Picadillo

In case you can’t tell, I’m from Texas.  Somehow along the way, I learned how to cook American/Texan, Tex-Mex, and Italian, but I really want to learn how to make Pad Thai…

Anyways, there’s this little Mexican restaurant on the outskirts of Fredericksburg.  It’s so good, I scheduled my orthodontist appointments around lunch time so I could get there for lunch before going to the doctor.

Anyways, I haven’t lived in Texas for five years now, and I think I’ve only had their food twice since I’ve been gone.  My favorite thing there was their picadillo, so I’ve tried to recreate it.  I made it right before Christmas, had some while I was in Texas, then tweaked my recipe so that it matches their amazing flavors as closely as possible.

This is not their recipe.  Just my feeble (and delicious) attempt at recreating one of my favorite dishes.

Here’s what you need:

• 2 small onions, diced
• 2 medium potatoes, diced
• 1 TBS minced garlic
• 1 pound ground beef (I used 90/10)
• 2 cups beef broth
• 1 can Rotel
• 1 TBS cumin
• 1 tsp Mexican-style chili powder
• 1 tsp cayenne
• 1½ tsp salt
• ½ tsp chipotle powder
• ½ tsp dried cilantro

1. In a stockpot big enough to hold all your ingredients, combine the onions, garlic, and potatoes over medium heat.  Cook long enough to make the onions translucent, but the potatoes won’t be done.  Remove from the pot.
2. Break up the beef in the pot, then add 1 cup of the broth.  Continue to break the meat apart so you have small bits.  Cook until the beef is done.
3. Add the onions, garlic, and potatoes back into the beef mixture.  Add the other cup of broth, spices, and Rotel.
4. Turn to low heat (really, low heat), cover, and cook for 3-4 hours.  You could also do this in a crockpot, but I don’t have one!
5. Stir every half-hour or so, and recover.
6. Serve with fresh tortillas.