I love hiking in the fall, when the air is crisp, and mushrooms of all shapes, colours and sizes peek out from the underbrush. Long hikes in the cold, though, leave me ravenous, much too ravenous to cook for myself, let alone to entertain others.
View of Saanich Inlet from Jocelyn Hill
With a long hike planned for the weekend, I thought it might be nice to have a warm, hearty meal ready for us upon our return. Not just nice, in fact, but divine. What better when you arrive home, cold and sweaty, from the mountains, to cozy up in brushed fleece and waffle knits, and sink into a kitchen chair with a big bowlful of juicy chunks of shredded meat.
In terms of sauce, we ratchet up the level of complexity a little from last post’s salsa verde. I wanted to make my own smoked chipotle adobo sauce, to avoid the additives and sugar found in the canned varieties available in most supermarkets. It does require extra time, to char and rehydrate the dried pepper and grind it up with the other ingredients, but it is well worth it, and can be made in advance and stored in the fridge.
I am always amazed when making braised Mexican dishes, how ingredients that I often find harsh or disagreeable in simpler recipes, like oregano, apple cider vinegar and cloves, can transform, through a patient marriage of heat and time, into a decadent and perfectly-balanced sauce, that tastes like so much more than the sum of its parts.
Joëlle
Serves 3-4
Juicy chunks of tender shredded meat braised in the Instant Pot with a decadent homemade chipotle adobo sauce. The perfect hearty meal after a long day in the mountain!
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Ingredients
- 2.2 lb. beef chuck
- Salt
- 1 small dried chipotle pepper
- 1/8 cup apple cider vinegar
- 4 garlic cloves
- 2 tsp cumin
- 2 tsp Mexican oregano
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- 1 tsp coriander
- 1 tsp smoked paprika
- 1/8 tsp cloves
- 1/8 tsp black pepper
- 1 yellow onion, minced
- Tequila or white wine, for deglazing
- 1/2 can tomato paste
- 1 tbsp soy sauce
- 1 Lime, zest and juice
- 1 1/2 cups bone broth
- 3 Bay leaves
- 1 avocado, sliced
- 1/2 red onion, thinly sliced
- Cilantro leaves
Instructions
- Salt the beef chuck liberally on all sides.
- Heat the dried chipotle pepper on a hot dry skillet for a minute or so, being careful not to burn it.
- Remove the stem and cut the pepper lengthwise. Remove the seeds (or leave them in if you like it hot!)
- Rehydrate the pepper in a bowl of warm water for 30 minutes.
- Place the rehydrated pepper and the rest of the sauce ingredients in a blender and blend until the ingredients are well combined into a paste. Add a bit of water if the paste is too thick.
- Set your Instant Pot to Saute mode.
- When hot, add two tablespoons of tallow and brown the chuck on all sides (2-3 minutes per side). Place the browned meat on a plate and set it aside.
- With the Instant Pot still on Saute mode, add onion, cook for 2-3 minutes, until translucent.
- Deglaze the bottom of the pot liner with a generous splash of tequila or white wine.
- Stir in adobo sauce, soy sauce, tomato paste, and lime juice and zest.
- Put the chuck back into the pot liner, and pour in the bone broth.
- Throw in the bay leaves and screw on the lid.
- Press Cancel on the Instant Pot to turn off Saute mode. Making sure the Steam Release Handle is turned to the Sealing position, set the Pressure Cook program to cook for 75 minutes on high pressure.
- Let the Instant Pot do a natural release, and take the lid off.
- Transfer the chunks of now tender beef chuck to a serving dish with tongs or a slotted spoon. Use two forks to gently pull apart the meat. Pour some (or all!) of the remaining juices over the shredded meat and let it soak in the flavours.
- Garnish with fresh cilantro leaves, red onion and avocado slices, and serve with a Mexican salad.
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Salsa Verde (click here to see the recipe)
