Seco De Carne Recipes

Steps:

• For the beans: In a large pot, boil the beans in 1 gallon of water until soft, about 1 hour over medium heat or 1 hour 45 minutes over low heat.
• In a separate pan, caramelize the onions in the oil. Add the garlic puree, salt, cumin, black pepper and the aji panca paste. Then add 1/2 cup water and bring to a simmer. Pour off some of the water from the fully cooked beans. Add the onion mixture to the beans and cook, covered, over low heat for 15 minutes.
• For the beef: Meanwhile, combine the huacatay and cilantro in a blender and fill halfway with water. Blend until pureed. Set aside.
• Sprinkle the beef cubes with salt and pepper and sear on all sides in a large skillet. Transfer the beef to a braising pot. Next, add the onions to the skillet and cook until caramelized. Stir in the garlic puree, pepper, salt, cumin and half of the cilantro-huacatay water. Pour the contents of the skillet over the beef. Add the remaining cilantro-huacatay water and an additional 1 cup water. Cover the pot and cook over medium heat for 15 minutes and then over very low heat for 1 hour 45 minutes.
• Add the aji amarillo, carrots and green beans to the pot and cook for another 5 minutes.
• Serve the beef with jasmine rice and canary beans. Garnish with red onions, cilantro and salsa criollo.

Steps:

• Place meat in a roasting pan and cover with water. You may add the optional ingredients at this point if you wish. I generally do. Cover the pan and roast it overnight at 250 to 300 degrees.
• In the morning drain the meat, reserving the broth and discarding the onion and garlic if used; the meat should be very tender when pierced with a fork. Cool the meat for at least 1 hour or until it can be handled easily.
• Using your fingers, shred meat, pulling it apart where the grain allows separation. Pull off and discard all fat, bone and gristle.
• Combine the shredded meat with salsa; let marinate overnight.
• Next day, add meat to frying pan with a little of the reserved broth and simmer, uncovered, until heated through and most of the liquid has evaporated. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
• To serve: Keep Carne Seca warm by placing on a warming tray or serrving in a frying pan set to warm. Accompany with a bowl or platter of 6-inch flour tortillas, cut into sixths. Guests spoon a little of the Carne Seca onto a tortilla wedge to eat.
• About those leftovers: This recipe makes a large amount but the leftovers keep well -- up to 4 days in the refrigerator or in the freezer for up to a month. Carne Seca is very versatile: you can use it in a casserole or as a filling for traditional Tex-Mex foods such as tacos, burritos, or taco salad. It can be a fine side dish accompanying a Mexican-style diner or may be the main course, accompanied by pinto beans and flour tortillas.
• Variation: Apache Burros. On the main street of Whiteriver, Arizona, on the Apache reservation, the Native-Americans come out at noon-time, sellling foods to other natives and to tourists alike. One of the most popular of the foods is Apache burros which are nothing more than the unadorned shredded meat of step 3 rolled into a flour tortilla. The meat is so well flavored, folks gobble these up.

Steps:

• Cut the beef into hunks and season with salt, pepper, cumin powder, and garlic paste. Heat a little vegetable (or olive) oil in a stainless steel soup pot and pan fry the meat. When the meat is seared, add the chopped onion, ají panca, and ají amarillo. Stir until onion becomes translucent. Rinse the cilantro in water and cut off the bottom few inches from the stems. Chop by hand and transfer to blender. Add about 1/2 to 1 cup water to the blender and reduce the fresh chopped cilantro to liquid. Add liquid cilantro to soup pot, stir, lower heat and cover with lid. The meat will become tender, cooking in the liquid for at least 20 minutes. Add frozen peas, stir and cook covered another 10 minutes. Serve with white rice.

Steps:

• Heat the oil in a saucepan over high heat, and when it is very hot sear the beef pieces until they are golden brown. Put the cilantro and spinach in the blender and process with one cup water. Reserve. Add the onions, garlic and aji amarillo paste to the saucepan; stir and let them cook until the onions are soft and translucent. Pour the cilantro mix and turn the heat to medium heat. Stir constantly until the water evaporates. Add one tablespoon of oil, if necessary, to fry the herbs. The cilantro and spinach are going to get a dark green color. Pour 6 cups of water and simmer over medium-low heat for 2 hours with the lid on. Check constantly and add water if necessary. When the meat is fork tender add the potatoes, green peas and carrots; cook uncovered for 15 minutes or until the vegetables are tender. The stew is ready when the veggies are cooked and the juice is reduced. Serve with rice and beans.