Mmm... even as I type this, it's been a few hours since we ate and I still have the awesome, awesome flavour of the chile sauce in my mouth. I was tired of chicken and ground beef in my tacos and enchiladas, we'd been eating a lot of pork lately and I didn't want that, so I thought I'd do something with a little more pop. Came out so good!
I woke up today with Nerf Herder's "Pantera Fans In Love" stuck in my head... no idea why! So it's what I'm using for the recipe tunes. -jen
12 oz beer of choice (I used PBR because that's what we had)
1 and 1/2 cups red chile sauce (see recipe below)
Trim excess fat from chuck roast. In a small dish, mix together salt, pepper, oregano and cumin. Sprinkle evenly over entire roast (bottom too!) Place roast in slow cooker and cover the top with the minced garlic. Add chiles and onion, making sure to cover the top of the roast with them. Pour lime juice over veggie-covered roast and then add the beer, pouring it on the side of the roast (not over it!)
Cook on high for 6-8 hours, until you can shred the roast easily using two forks. While roast is cooking, make your chile sauce and pico de gallo (see recipe below).
When roast is done and shredded, drain over a bowl and set broth aside. Put the beef back into the crock pot and add 1 and 1/2 cups red chile sauce, as well as 1/2 cup of the reserved broth. (You can refrigerate or freeze the broth to use later in a delicious soup, like Spicy Mexican Pepper Soup!) Turn slow cooker to low and cook another half hour.
Serve in tacos, tamales, burritos, enchiladas, over rice, on nachos, whatever!
1/4 pound dried guajillo chiles (if you like it hot, use 1/8# dried guajillo & 1/8# dried chipotle)
1 medium onion, chopped
9-10 cloves garlic, chopped
1/3 cup packed cilantro
1 jalapeño (optional, for spiciness!)
juice of 1-2 limes
1 teaspoon cumin
1 teaspoon oregano
1 teaspoon Caldo de Pollo (or 1 chicken bouillon cube)
2 cups hot water
Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with foil. If you want a hotter chile, tear off stems but leave seeds in dried chiles. If you want a mild one, tear off stems and empty out seeds. (I recommend at least keeping half the seeds.) Place seed pods on baking sheet and roast for 3-4 minutes at 375 degrees F.
Let chiles cool to touch before packing them into a large blender. Add the onion, garlic, cilantro, jalapeño, lime juice, cumin, oregano, Caldo and carefully pour the hot water over everything. Blend until completely pureed.
PICO DE GALLO Time: 5 minutes Difficulty: Easy Makes: about 2 cups
1 large tomato
1/2 medium onion
1 jalapeño
1/4 cup packed cilantro
juice of 1 lime
1 teaspoon salt
In a food processor, combine all ingredients and pulse until desired consistency (I like mine like a relish). If you don't have a food processor, just dice everything small.
Awww yeah! I just made these bad boys a few minutes ago! They're like reverse chile rellenos - the eggs are on the inside instead of the outside. My fingers are still burning from the pasillas (which were spicier than expected, maybe I didn't de-vain them well enough!) - I never wear gloves when I handle chiles and then I regret it. Wear gloves!!! But really, these are only a little spicy, not really "hot".
I was thinking these stuffed chiles are pretty versatile. I used green onion and bacon. You could use jalapeños, cilantro (wish I'd had some!), sausage, chorizo, salsa. Someone gave a shout for more vegetarian recipes - well here's one you can make vegetarian any way you want. I love recipes like this where you can change it over and over and over again and just keep coming up with different combinations. And... low-carb, if you're watching that kind of thing.
What goes with breakfast? Well, naturally, I went straight to crack and dope... so Choking Victim was my only option, singing "500 Channels". Get your skank on. -jen
Wash and dry chiles. Spray a baking sheet with non-stick cooking spray (I like to line the pan with foil for easy clean-up). Place chiles on baking sheet and broil on one side for 4-5 minutes until charred, then flip and broil on the other side 4-5 minutes until charred.
Immediately place charred chiles in a large bowl and cover with plastic wrap or place in a large plastic zip bag and seal. Let rest for 10-15 minutes so that the chiles sweat. Then remove and peel off the charred skins. Cut stem ends off chiles and slice down one side to open them up so that they lay flat. Remove all seeds and ribs from inside of chile. Re-spray the same baking sheet with more non-stick spray and lay chiles flayed open on baking sheet.
While chiles are roasting, you can dice up your bacon and cook in a skillet over medium-high heat until crisp and crumbled, 10-15 minutes. Line a plate with paper towels and place the bacon onto the paper towel to absorb the grease. In the same skillet, saute the diced green onion for 1-2 minutes, just until tender. Mix in with the crumbled bacon on the paper towel plate.
When chiles are done roasting, turn oven down to 350 degrees F.
In a medium-sized bowl, whisk together the eggs, salt and pepper, Tabasco, and dash of milk. (We always have some homemade "taco seasoning", and I used some of that to season my eggs, too!) Using the same skillet again (I left a little bit of the bacon grease in it, or you can drain the grease out and use non-stick spray) over medium heat, scramble the eggs. After 2-3 minutes of cooking, add the crumbled bacon and onion into the eggs and cook until just barely wet still. Turn off heat.
On the open-faced chiles, add a layer of shredded cheese, then 1/4 of the egg mixture, then another layer of cheddar cheese. Carefully fold the chile together and use a toothpick to secure it, leaving it seam-side up. Bake at 350 degrees F for 10-12 minutes, until cheese is melted. Remove toothpicks and serve immediately.
This is Part 2 of our Tall Cans recipes. The first recipe, Tall Can Mexican Black Beans, was actually made with a whole tall can of Tecate. Between the enchiladas and salsa verde here, it's really only 2/3 of a tall can of Tecate, but that just leaves the extra 1/3 for you to finish off. I really liked the beer flavour in the salsa verde. I don't usually use beer when I make it, so this was a first, and I think I'll make it with beer from now on!
Much like the black bean recipe, these recipes were inspired by the
Transplants' song, "Tall Cans In The Air." But since I used that song
for the bean recipe, I think it's fitting that I use a different
Transplants song. Justin and I always joke about their song, "Gangsters
and Thugs", because living in Humboldt County, we can relate to the
chorus, "...some of my friends sell records, some of my friends sell
drugs." It's a good sing-a-long, kiddies. -jen
ENCHILADAS DE POLLO (Chicken Enchiladas) Difficulty: Medium Prep Time: 30-45 minutes Cook Time: 20 minutes (not including the chicken baking) Makes: 15-20, depending on the size of your chicken thighs
6 baked chicken thighs
vegetable oil
1 medium onion, julienned
2 red bell peppers, julienned
2 jalapeños (de-seed for less heat), julienned
1 tablespoon minced garlic
1 cup Tecate beer
1 can (4oz) diced green chiles
1/4 cup cilantro, chopped
1 teaspoon cumin
salt and pepper
corn tortillas (15-20)
salsa verde (see recipe below)
2 cups shredded Monterey Jack cheese
*I seasoned the thighs under the skin with salt and pepper, but left the skins on to bake. Baked at 450 degrees F for 30 minutes. Let cool.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
In a large skillet, heat 2 tablespoons of vegetable oil over a medium-high heat. Add onion, bell pepper, and jalapeños. Sautee for about 5 minutes. Add garlic, Tecate, and 1/2 teaspoon salt, 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Continue cooking until all of the liquid has disappeared and vegetables are soft. Remove from heat to cool.
Discard the chicken skin and shred the chicken meat from the bone into a large mixing bowl. Add the cooked vegetables, green chiles, cilantro and cumin to the chicken, mixing. Taste and add additional salt and pepper to taste.
"Wet" tortillas, fried and dipped in salsa
Place 1/2 a cup of the salsa verde into a shallow dish (I like to use a pie plate) and have an additional plate available to hold the "wet" tortillas.
In a small skillet that will fit a single corn tortilla, heat enough oil just to cover the entire bottom of
the skillet over a medium-high heat, and keep the oil nearby for refills. Using tongs, place a corn tortilla
into the hot oil for 5 seconds, then flip and cook 5 seconds on the other side. Let the excess oil drip into your pan and place the tortilla right into the salsa, just to coat. Remove from salsa, letting excess salsa drip back into pie plate and set the wet tortilla onto your extra plate. Repeat, stacking the wet tortillas on top of each other on the plate until finished. Add oil to your skillet and salsa to your pie plate as needed.
Create an assembly line with your stack of wet tortillas, shredded chicken mixture, shredded cheese, and a large, rectangular baking dish. Place a thin layer of salsa verde on the bottom of your baking dish. Set a wet tortilla into the baking dish, fill with shredded chicken mixture and shredded cheese, and roll, placing the enchilada seam-side down. Continue until your baking dish is full. Spoon the remainder of your salsa (about 1/2 a cup) over the enchiladas, as well as the remainder of your shredded Jack cheese (also about 1/2 a cup).
1 can (28oz) tomatillos, drained (or 7-8 fresh, large tomatillos, roasted)
1 can (4oz) diced green chiles
1 cup Tecate beer
1 teaspoon chicken base (or 1 chicken bouillon cube)
juice of 1 lime
1 tablespoon minced garlic
1/4 cup cilantro, chopped
2 teaspoons dried Mexican oregano
1 teaspoon cumin
salt & pepper to taste
In a medium sauce pan, heat oil over medium-high heat. Add onions and cook for 5 minutes until translucent and tender. Add all remaining ingredients except salt and pepper. Bring to a boil, then turn heat down to simmer for 25 minutes. Pour into a blender to puree (but don't fill your blender more than half-way or it could explode hot salsa all over you! Ouch! Work carefully in batches... or use a stick blender and avoid that whole mess.) Add salt and pepper to taste.
I love when a recipe is actually inspired by a song, rather than coming up with a recipe and then searching for a song to go with it! I'd been in a Tim Armstrong mood the other day (when aren't I?), but wasn't feeling like Rancid, so I pulled out both albums by the Transplants. As soon as I heard the song "Tall Cans In The Air", I knew I had to do a beer recipe with tall cans! I brainstormed a lot of ideas (and will still do more), but in the end, I decided going with a Mexican theme. The black beans are Part 1 of my Tecate dinner, and they came out great! I'm not even a big fan of beans, but seasoned with all these great flavours, I couldn't help but love 'em.
Justin and I actually were discussing whether or not we could taste the beer in the beans... 3 cups in a recipe is a hell of a lot of beer. However, it didn't really seem to stand out. There wasn't a super distinct beer flavour, but I'm sure after simmering for hours with a load of other flavours, it's just going to blend in with the rest. I wouldn't change the recipe at all... though I might be inclined to try a darker beer next time, perhaps a Negro Modelo?
And so I present to you the Transplants (whom I've been listening to all week), doing "Tall Cans In The Air"... lemme see 'em! -jen
TALL CAN MEXICAN BLACK BEANS Difficulty: Medium Prep Time: Overnight soaking Cook Time: 3-4 hours Serves: 6-8
1 pound dried black beans
8 cups water
5 cups chicken broth
1 tall can (24oz) Tecate beer (separated)
1 can (28oz) diced tomatoes
1 medium onion, chopped
1 red bell pepper, chopped
2 jalapeños, chopped (de-seed for less heat)
3 heaping tablespoons minced garlic
1 can (4oz) diced green chiles
1/2 cup cilantro, chopped
juice of 1 lime
3 bay leaves
2 teaspoons cumin
2 teaspoons coriander
2 teaspoons dried Mexican oregano
1 teaspoon salt
few dashes of Green Tabasco
Sort through dried beans to check for small pebbles. Soak in 8 cups of water overnight.
Using a colander, drain soaking water from beans. Place beans in a large stock pot with 5 cups of chicken broth and 2 cups of the Teacate beer. Bring to a boil. Cover and turn heat down to simmer for 1.5 hours.
Add tomatoes, onion, bell pepper, jalapeños, garlic, green chiles, cilantro, lime juice, bay leaves, cumin, coriander, oregano, salt, Tabasco, and remaining 1 cup of Tecate. Continue simmering with the lid off for another 1.5-2 hours. Part way through the second simmer, using a masher, mash up some of the beans to help thicken the sauce. Cook down until desired consistency. Sauce should be slightly thickened, but they shouldn't be soupy.
So, our Cinco de Mayo dinner recipe is posting a bit late, but that's only because we're too busy eating leftovers to wash our fingers off and use a keyboard. I originally had designs on a traditional Mexican meal, complete with an old school mole that involved all kinds of chiles, cocoa, nuts, and herbs along with several steaming, steeping, grinding processes, etc. Needless to say, that didn't come to pass. Instead, I found a couple of modern, shortcut recipes that have a very similar taste and texture to the one that Abuelita would make and they only take a little while to prepare, comparatively.
We decided on chimichangas as they are just like a burrito only deep fried crispy and they happen to be one of my favorite things to get when we go out for Mexican here in NorCal. Jen put together the filling and made a guacamole that was perfect to balance the mild heat and savory flavor of the mole sauce.
I could think of no better group to accompany this recipe than Union 13 as they are a rocking punk band from East Los Angeles that is not only comprised of Hispanics but also sing at least one song on each of their four albums in Spanish. Suitable for Mexican dinner on Cinco de Mayo, especially since Jen and I both had a couple shots of Chinaco Reposado (my favorite tequila) to celebrate! -justin
MOLE SAUCE
1/3 cup pumpkin seeds
1 can (8oz) salsa verde
2 tbsp ground New Mexico chile powder
2 tbsp ground Pasilla chile powder
1 tsp cayenne pepper
2 tsp salt
1 and 1/2 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp ground coriander
3 tbsp butter
1 medium yellow onion, diced
2 fresh Poblano peppers, seeded, diced
1 garlic clove, minced
5 cups chicken stock
1 tbsp brown sugar
2 oz semi-sweet chocolate
1/4 cup peanut butter
To start, pulverize the pumpkin seeds in a grinder or small food processor. Incorporate the can of salsa verde with the pumpkin seeds in a saucepan over medium-high heat. Cook, stirring occasionally to keep from sticking, until thickened, around 15 minutes or so.
While the salsa and seeds are going, combine the New Mexico chile, Pasilla chile, cayenne powder, salt, cumin, and coriander in a small bowl and mix thoroughly. This is the seasoning mix referred to from here on out.
Melt the butter in a large soup pot over high heat. When butter is hot, add the onions and Poblanos and cook for 3 minutes without stirring. Stir in 3 tbsp of the seasoning mix, add the garlic to the pot, and cook for 5-6 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add 1/2 cup of the chicken stock and the brown sugar and cook for 5 minutes or until the mixture starts to stick to the bottom of the pan. Add another 1/2 cup of chicken stock to the pan and deglaze with a rubber spatula or wooden spoon to get all the good bits off the bottom. Stir in the chocolate, peanut butter, and the pumpkin seed/salsa verde mixture. Cook for 3-4 minutes while continuing to stir. Add the remaining 4 cups of chicken stock, the rest if the seasoning mix (make sure to save 1/2 tbsp to use in the cimichanga filling!) and bring to a boil, stirring occasionally, for about 4 minutes. At this point you'll want to use a whisk to make sure everything is mixed well. Stir continuously until sauce thickens, becomes darker brown, and comes to a rolling boil (large, fast bubbles). Reduce heat to low and mix with a hand blender (or portion into stand blender) until smooth. Let simmer over low heat for 20 more minutes or until sauce coats the back of a spoon like a brown gravy. Let cool and place in fridge while preparing the chimichangas as this will give the flavors a chance to marry. This sauce can be made several days ahead of time and stored in the fridge, in an airtight container.
CHIMICHANGAS DE POLLO
2 tbsp olive oil
6 bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs
1 tbsp salt
1 tbsp ground, black pepper
2 tbsp chopped fresh cilantro
1 tbsp dried Mexican oregano
1/2 tablespoon leftover seasoning mix from Mole sauce
2 teaspoons lime juice
1 can (4oz) diced green chiles
few dashes of green Tabasco
1 cup shredded Cheddar cheese
salt and pepper to taste
large flour tortillas
1/2 cup vegetable oil for frying
Preheat oven to 450F degrees. Add oil to 1 large baking sheet and brush evenly over surface. Side note: Jen and I also use tin foil (or aluminum foil for you modern folks) on our sheet pans before oiling as they are super easy to clean up after dinner that way! Mix salt and pepper and apply evenly to both tops and bottoms of thighs. Space evenly apart on sheet pan and place in center of the oven. Bake for 30 minutes, or until skin in golden brown. Let cool until you can handle them.
Tear off meat from bones and shred into a large bowl (I use my hands, but you can use two forks to shred it too.) Add the cilantro, oregano, seasoning mix, lime juice, chiles, Tabasco, Cheddar and salt and pepper and toss.
Heat the vegetable oil to medium-high in a large skillet. Fill your tortillas with the meat mixture (Jen added Mexican rice, guacamole, and more cheese to hers.) Fold sides in tightly and roll so that the ends are sealed, like a burrito. Fry in oil seam-side down first, until golden brown, then turn and cook until entire chimichanga is golden brown.
GUACAMOLE
3-5 ripe avocados
1-2 teaspoons lime juice
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
dash of cumin
dash of salt
few dashes of green Tabasco sauce
2 green onions, chopped
1 roma tomato, diced
In a medium-sized bowl, add avocado and lime juice. Mash. Then add garlic powder, cumin, salt, Tabasco, green onions, and tomato. Mix. (I like to top it with crumbled Queso Fresco! -jen)
2 tablespoons taco seasoning (click for homeade taco seasoning recipe)
1 can (7oz) diced green chiles
1 tablespoon diced jalapeños
7oz (1/2 of a 14oz can) diced tomatoes
salt and pepper
In medium sauce pan, heat oil on high. When oil is hot, add rice and fry for several minutes (do not brown). Add water, tomato sauce, Caldo de pollo, garlic, taco seasoning, chiles, and jalepeños. Stir until well mixed and bring to a boil.
Reduce heat to a simmer, cover with lid and let simmer 20 minutes until rice is tender. Do not lift the lid during cooking! Once rice is tender, remove from heat, stir in tomatoes and serve.
Time: 5 minutes
