Mexican Shredded Beef with Red Chiles
New Mexico Chiles are the dried form of the Red Anaheim Pepper. This chile has a thin flesh with an earthy chile flavor and undertones of wild cherries. This chile ranges from 2 – 4 on a heat scale of 1 to 10. The New Mexico Chile may be referred to as the California Chile or Chile Colorado. New Mexico Chiles are commonly used in Red Mexican or Southwestern sauces and is grown in Mexico. This mildly hot chile. Scoville heat units 8,000 – 12,000.
Suggested Use:
New Mexico Chiles are mildly hot and very popular in Southwest cooking. Great in sauces, salsa, rice dishes, stews and soups. Add directly to the cooking liquid along with other spices. Use in stir fry, or add to chicken or fish marinades.
Ingredients:
4 dried New Mexico or guajillo chiles, stemmed and seeded
2 ancho chiles, stemmed and seeded
one 5-pound beef brisket with a layer of fat, cut into 3 pieces
salt
3 Tbsp. vegetable oil
1 medium onion, sliced lengthwise; 1/8″ thick
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp. cumin seeds
1/4 tsp. coriander seeds
5 large plum tomatoes (1-1/4 pounds)—cored, seeded and chopped
1 jalapeno chile, seeded and chopped
one 2″ cinnamon stick
2 cups chicken stock
freshly ground pepper
thinly sliced scallions for garnish
Instructions:
In a medium bowl, cover all of the chiles with hot water and let them stand for 30 minutes. Drain the chiles, discarding their soaking liquid.
Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 325F and season the brisket with some salt. In an ovenproof enameled cast-iron casserole, heat the oil and sear the meat, one piece at a time, over high heat, turning once, until browned, about 10 minutes per piece. Transfer the pieces of meat to a plate as theyre browned.
Add the onion, garlic, cumin and coriander to the casserole and cook over high heat, stirring frequently, until the onion is translucent, about 3 minutes. Stir in the soaked chiles, tomatoes, jalapeno and cinnamon stick, then return the brisket to the casserole. Add the stock and season the braising liquid with salt and pepper. Bring to a simmer, cover and braise in the oven until the meat is fork-tender, about 2 hours Flip the meat after 1 hour, then discard the cinnamon stick.
Transfer the meat to a work surface and let cool. Using your fingers, shred the meat. Working in batches, transfer the contents of the casserole to a blender and puree until smooth. Strain the sauce and return it to the casserole. Add the shredded meat to the sauce and season with salt and pepper. Reheat, garnish the chili with the scallions and serve.