Easy Beef Carne Picada Recipe for Carne Picada Tacos
This carne picada is easy made with a southwest inspired tomato sauce and peppers - perfect for making carne picada tacos!
Servings: 10 servings
Calories: 188kcal
Equipment
Ingredients
- 2 pounds chuck roast picada if you can find it, cut into bite sized pieces
- Tortillas for serving
- Salsa for serving
- Crema for serving
- Fresh chopped cilantro for serving
- Cotija cheese for serving
- Diced onion for serving
- Fresh limes for serving
- 1 tablespoon avocado oil
- ½ onion chopped
- 2 garlic cloves minced
- 2 poblano peppers seed removed and chopped
- 1 jalapeno diced
- 1 chipotle pepper in adobo sauce minced
- 1-15 ounce can diced tomatoes drained
- 1 ½ teaspoon cumin seeds toasted and ground (substitute ground cumin)
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
- ½ teaspoon dried oregano
- ½ cup beef broth
Instructions
- Heat the avocado oil in a large Dutch oven over medium high heat and brown the beef in 3-4 batches, ensuring you don't overcrowd the pot. **the beef should be lightly browned and caramelized on the outside.
- Remove the beef and set aside.
- Add the garlic and onion and cook until they soften, about 3-5 minutes.
- Add the jalapeno and poblano peppers and cook for 3-5 minutes.
- Add the cumin, black pepper and oregano and cook 1-2 minutes, ensuring the spices don't burn.
- Add the remaining ingredients - tomatoes, chipotle pepper, salt and beef broth and bring to a simmer.
- Turn the heat to low, cover the pot and simmer 1 hour. Add additional beef broth if pot becomes too dry.
- Remove from heat and serve on tortillas with toppings.
Slow Cooker Instructions:
- Brown the meat first in a skillet, then adding it with all the remaining ingredients in the slow cooker.
- Cook on high for 3 hours or low for 6-8 hours. The results may be a little soupier, so I recommend reducing the beef broth to ¼ cup.
Instant Pot Instructions:
- Brown the beef in the Instant Pot on the sauté setting. Drain any excess grease then add all ingredients (except beef broth) to the Instant Pot.
- Pressure cook on high for 25 minutes, letting the pressure release naturally for 15 minutes.
- Release any remaining pressure and turn the Instant Pot to the sauté mode. Simmer for 10 minutes until thickened as needed.
Notes
- If you prefer a less spicy dish, you can omit the chipotle pepper, reduce or omit the jalapenos, and if you do use jalapenos, cut out the ribs and remove the seeds to reduce the heat.
- For a spicier dish, you can add a touch of ground chili powder, or more jalapenos and/or chipotle peppers
- Check the pot periodically, and if it gets too dry add additional beef broth (only ½ cup at a time).
- Adjust the salt to taste at the end. The type of beef broth and diced tomatoes may affect the overall salt content, so adjust to your liking.
- For a slightly sweet, tangy option, replace some or all of the beef stock with orange juice.
- Add 2-3 tablespoons soy sauce for extra umami flavor.
- For the best results, brown the beef in batches to make sure it caramelizes.
- Add chopped fire-roasted tomatoes to the pot when cooking.
Nutrition
Serving: 2tacos | Calories: 188kcal | Carbohydrates: 3g | Protein: 18g | Fat: 12g | Saturated Fat: 5g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 6g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 63mg | Sodium: 356mg | Potassium: 376mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 1g | Vitamin A: 124IU | Vitamin C: 22mg | Calcium: 27mg | Iron: 2mg