Chile Colorado

I’ve had Chile Colorado on my radar for a while now but for some reason, I’ve been intimidated to make it and I’m not sure why. I decided to give it a try after a recent dinner out with my sister’s family at a Mexican restaurant. My brother-in-law tried a combination platter that had some chile colorado on it, and after both my husband and I tried & loved it, I decided to finally give it a go. After looking through a ton of recipes, I found one on Isabel Eats that sounded amazing. I had a great day in the kitchen making this dish and although it took some time, it was SO WORTH IT!! Our beef cooked a little bit longer than the original recipe called for because I really wanted the meat to be extra tender and I am very glad I did. The beef was melt-in-your-mouth tender and the red chile sauce had a great depth of flavor due to the three different chiles used – we all thought this recipe was amazing! I served this chile Colorado with homemade refried beans in flour tortillas topped with onion, cilantro & lime relish, and freshly grated cotija cheese – the whole meal was a winner! Seriously, we all loved it. I had the leftovers today and the flavors were even more amazing. I can’t wait to make this whole meal again!!!

Chile Colorado

Red Chile Sauce:

• 8 dried Guajillo chiles, stems removed & seeded, chopped
• 2 dried Ancho chiles, stems removed & seeded, chopped
• 1 dried Arbol chile, stems removed & seeded, chopped
• ½ medium yellow onion, chopped
• 1 tsp dried oregano
• ½ tsp dried cumin
• 1 clove of garlic, minced

Beef:

• 2 tbsp vegetable oil
• 2 ½ lbs beef chuck, trimmed a bit & cut into 1/2-inch squares
• 2 ½ tbsp flour
• Sea salt and freshly cracked pepper, to taste
• 3 cups beef broth
• 2 bay leaves

How to Make Chile Colorado

Prepare the red chile sauce by combining the dried Guajillo chiles, Ancho chiles, Arbol chile, and onion in a medium saucepan. Cover with water until chiles & onion are completely submerged and bring to a boil over high heat. Once boiling, remove from the heat, cover with a lid and let it sit for 20 minutes to soften the chiles and to allow the flavors to mingle.

Using a slotted spoon, transfer the softened chiles & onion into a large blender. Add 1 cup of chile-soaked water, the dried oregano, garlic, cumin, and minced garlic. Blend until smooth. Side Note: If the mixture is too thick for your blender, add some of the beef from the meat ingredients.

Once the red chile sauce is as smooth as possible, pour it through a fine sieve into a bowl, pushing down on the solids to get as much sauce as possible. Discard the solids.

Prepare the meat by heating the oil in a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat.

Combine the cut beef with the flour, sea salt, and freshly cracked pepper together in a bowl or zip-lock bag; toss to coat evenly.

Once the oil is HOT, add in half the meat and brown on all sides, about 3-4 minutes; remove from the pan to a bowl and repeat the process with the remaining beef.

Return all the meat to the pot then add the red chile sauce, beef broth and bay leaves. Stir to combine and bring to a boil. Once boiling, reduce heat to simmer, cover, and cook for 1 hour and 15 minutes.

Remove the lid and continue to cook for 45 minutes, or until the meat is fork-tender. Taste the sauce and season with sea salt and freshly cracked pepper, to taste.

Serve this chile colorado with refried beans, flour tortillas, onion, cilantro & lime relish, and cotija cheese, if desired. Enjoy!