Southwestern Recipes
Braised Mole Beef Tacos
The ancient coupling of chiles and cocoa provides rich, complex flavor to braised mole beef. For a simple twist on this authentic Mexican dish, spoon beef into lightly crisped tortilla and top with traditional Mole garnishes.
Prep: 20 min | Cook: 1 hr 45 min | Yield: 6 (2 taco) servings
Ingredients
Spice Blend
- 1 tablespoon McCormick® Gourmet Collection Chile Pepper, Ancho
- 1/2 teaspoon McCormick® Gourmet Collection Chile Pepper, Chipotle
- 1/2 teaspoon McCormick® Gourmet Collection Garlic Powder
- 1/2 teaspoon McCormick® Gourmet Collection Oregano Leaves, Mexican
- 1/4 teaspoon McCormick® Gourmet Collection Cumin, Ground
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
Mole Beef
- 3 tablespoons vegetable oil, divided
- 2 pounds boneless beef chuck, well trimmed, cut into 3/4 inch cubes
- 1/2 cup chopped onion
- 1/2 cup water
- 1 cup beef broth
- 1/3 cup tomato paste
- 1 ounce semi-sweet baking chocolate, broken in half
- 12 (6 inch) corn tortillas
Garnishes
- Mexican crema, crème fraîche or sour cream
- Mexican queso fresco, queso añejo (Cotija) or feta cheese, crumbled
- Chopped fresh cilantro
- Toasted slivered almonds
Instructions
- Mix all Spice Blend ingredients in small bowl. Set aside.
- For the Mole Beef, heat 1 tablespoon of the oil in 5 quart Dutch oven or saucepot on medium-high Heat.
- Add 1/2 of the beef; brown on all sides.
- Repeat with remaining beef.
- Remove beef. Set aside.
- Heat 1 tablespoon of the oil in same Dutch oven on medium heat.
- Add onion; cook and stir for 3 minutes.
- Add water; stir to loosen browned bits in bottom of pan.
- Add beef, beef broth, tomato paste and Spice Blend; mix well. Bring to boil. Reduce heat to low; cover and simmer 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Stir in chocolate. Simmer, uncovered, 1 hour or until beef is tender and sauce has thickened, stirring occasionally.
- Brush both sides of tortillas lightly with remaining 1 tablespoon oil.
- Cook each tortilla in nonstick skillet on medium heat 1 minute per side or until tortilla is slightly crisp but still pliable.
- Drain on paper towels.
- Spoon about 1/4 cup Mole Beef into center of each tortilla.
- Top with desired garnishes.
- Fold and serve.
Per 1 serving: Calories: 475 Sodium: 351mg Fat: 27g Carbohydrates: 32g Cholesterol: 85mg Fiber: 4g Protein: 26g
Attribution
Recipe used with permission from:
McCormick