This is a winter favorite which is filled with flavor and surprisingly easy to make. It comes from a recipe we saw in Bon Appetit but has morphed a bit over time. We’d encourage playing with the spices as you explore this as there’s a great variety of hot, sweet, savory and other great flavors to tease out of this recipe. And it goes great with Ciabatta bread or even skillet cornbread.
For 2-4 servings you’ll need some vegetable oil, 1.5 lb of boneless beef chuck (cut into 1/2-3/4″ cubes), 1 medium onion (chopped), 4-6 cloves of garlic (crushed and chopped), 1/4 cup dried ancho chiles (ground into a powder), 1 Tbsp cumin, 1/4 tsp allspice, a dash of cinnamon & ground cloves, 1 full bottle/canof dark beer (we used a chocolate stout and it was yummy, Guinness works well too), x1-14 oz can of diced or crushed tomatoes (or chopped fresh, with juice), 1 tsp dried oregano, 1 tsp coarse salt, 1 Tbsp tomato paste, and grated cheddar cheese and sour cream (for serving).
Heat some veg oil in a large pot over medium-high heat and season the beef with some salt & pepper. Lightly brown the beef cubes in small batches, removing each batch when done to a side plate, reserving the oil and juices in the pot.
Reduce the heat to medium and add a little more oil, and then add the chopped onions and garlic. Toss and sauté until soft, about 6-8 minutes. Add the ground ancho, cumin, allspice, cinnamon and cloves and stir until fragrant. Add the tomato paste and stir well. It will be a bit of a dry mess, but toss it around good and make sure it all blends and collaborates.
Add the bottle of beer and stir well, scraping up the sticky bits at the side of the pot. Stir well and bring it back to a boil and let the alcohol cook down. 2-5 mins.
Then add the tomatoes, 1 cup of water (swished around in the tomato can), oregano and the coarse salt. Stir well, add the meat back in, bring to a boil, and then lower heat, cover (with a tilted cover), and simmer until the beef is tender, and liquid is thickened and reduced, about 1 hour.
If you can, let sit and cool and stabilize and serve with grated cheddar cheese and sour cream.
Dinner at Our Place 