Dutch Oven Cooking: Beef Carnitas and Cilantro Lime Rice

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As some of you know, I am a homegrown Texas girl and decided to move to the pacific northwest almost 4 years ago. Time sure has flew by! One thing that I have had no luck with in this part of the country is finding the kind of Tex-Mex foods that I grew up with. I desperately miss Tex-Mex! Sometimes, I have to break down and just make a giant meal with tacos, rice and beans. Today is that day.

Ok, this isn’t your ordinary carnitas recipe. A lot of people use chuck roast for their carnitas, but I found some stew meat marked down and I couldn’t resist the deal, so I decided to try them out on a new recipe. I recently found a beef carnitas recipe and wanted to play around and tweak it. Because stew meat is tough, I braise the meaty chunks on 250 degrees F for four or five hours. The meat just falls apart when you do that and is really delicious!

So, without further adieu, here’s a recipe to pay homage to all the great Tex-Mex in Texas.

Beef Carnitas with Cilantro-Lime Rice

For Carnitas:

• 2 pounds of beef stew meat, fatty bits removed
• 1 onion, sliced
• 3-4 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 chopped poblano pepper
• 2 chopped chipotle chiles, with 1 tablespoon adobo sauce
• 1 cup beef broth
• 2 teaspoons chili powder
• 1/4 teaspoon onion powder
• 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 tablespoon cumin
• Lemon, juiced
• Corn tortillas

1. Preheat oven to 250 degrees F.
2. Oil a Dutch onion and place sliced onions on the bottom.
3. Add meat add salt and pepper liberally.
4. In a medium mixing bowl, add spices, peppers, broth and lemon juice. Mix well.
5. Pour mixture over meat and onions.
6. Cover with a lid and cook for 4-5 hours.
7. When beef is done, it should easily shred apart.
8. Serve with corn tortillas and your favorite taco toppings.

For Cilantro Lime Rice:

• 1 teaspoon vegetable oil or butter
• 1 tablespoon fresh cilantro
• 2/3 cup white basmati rice
• 1 cup water
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 lime, juiced

1. In a 2-quart heavy saucepan, heat oil or butter over low heat, stirring occasionally until melted.
2. Add rice and lime juice, stir for 1 minute. Add water and salt, bring to a full rolling boil.
3. At boiling, cover, turn down to simmer over low heat until rice is tender and the water is absorbed, about 25 minutes. Fluff rice with a fork.

So there you have it. A very simple yet tasty meal with minimal effort. Enjoy!