Braised Beef Burritos with Tomatillo Salsa

PDM came up with this recipe to improve our beef burritos, which were always tasty but sometimes a bit on the chewy side. The braising method tenderizes the meat and adds to the flavor, plus it makes a nice sauce that can go into the burrito with the other ingredients.

Braised Beef Burritos - serves 4 (~400 mg sodium per serving)

1.5 lb skirt steak, trimmed of excess fat and cut into skillet sized slabs
cumin powder
cayenne powder
chile powder
black pepper
garlic powder
1 T canola oil
1 cup beef broth (low sodium if possible)
1 medium onion, sliced into half rounds
1 T unsalted butter
Tumaro's Gourmet Tortillas - multigrain, low in carbs variety
Mexican shredded cheese blend
Tomatillo salsa (recipe below)
Hot sauce to taste

Preheat oven to 300 F. Sprinkle the skirt steak slabs liberally with cumin, cayenne, and chile powder. Dust lightly with black pepper and garlic powder. (See photo below.)

Sear seasoned beef in oil, working in stages using a cast iron dutch oven or oven-safe skillet over medium high heat. Remove and set aside. Add broth to pan and use wooden spoon to deglaze the pan and incorporate the fond into the liquid. Return the beef to the pan, cover, and cook in oven for about one hour. Turn the meat over half way through the cooking time, and add enough water to keep the liquid level about halfway up the side of the meat.

During the braising time, melt the butter over medium low heat. Add onion slices and cook, covered, stirring occasionally, until onion begins to carmelize (~30 minutes).

Remove meat from braising liquid, transfer to cutting board and slice into small, bite-sized pieces. Meanwhile, reduce the braising liquid over medium heat on the stovetop until it is about 1/3 of the original volume. Return chopped beef and any juices to the pan, toss and saute briefly, and remove pan from heat.

Steam or heat tortillas topped with cheese until the cheese melts and tortilla is softened. Fill with beef mixture, carmelized onion, hot sauce and tomatillo salsa; wrap and serve.

Tomatillo Salsa


3 tomatillos, diced into medium cubes
~1/3 medium onion, diced medium
2 fresh jalapeno peppers, seeded and finely diced
juice of 1 lime
1 t sugar
1 t cumin powder
2 T minced cilantro


Saute tomatillos 3-5 minutes until softened. Drain excess liquid and allow to cool. Add the remaining ingredients, mix and refrigerate until ready to use.

Chili

A change in the weather inspired this week's recipe choice: chili. After several weeks of unseasonably warm weather, we finally got another taste of winter. A giant pot of hot chili seemed like a good idea for warming ourselves up. Nothing beats a big bowl of comfort food and some homemade jalapeno cheddar cornbread.

The best way to have complete confidence and control over your sodium intake is to make as much as you can from scratch. This chili recipe includes instructions for making your own chili powder. It isn't difficult at all, and tastes so much punchier and fresher than industrial mixes. You also have the advantage of making it to your taste. You will need to start with whole dried chile peppers, which can be found in the ethnic food section of a well-stocked grocery store.

PDM's Chili Powder

3 dried Ancho chiles
3 dried California chiles
3 dried Guajillo chiles
1 T garlic powder
2 T whole cumin seed

Cut up the chiles into small strips using kitchen shears or a sharp knife. Toast the ingredients in a dry saute pan briefly until fragrant. Remove and grind into a find powder.

Chili (serves 8-10)

2 medium onions, chopped and divided
5 jalapeno peppers, seeded and chopped
1 lb sirloin
1 lb chuck roast
~40 oz diced no salt added tomatoes, pulsed in food processor to remove chunks
2 14-oz can(s) organic mixed bean, rinsed and drained
8 T chili powder (recipe above)
1/2 oz "secret ingredient" (some of you can guess what this is - it complements chile peppers)

"Grind" the beef by cutting into 1" chunks and then pulsing in food processor 5-6 quick bursts. Brown ground beef in small batches over medium high heat in a large dutch oven. Set aside to drain when done. After all meat is browned, cook the jalapenos and all but 1/2 cup of onion over medium high heat until softened. Add tomatoes, meat, beans, chili powder, and secret ingredient and cook covered over low heat for about an hour, until the meat and beans are cooked through. Near the end of cooking, add the remaining 1/2 cup onion.

Serve with cornbread. Each serving contains less than 200 mg sodium (not including cornbread).

Prime Rib for Two with Asparagus

This week's New Thing was a prime rib recipe in the Cooking for Two section of Cook's Country magazine (Dec/Jan 2012 issue, page 5). This was a 2.5-pound bone-in rib eye steak that was browned on all outside edges over medium high heat in an enameled cast iron skillet, and then finished very slowly in a 200F oven until medium rare in the center (about 122F on the meat thermometer). After resting, it was cut on the bias for serving. Since we did not make any significant changes to this recipe I refer you to the magazine for details. We won't do much differently the next time we prepare this meal other than to brown the outside of the meat a little longer and take steps to make the sauce a bit thinner and more like a classic jus.

The "prime rib" from this recipe was accompanied by asparagus that we cooked with lemon juice, shallots and garlic. We sauteed for a few minutes and then added a dash of water and cooked covered until just crisp-tender. Simple and delicious.

Good meal for week three!