Tag: beef
Shredded Beef (Instant Pot)
Shredded Beef (Instant Pot)
Any time I see a chuck roast on sale, I purchase one for shredded beef tacos. What would normally take 4-5 hours in a crock pot takes an hour in the Instant Pot. Chuck works the best because of it’s fat content and flavor. Other cuts of beef that will work include, skirt, flank, arm, bottom round, or shank meat. This meat is also great in burritos, rolled tacos, sopes, on arepas, tortas, machaca, etc.If you don’t own a pressure cooker, you can prepare this meat in a crock pot or in a Dutch oven on the stove top or inside the oven. This will take some time. Low and slow is the key. 4-5 hours in the crock pot on high. For the oven, preheat it to 300 degrees. Cook the meat for 3-4 hours until it falls apart.
Equipment
- instant pot
Ingredients
- 3 lbs chuck roast cut into large cubes
- 1 medium white onion diced
- 6 garlic cloves
- 1 cup beef stock
- 2 tsp salt
- 2 tsp pepper
Instructions
- Add all of the ingredients to the Instant Pot. Turn the setting to Pressure Cooker on high for 50 minutes. Put on the lid and push start.
- Once the 50 minutes is up, release the pressure. Turn the setting to Sauté on high for 15 minutes or until all the liquid has evaporated. Let cool before serving.
Jamaican Meat Pies
Jamaican Meat Pies
I first tried a Jamaican meat pie at the West Indies Soul Food booth at the MN State Fair about 15 years ago. Instead of an empanada shape, they sold them in the shape of a patty; hence why they called them Jamaican beef patties. They were unbelievably good and spicy as hell. The baked dough was very similar to a pot pie crust. Every year I make sure to go back and eat one with a large Jamaican Arnie Palmer.Past forward to present day. My high ass had a craving for these since I didn’t go to the Fair this year. So I had to learn how to make them. They take time to prep, but are overall fairly easy. This is something that you just can’t make one of, so be aware that this recipe yields 10/12 meat pies. The nice thing is that you can freeze these down on a baking sheet and store in a freezer bag. The meat pies take 30 minutes in a 375 degree oven.
Servings: 10 Meat Pies
Equipment
- Mixer with dough hook
Ingredients
Dough
- 4 cups all purpose flour
- 2 tbsp sugar
- 1 tbsp salt
- 2 tsp turmeric
- 5 oz lard room temp
- 4 oz butter room temp
- 1 tbsp cider vinegar
- 1 cup ice water
Meat Filling
- 2 tbsp vegetable oil
- 1/2 medium white onion diced
- 4 garlic cloves minced
- 1 tsp paprika
- 1 tsp Jamaican curry powder
- 1 tsp thyme
- 1 tsp white pepper
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tsp chicken bouillon
- 1/2 tsp allspice
- 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
- 1 lb ground beef
- 1/4 cup breadcrumbs
- 3 green onions finely chopped
- 2 tbsp parsley chopped
Instructions
Making the dough
- Mix together the dry ingredients.
- Turn the mixer to medium speed. Add in the butter and lard, mixing until it is incorporated with the flour. Add in the cider vinegar and the ice water. It should form into a ball.
- On a well floured surface, separate the dough into 2 balls.
- With a rolling pin, roll out the dough to 1/4” thick. Refrigerate for 30 minutes.
- Take the dough out of the refrigerator. Cut out discs with a 6” bowl.
- Do this until all of the dough is used up. You should yield 10-12 dough frisbees. Refrigerate for 30 minutes.
Meat Pie Filling
- Heat up cooking oil in a large sauté pan over medium high heat. Sauté the onions, garlic, and all of the spices for 2 minutes.
- Add in the ground beef and breadcrumbs. Cook for 8 minutes, until the ground beef is cooked all the way through.
- Turn off the heat. Stir in the green onions and parsley. Let cool.
Meat Pie Assembly
- In a large empanada press, add one of the dough discs.
- Add 2 heaping tbsps of the meat filling.
- Fold it over, crimping tightly.
- Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Bake for 30 minutes. Let rest for 10 minutes before serving.
Seco de Carne
Seco de Carne
Seco de Carne is another one of my favorite dishes from Los Cabos in downtown Denver. It consists of chunks of stewing beef seared then braised in beer and a cilantro pepper sauce. The sugars in the beer help break down the connective tissues in the meat. The meat is then served over rice, usually with a side of beans or boiled yellow potato. This is a great one pot meal that takes minimal effort to make.There are a couple of cuts beef that will work well with this dish. Chuck, bottom round, shank meat, and arm roast are all acceptable choices. Avoid using top round, eye of round, and sirloin tip. They are too lean for this dish.
Ingredients
- 4 tbsp olive oil
- 2-3 lbs chuck roast cubed
- 2 tsp salt
- 1 onion diced
- 6 garlic cloves minced
- 3 tsp cumin
- 2 tsp salt
- 2 tsp paprika
- 2 cups chicken or beef stock
- 1 cup beer lager
- 1 bunch cilantro
- 3 serrano peppers seeded
- 1/4 cup chicken or beef stock
Instructions
- Cut up chuck into 1 1/2” cubes. Season with salt.
- Heat up 2 tbsp ofcooking oil in a large Dutch oven over high heat. Sear the beef on all sides for 4 minutes in total.
- Cook the beef in 2 batches, making sure that the pot isn’t overcrowded. Put in a bowl and set aside.
- Add the other 2 tbsp of cooking oil to th Dutch oven. Turn the heat down to medium high. Add in the onions. Cook for 5 minutes until translucent.
- Add in the garlic. Cook for another 2 minutes.
- Add in the cumin, paprika, and salt. Cook for a minute.
- Deglaze with the beer and stock. Scrape the brown bits from the bottom of the pot. Add in the beef.
- While the beef in simmering, add cilantro, serrano peppers, and 1/4 cup of stock to a blender or food processor.
- Purée.
- Add the cilantro purée to the beef. Preheat your oven to 325 degrees. Cover the beef and cook for 2 hours.
- Uncover and let cook for another 30 minutes.
