Carne guisada is such a traditional Puerto Rican dish. Super soft flavorful meat with the perfect sauce to drip on top of your rice. My mom talks about walking into my great grandpa's "fonda" when she was little and this was always on the menu. The dish is super easy to make - it does require a bit of planning but minimal effort. This is a great dish for your next family meal!
Ingredients:
1 tbs oil
2lbs beef for stew
2 tbs adobo
3 tbs sofrito
⅓ cup tomato sauce
2 tbs olives
2 bay leaves
1 large potato (peel and diced in large pieces)
3 carrots (clean and chopped)
4 cups of water
The first thing we want to do is season our meat. Add all of your meat to a large bowl and add
about one third of the adobo. Using your hands or a spoon, mix the meat around. Add the
second third of the adobo and repeat the mixing process. Make sure that the meat in the bottom is also getting some seasoning.
Finally, add the last third of the adobo and mix thoroughly making sure that it is evenly coated. At this point, you can place the meat in the fridge for up to 24 hours or cook it right away.
To cook the meat, place a large heavy pot on the stove and turn it on medium high. First, add
the oil to the pot and then the meat. We want to brown the meat to seal all of the juiciness inside and ensure that it is super tender. Stir the meat every once in a while to make sure that it browns evenly.
Once all of the meat is browned, about 5 minutes, add the sofrito. Mix in the sofrito and let it
cook for 2 - 3 minutes.
Once most of the water from the sofrito evaporates, add the tomato sauce, bay leaves and olives and mix thoroughly. Let this cook for 2 to 3 minutes to allow all of the flavors to combine. When the liquid starts to boil, add the water, cover the pot and reduce the heat to medium/low. We just want enough heat so there is a soft boil.
Let this cook for 2 hours. After two hours, take off the lid and mix thoroughly. At this point, add the potatoes and carrots.
Cover again and increase the heat to medium. Let it cook for 30 minutes or until the potatoes
are soft. After the 30 minutes, remove the cover, mix one last time and taste it to make sure that the meat is soft and you are happy with the taste.
Serve it with your favorite side dish but I highly recommend some white rice.
Check out our instructional video, showing how to make this recipe step-by-step HERE.