook your bacon in a skillet over medium heat until crisp. Once cooked, place bacon onto a paper lined sheet to remove any excess bacon grease. Pour most of the grease out of the skillet, but reserve about a tablespoon to cook the onions in. Add the chopped onions and cook for about 8 minutes or so, until they are translucent but not caramelized. Remove the onions and place them in a bowl.

Now onto plating.

Ladle a generous amount of soup into your soup bowl. Add some cooked bacon, some of the remaining fresh cilantro, a squeeze of lime, a couple slices of jalapeno (if desired) and a couple of spoonfuls of the cooked onion.

Dig in. This soup has everything in one of my favorite bowls of soup. It had that smokiness from the bacon, along with great heat from the chipotle peppers that is perfectly balanced by the sweetness of the onion. Now that you have that going on for you, you will keep spooning away with the great flavor from the garlic and cilantro, the super tender beef, and the creaminess of the pinto beans. Need I say more?