How to Make Puerto Rican Style Beef Stew

Do you crave beef stew but also want to try a new type of cuisine? In Puerto Rico, there is a traditional beef stew dish called carne guisada puertorriqueña. It is similar to American beef stew that is slow cooked with beef, potatoes and carrots. However, Puerto Rican beef stew also incorporates Latin American flavors from peppers and cilantro. Every Puerto Rican chef makes their version differently, but here is a basic carne guisada puertorriqueña or Puerto Rican beef stew recipe to get you started.

Things You'll Need

• Stove
• Large soup pot with lid
• Sharp knife for chopping
• Cutting board
• 1 tbsp. olive oil
• 2 lbs. stew beef
• 1 cup water
• One green pepper
• Two onions (any kind)
• Four garlic cloves
• Six cilantro leaves
• 2 tbsp. vinegar (any kind)
• ½ tsp. dried oregano
• ½ cup tomato sauce
• Two bay leaves
• 1 tbsp. salt
• ½ lb. carrots
• 1 lb. potatoes
• 12 pimento-stuffed olives
• Prepared rice (any kind)

Instructions

1. Place a large soup pot on the stove and turn the heat on medium high. Add a tbsp. of olive oil in pot.

2. Place stew beef into the pot and cook until it is brown. Make sure to stir the meat every at least every two minutes so that it cooks evenly on all sides.

3. While the meat is browning, use a sharp knife and cutting board to cut a green pepper in half, remove the seeds and core, and chop into bite-sized pieces or smaller. Set aside, then peel the two onions and four garlic cloves and chop into your preferred size pieces.

4. After the meat is browned, pour 1 cup of water to the pot, along with your chopped green pepper, onions and garlic cloves. Tear or chop six leaves of the fresh cilantro, then add it to the pot, as well as the 2 tbsp. of vinegar, 1/2 tsp. dried oregano, 1/2 cup tomato sauce, two bay leaves and a tbsp. of salt.

5. Stir all the ingredients together in the soup pot and heat until it comes to a boil. Once it does, turn the heat to low and cover with a lid for one hour.

6. While the soup is simmering, begin to prep the last of your ingredients. Scrub your potatoes under running water and chop them into cubes, then peel your carrots and chop into 1/2-inch chunks.

7. After the soup has cooked for one hour, add the potatoes, carrots and pimento-stuffed olives to the pot and stir everything together. Turn the heat to high until the soup begins to boil, then repeat the process of lowering the heat, covering and cooking for another hour.

8. After an hour, check the meat by using a fork to poke and shred it. If the meat shreds with a fork and doesn't need a knife, it is done.

9. Taste the stew and add more salt if you prefer. Remove and discard the two bay leaves, then ladle the stew over plates of prepared rice or eat it by itself.

Tips & Warnings

• If you are not an experienced cook, you can make the process go faster by chopping all your ingredients before you begin cooking. Stew beef comes pre-cut, but you can also use chuck roast and cut it into bite-sized pieces yourself. You can peel the potatoes if you want to, but it is not necessary for this recipe.

• You can let the stew cook for longer than an hour after you have added all of the ingredients if you want the stew to be thicker. However, you must check it often so the meat doesn't dry out.

Resources

• Read this Article in Spanish
• More about the food and drink of Puerto Rico