Hilachas (Guatemalan Shredded Beef in Tomato-Tomatillo Sauce)
photo by WiGal
- Ready In:
- 3hrs 20mins
- Ingredients:
- 12
- Serves:
-
6-8
ingredients
- 2 lbs beef flank steak or 2 lbs skirt steaks, cubed
- 5 cups water
- 2 -3 tablespoons oil
- 1 onion, chopped
- 1 cup tomatoes, chopped
- 1 cup tomatillo, chopped
- 2 -3 guajillo chilies, warmed over a flame, deseeded and chopped
- salt and pepper, to taste
- 1 lb potato, peeled and chopped
- 2 -3 carrots, peeled and chopped
- 1⁄2 cup breadcrumbs
- 1 bunch cilantro, chopped
directions
- Place the beef, water and a big pinch of salt in a large saucepan and bring to a boil over medium heat. Reduce heat to low, cover and simmer for 1 to 1 1/2 hours, or until the beef is very tender.
- Remove the beef to a bowl, reserving the broth, and set aside to cool
- When cool enough to handle, shred the beef with your fingers and set aside.
- While the beef is simmering, place the onion, tomatoes, tomatillos and chiles in a food processor or blender and puree, adding a little water if necessary.
- Heat the oil in a large pot over medium flame. Add the onion-tomato puree and simmer until the puree is cooked down and darkens somewhat in color, about 10 minutes. Do not burn.
- Add the shredded beef and about 3 cups of the broth to the onion-tomato puree and season with salt and pepper. Simmer for about 15 minutes.
- Stir in the potatoes, onions and a little more broth or water if necessary Simmer until the potatoes and carrots are cooked through, about 15-20 minutes.
- Stir in the breadcrumbs to thicken the sauce.
- Then stir in the chopped cilantro, adjust seasoning and serve hot with corn tortillas or rice.
- *Variations.
- Use 1 or 2 shredded fresh corn tortillas to thicken the sauce instead of the breadcrumbs if you like. If the sauce has thickened enough while simmering, neither thickener may be necessary.
- Add 2 teaspoon achiote seasoning to the onion-tomato puree for added flavor. Bricks of achiote seasoning can be found at many Latin markets.
- The potatoes and carrots can be eliminated if you like.
- Canned tomatoes and tomatillos work just fine in this recipe.
- Two cups of chopped tomatoes can be used if you would like to eliminate the tomatillos.
- If you can't find guajillo chiles, use anchos or pasillas. Or substitute with 1 tablespoon of paprika and 1/4 teaspoon of cayenne pepper.
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Reviews
-
Muy bueno! Very good! We enjoy Latino food and this certainly lived up to our expectations. It does take a while to make but is not difficult. Added beef bouillon cube with water at beginning, three garlic cloves in blender, knew that in northern rural Wisconsin I would be unable to buy special peppers so subbed in green chiles. For cilantro I used about 2 1/2 cups loosely packed cilantro. Served with recipe#108262 and corn tortillas for a wonderful dinner! Thank you for posting AZPARYCH.
RECIPE SUBMITTED BY
AZPARZYCH
Peoria, 41
<p><span><strong>I am a stay at home mom to two wonderful boys; Joshua (8years), Kaiden (5 years), and baby GIRL, Madalynn (19 months)! I also have two fur babies (cats); Kobee, AJ; we had to put our youngest cat Sly down Jan 2014. :(. I am also married to my best friend, Jeff and have been since April 2005. I love cooking, hate cleaning and will do whatever I can to get out of it! I love grilling and baking. I do most of the grilling at my house, and bake for almost a week straight at Christmas time! I can make or will attempt just about anything, though I rarely make brownies, my husband's are the best! Homemade breads are not my friend, so I am always working on bread baking.</strong></span></p>
<p><span><strong>As for recipe ideas (besides zaar) Cooking Light Cookbooks are my favorites. I love to make new meals and try new things; it is hard though because my husband is picky when it comes to veggies (and hates seafood); If it were up to him we would have baked-bread crumb chicken and white rice at least one meal a day! Over the past couple years with zaar, I have found tons of new recipes my family normally wouldn’t eat but have been happily surprised with new favorites.</strong></span></p>
<p><span><strong>I love to join in all of the tag games; I haven't been as present as I would like, but as soon as my Jeff is back from working in Ohio I will be back in full tagging mode! </strong></span></p>
<p><span><strong>Cooking is my hobby and passion, I always like to host the family get togethers and volunteer for the potluck dishes. Most of all though are my kids; being home all day with them is fun and challenging, but I wouldn’t trade it for any salary!!</strong></span></p>