Bought a cryovac package, about 12 pounds, of beef 'special trim'.
Basically it's flap meat...the bestest thing for braising. $2.15 a
pound. Not a bad price at all. I've been craving braised beef.

I'm going to do half in one pot with my favorite braising method of
red wine, onions, etc...and the other half I'm going to do Mexican
Picadillo.

I'll portion the two kinds of braise out and freeze for yummy things
later. Of course I'll keep some out to feast on for a couple of
days.

Anybody have a favorite picadillo recipe? I've been googling around
and found one that
looks promising.

On Aug 28, 7:58*am, ImStillMags > wrote:

Here's the recipe and methodology I found. I kinda like the way it
sounds.

2lbs. chuck roast, 2in. cubes and trim off fat ( you can also use top
or bottom round )

1 level tbsp. salt

1 tbsp. pepper

1 tbsp. cumin

1 1/2 tbsp. chili powder ( light or dark )

1 tbsp. garlic powder

1 tbsp. onion powder

4 bay leaves)

1 onion, small dice

toothpicks

Method:

Add meat, salt, pepper, cumin, chili powder, onion powder, garlic
powder, and bay leaves to a 3 to 5qt. pot. Add water to cover, about
1/2in. over the top of the meat and boil covered for 2 hours stirring
occasionally.

Add diced onion and boil for 1 more hour covered stirring
occasionally. At this point the meat should start to break down.
Remove bay leaves and continue to break it down using a wooden spoon
or spatula ( I like the spatula ). Continue to boil uncovered until
the liquid has evaporated and continue to shred the meat with the
wooden spoon or spatula.The meat should be completely shredded after
about 4 hours. Set aside and let cool to warm or room temperature

On Aug 28, 8:01*am, ImStillMags > wrote:

OK. Flap meat (special trim) is cleaned, cubed and in two pots.
One for the Mexican shredded beef and one for my usual braise.

I'm documenting the Mexican beef. I'll post pictures and results.

I scaled the above recipe to accommodate about 5 pounds of meat
instead of the one pound it was written for.
I played with the amounts a bit because I didn't want to put too much
seasoning in. I also added a teaspoon of cayenne because I wanted
the meat to have a nice underpinning of some heat.

So far it smells damn good in my house!!!

On Aug 28, 12:41*pm, ImStillMags > wrote:
> On Aug 28, 8:01*am, ImStillMags > wrote:
>
> OK. * *Flap meat (special trim) is cleaned, cubed and in two pots.
> One for the Mexican shredded beef and one for my usual braise.
>
> I'm documenting the Mexican beef. * I'll post pictures and results.
>
> I scaled the above recipe to accommodate about 5 pounds of meat
> instead of the one pound it was written for.
> I played with the amounts a bit because I didn't want to put too much
> seasoning in. * I also added a teaspoon of cayenne because I wanted
> the meat to have a nice underpinning of some heat.
>
> So far it smells damn good in my house!!!

Every picadollo recipe I've ever used, or read for that matter,
contained raisins and/or sliced/chopped green olives. Personally, I
think that both really essential for taste - a tiny bit of sweet with
a bit of sour.
Lynn in Fargo

On Sat, 28 Aug 2010 11:33:06 -0700 (PDT), Lynn from Fargo
> wrote:

>On Aug 28, 12:41*pm, ImStillMags > wrote:
>> On Aug 28, 8:01*am, ImStillMags > wrote:

>Every picadollo recipe I've ever used, or read for that matter,
>contained raisins and/or sliced/chopped green olives. Personally, I
>think that both really essential for taste - a tiny bit of sweet with
>a bit of sour.
>Lynn in Fargo

Have to agree with Lynn. When I was down at Tulane (and got sick in
that 1957 flu epidemic), one of the dorms was turned into a flu ward.
In those pre-Castro days, we had a lot of Cuban students. Some them
showed the Creole cooks how to make Cuban picadillo and this NJ boy
learned to love that stuff then and there! I wasn't wild about the
raisins, but the olives were a great set-off for the meat, much in the
way olives work in Huachinango Veracruzana (Yucatecan cooking).
Huachinango is snapper, but the technique also works with shrimp.

HTH

Alex

On Aug 28, 12:57*pm, Alex Corvinus > wrote:

> Have to agree with Lynn. When I was down at Tulane (and got sick in
> that 1957 flu epidemic), one of the dorms was turned into a flu ward.
> In those pre-Castro days, we had a lot of Cuban students. Some them
> showed the Creole cooks how to make Cuban picadillo and this NJ boy
> learned to love that stuff then and there! I wasn't wild about the
> raisins, but the olives were a great set-off for the meat, much in the
> way olives work in Huachinango Veracruzana (Yucatecan cooking).
> Huachinango is snapper, but the technique also works with shrimp.
>
> HTH
>
> Alex

I'll have to set aside some to put olives in.

On Aug 28, 11:33*am, Lynn from Fargo > wrote:

> Every picadollo recipe I've ever used, or read for that matter,
> contained raisins and/or sliced/chopped green olives. *Personally, I
> think that both really essential for taste - a tiny bit of sweet with
> a bit of sour.
> Lynn in Fargo

I know the picadillo from Cuba and other countries have raisins and/or
olives in them...but I haven't found a Mexican recipe that has. I'm
looking more for the Mexican shredded beef for tacos and enchiladas
and burritos.

Of course I could be wrong.