Mexican Beef Stew

Begin by adding the guajillo chilies to a skillet and cook over medium heat for about a minute or so, then flip, and do the same. This process will bring out some of the oil of the chile. Turn off the heat, add in the hot water, cover, and let this sit on the stove for about 30 minutes. The goal is for the guajillos to be nice and tender.

When the chiles are done soaking, drain the water, and carefully discard the stems and seeds. Place the quajillos into a blender, along with the garlic, pineapple juice, cinnamon, Mexican oregano, bay leaves, and beef stock. Blend until you have a very smooth puree. The sauce that you just made is going to bring out a lot of the wonderful Mexican flavors of the beef stew.

Next, add your onions, apple, and tomatoes into a mixing bowl. Sprinkle the mixture with a bit of salt and pepper.

Heat a Dutch oven, or large heavier skillet on medium-high heat. Add in the canola oil and let this almost begin to smoke. During this time, generously season the beef chunks with salt and pepper, and give the meat a quick massage. Carefully add this into the heated oil and lightly brown on all sides. Do this in batches so you do not overcrowd the pan. Remove when browned on all sides, and repeat as necessary.

Now you have a couple of choices. You can preheat your oven to 275ºF and let this dish go low and slow in the Dutch oven, or if you have a slow cooker, and you can go that route, letting it cook for about 8 hours on low. However you want to roll with this one is fine by me, but either way, do the following:

Add some of the quajillo mixture to the base of the dish. Add the browned beef chunks, then add the tomato mixture, topping it off with the rest of the quajillo mixture. Cover, making sure you have a good seal, and place either in the oven, or slow cooker. If you talk to your food, just let it know that you will return in approximately 8 hours to take in all of its aromas and be prepared to eat. Or don’t. Whatever you do, just return in 8 hours.

About 45 minutes before you are ready to eat, you will want to make the sweet potatoes. Add them to a large pot of room temperature water. Add a pinch of salt, and bring to a boil. Once boiled, reduce the heat a bit, and cook until fork tender, about 35 minutes. Drain the potatoes, and add them back to the heat to evaporate any remaining water.

Your next dilema is whether to use a potato masher or ricer. I have been using a potato ricer for some time now, and must say, not only do I love it, but I think I got one of my kids eating mashed potatoes because of it. Sure, it is an extra step, as you have to take the potatoes out, and run them through the ricer, but heck, I think this process is well worth the time and effort.

Rice them or mash them, then add in the butter, milk, and season with salt and pepper. Give a gentle stir and make sure they are nice, fluffy, and seasoned.

Now, the moment we have all been waiting for. Remove the Mexican beef stew from the oven, or take the lid off the slow cooker (I went the slow cooker route this time around, in case you were wondering) and take in the aromas. They are earthy and beautiful. Give a taste and season with any salt at this time. You should not need much of any as it is packed with flavor.

To plate, add some of the mashed sweet potatoes to the base of your plate and top with a nice ladleful of the Mexican beef stew. If you want to serve with some warm tortillas to help assist in scooping this delicious stew into a fork and your mouth, please do so.

Overall, you are left with a new take on a somewhat classic beef stew, only in the sense that you go low and slow with the cooking process, but you are left with a whole new world of flavors. Every bite has the sweetness and creaminess from the potatoes that just gets balanced by the wonderful fruity, earthy flavors, and a mild spiciness from the stew ingredients. This one is so good, it has me thinking ahead to next fall when comfort and slow cooking season starts all over again. I hope you enjoy.