Recipe 9: Cadillo Stew

Prep Time: 10 mins
Cook Time: 1 hour

Last night was my first failed recipe in a long time. Just as all cooks, I have my strengths and weaknesses. Knowledge of meat cuts is a huge weakness of mine and the ultimate downfall of this recipe. Still, the soup and potatoes had good flavor, so I am going to show the recipe with my suggested changes

1 can (14.5 oz) diced tomatoes
1 lb cut stew meat my package was poorly cut, included a lot of fat and even some bone. It was too tough for the directions given and is only suitable for slow cooking over many hours. Instead I would use ground beef or spend the money to get a good chunk of meat and cut it  into cubes yourself.
1/4 cup flour
1 tsp salt
3 tbsp olive oil
2 garlic toes minced
1 large onion chopped
1 can diced chiles
2 large potatoes peeled and cubed

Two Important Tips:
1.) Prep work--cutting veggies, etc. SAVES you time and helps coordinate the timing of cooking.
2.) When you saute onions, garlic or other fragrant ingredients, you are really just heating them to the point that they release their flavor, so if you want to really flavor meat, let the veggies saute for a minute or two and then stir in your meat and simmer.

Directions:
1.) Chop Onion, cube potatoes
2.) Drain juice from tomatoes into large measuring cup. Add enough water to equal 1 1/2 cups; set aside.
3.) Add stew meat, flour and salt into a large zip-tight bag. Toss until meat is coated with flour mixture.
4.) In a 5-6 quart saucepot, heat oil over medium heat until hot. Add garlic and onion; saute 3-5 minutes or until tender, stirring occasionally.
5.)Shake off excess flour from stew meat; add to saucepot and cook 5 minutes, stirring occasionally until brown on all sides (if you use ground beef, you will need to drain the fat after it is browned)
6.) Stir in chiles, cook 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.
7.) Add potatoes, tomatoes and reserved tomato-water mixture.
8.) Cover and heat to boiling. Reduce to low heat; simmer 35-40 minutes until meat and potatoes are tender.

Again, the meat I got at the market was far too tough for the one-hour cook time. I would suggest using another meat or cooking all day.