Chile colorado is a popular recipe in the north of Mexico and in the shared border towns with the US, especially within the Mexican-American community. This dish is traditionally prepared with Mexican dried chillies that are toasted briefly to release their aroma and soaked with hot water until they turn soft. They are then blended into a red brick coloured smooth sauce, which is where the name “Chile Colorado” comes from.
The braising meat is seared in a big casserole dish, then slowly stewed with the Mexican chile sauce, the aromatics, and stock. Once the meat is ready, it is deliciously tender and served with a side of Mexican rice, homemade beans and wheat tortillas. This is the best chile colorado recipe and we know you’ll love it because it’s an easier version that you can make in the comfort of your own home, without having to source all of the different dried chillies.
To prepare the chile sauce we begin by frying vine tomatoes until they get a nice colour and turn soft, then blend them with Gran Luchito Chipotle Paste, that is already packed with flavour, into the chilli sauce. Slice the steak into chunks. Rump steak is our favourite choice for this, but you can use braising beef or chuck steak as well.
Sear the meat in very hot oil until it gets browned all around, as this is how you start to build up the flavours.
Onion, garlic, and a bit of Gran Luchito Guajillo Fajita & Taco Mix is added onto the browned meat as well as the chile sauce, this is then simmered slowly.
For that extra touch and amazing flavour, finish cooking your super tasty beef chile colorado in the oven at a high temperature. It will guarantee a delicious meal for you and your family! This chile colorado is great for entertaining as you can prepare it in big batches. It’s also great for cooking in the slow cooker if you wanted to achieve especially tender and juicy meat.
Heat up the olive oil in a frying pan over high heat. Place the tomatoes with the flesh facing down over the hot oil and season with salt and pepper. Once they get a bit of colour (3 min) you can flip them and fry the other side. Cook for another 2 minutes and remove them from the heat. Place the fried tomatoes into the blender with the Chipotle Paste, blend into a smooth sauce, and reserve.
In a large heavy-based pan, heat up 2 tablespoons of olive oil over high heat. Add half of the steak meat and sear it all around, then season with salt and pepper. Once the beef gets a bit of colour, remove it from the casserole dish and place it in a bowl on the side. Repeat the same process with the remaining meat.
In the same casserole dish add the remaining olive oil with the onion, garlic, cumin and oregano. Fry it over medium heat for 5 to 6 minutes (approx), stirring occasionally. Finally, add the seared steak back into the casserole dish, add the Guajillo Fajita & Taco Mix, pour in the chile sauce, the bay leaf, and stock. Bring it to a boil and simmer on low heat for 1 hour without a lid.
Finish the dish nicely in the oven with a lid on, or covered with foil for 20 minutes at 180˚C/360˚F.
The name derives from the Spanish word colorado, which means red. It's named this because of the deep red colour of the sauce. It has nothing to do with the state of Colorado!
Do you have to use beef for chile colorado?
No you don't, meats like beef, pork, lamb and even chicken can be used.
What is the difference between chili con carne and chile colorado?
Chile colorado uses chunks of meat with a dried chilli based smooth sauce, and is truly Mexican (from the north). Chilli con carne uses ground beef and has more components such as beans, peppers, and tomatoes in chunks. It is from Texas, so more Mexican American (Tex-Mex).
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