Bistec a la Cazuela Campechano

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •Heavy 12-inch clay cazuela or enameled Dutch oven
• •Cast iron comal for charring the tomatoes and chiles
• •Wooden spoon
• •Sharp knife for slicing beef against the grain

Instructions

1. 1

   Marinate the beef

   In a glass or ceramic bowl, dissolve the recado de bistek in the sour orange juice. Work it with a fork until it becomes a loose paste, no lumps. Add the salt. Toss the beef strips through the marinade until every piece is coated dark and glossy. Cover and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes, ideally an hour. The sour orange does two jobs here: it tenderizes the meat and it carries the recado into the fibers. No me vengas con atajos. A dry rub is not the same dish.

   If you cannot find naranja agria, mix fresh orange and lime in a 3-to-2 ratio. It is a compromise, not an upgrade, but the peninsula will forgive you.
2. 2

   Char the tomatoes and chile xcatic

   Heat a dry cast iron comal over medium-high. Lay the whole tomatoes and the chile xcatic directly on it. Turn them every couple of minutes until the skins are blackened in patches and the flesh has softened. About 8 to 10 minutes. The char is not decoration. It is sweetness. A tomato that goes raw into this dish tastes thin. A charred tomato tastes like the kitchen of a señora in Pomuch.

3. 3

   Sear the beef in batches

   In a heavy clay cazuela or a 12-inch Dutch oven, melt 2 tablespoons of the manteca over medium-high heat. La manteca es el sabor. When it shimmers, lift the beef strips out of the marinade, letting the excess drip off, and sear them in two or three batches. Do not crowd the pan or the meat will steam instead of brown. Each batch takes 2 to 3 minutes. Set the seared beef aside on a plate. Keep the marinade. You will need it.

4. 4

   Build the sofrito base

   Add the remaining tablespoon of manteca to the cazuela. Lower the heat to medium. Add the sliced onion with a pinch of salt and cook for 5 to 6 minutes, until the onion is translucent and starting to take color at the edges. Add the chopped garlic and cook for 1 minute more, just until fragrant. Do not let the garlic brown. Burned garlic in a recado dish is a mistake you cannot fix.

5. 5

   Add the charred tomato and chiles

   Chop the charred tomatoes roughly, skins and all. Slice the chile xcatic into thick rings. Add both to the cazuela and stir. Cook for 8 minutes, pressing the tomatoes with the back of a wooden spoon until they break down into a chunky sauce. The mixture should darken from bright red to a deeper brick color. That color tells you the tomato is cooked, not raw.

6. 6

   Return the beef and braise

   Return the seared beef and any juices to the cazuela. Pour in the reserved marinade and the cup of broth. Add the bay leaves, the toasted oregano, and the whole habanero. The habanero goes in whole, stem on. It perfumes the pot without making the dish hot. If it bursts, you have made a different dish, so do not poke it. Bring to a simmer, lower the heat, cover partially, and braise for 30 minutes.

7. 7

   Add the potatoes

   Stir in the potato chunks and the vinegar. Push the potatoes down so they are submerged in the sauce. Cover and continue to simmer for 25 to 30 minutes, until the potatoes are tender all the way through and the sauce has thickened enough to coat the back of a spoon. Stir gently every ten minutes so nothing sticks to the bottom of the cazuela. Taste and adjust the salt now. The potatoes will have absorbed a lot of it.

   If the sauce reduces too far before the potatoes are done, add another splash of broth. If the sauce is too thin at the end, lift the lid for the final 5 minutes and let it tighten.
8. 8

   Rest and serve

   Remove the cazuela from the heat. Fish out the habanero and the bay leaves. Let the bistec sit for 5 minutes off the heat so the sauce settles into the meat. Serve generous spoonfuls over steamed white rice, with pickled red onion alongside and warm corn tortillas to mop the plate. The habanero goes onto a small saucer at the table for whoever wants to break it open and add the heat themselves. Así se hace y punto.

Chef Tips

• •Recado de bistek is sold in blocks at any peninsular market. In the United States, look for it at Mexican grocers that stock Yucatecan products, or order from a Mérida-based importer. La Anita is the most widely distributed brand and it is honest. If you build the recado from scratch, do not skip the toasting of the spices.
• •Use chuck if you want it richer, skirt if you want it leaner. Both work. What does not work is a tender, expensive cut. Tenderloin in a braise is a waste of money and the meat will fall apart into mush. This dish was built on the cuts a working family could afford.
• •The whole habanero in the pot is a non-negotiable peninsular technique. It will not make the dish spicy unless it bursts. If you are worried, lift it out after 15 minutes and you will still have the perfume without any of the risk. Pregúntale a las señoras del mercado.

Advance Preparation

• •The recado paste and sour orange marinade can be made and combined with the beef up to 24 hours ahead. The longer the meat sits in the marinade, the more peninsular flavor it carries.
• •The finished braise is better the next day. Make it Wednesday night to eat on Thursday and the sauce will have settled into something richer than what came out of the pot the first time.
• •Bistec a la cazuela freezes well for up to two months. Cool completely, freeze in portions with the potatoes intact, and reheat gently on the stove with a splash of broth.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 340g)