Ingredients:
» 3 lbs. Round steak, chuck, or short ribs.
» 5 tablespoons bacon grease, or olive oil.
» 2 onions, peeled and chopped fine.
» 4 cloves garlic, peeled and minced.
» 3 tablespoons chili powder.
» 11/2 teaspoons oregano
» 1 teaspoon cumin
» 3 tablespoons tomato paste
» 1 large can of crushed tomatoes
» 3 bottles of beer [Mitch suggests Mexican beer, but I find that Schlitz or Carlings will do well.]
» 2 tablespoons salt
» 1/4 cup massa flour or corn meal
Procedure:
• You need two pots! Make sure you have both a skillet to fry in and a large stew pot to simmer in before you start!
• Pound steak or chuck to flatten (do not pound short ribs), cut into large cubes. Heat 3 tablespoons bacon grease in large heavy pan or skillet. [Alternate method: cook four strips bacon in one tablespoon olive oil, remove cooked bacon and place in stew-pot, then use the bacon grease/olive oil to cook with.] Add beef all at once. Sear it, turning constantly, until lightly browned.
• Remove beef (keep the oil and beef fat though!) and place in stew-pot along with tomatoes (paste and crushed), and one can of beer. Put on a low heat and bring to a simmer.
• Add 2 more tablespoons of grease/oil and the onions and garlic to the skillet. Saute until the onion is limp and then cut flame. Stir in chili powder, oregano, and cumin to coat the onions.
• Dump coated onions into stew pot along with salt. Simmer, uncovered, over a very low flame until meat is tender. Add beer as liquid boils off. Cook this over-night, uncovered. Do not skim-off the fat!
• The next morning, bring the heat up a bit and stir in the masa flour. Cut flame, cover pot, let it sit all day to “tighten-up.”
• Heat it up again at dinner time. Do not skim-off the fat! Serve with sour-dough bread or tortilla chips to soak this good stuff up! The flavor is in the fat. Good when fresh, excellent when left-over.
• Serve in a bowl!
• Drink your coffee black!
• Use real butter on your roll!
