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–+ servings

Chile Colorado

chile colorado taco with pineapple salsa
Chile Colorado is Mexican comfort food at it's best! Tender slow simmered braised beef in a bold red chile sauce, this spicy red chile and beef recipe is perfect served in tacos, enchiladas or simply over rice.
Heather
Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 8 hours
Total Time 8 hours 20 minutes
Serving Size 10 ea

Ingredients

Preparing the Chuck Roast

  • 3 pounds chuck roast
  • 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1 teaspoon pepper

Red Chile Sauce

  • 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
  • 3 tablespoons all purpose flour
  • 2 1/2 cups chicken stock
  • 4 tablespoons tomato paste
  • 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
  • 1 teaspoon cayenne
  • 1/2 teaspoon cumin
  • 1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika
  • 2 tablespoons brown sugar
  • 3 tablespoons chili powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
  • 1 teaspoon garlic powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
  • 1/4 teaspoon black pepper

Instructions

Braised Beef

  • Start by heating up a dutch oven or large cooking pot over high heat and add in your vegetable oil
  • Generously season your chuck roast on all sides with salt and pepper and carefully move meat to the heated pot
  • Sear meat for 3 minutes on each / all sides until a nice dark crust forms on the outside. Move beef to a plate and discard cooking oil.

Red Chile Sauce

  • Add the oil to a small sauce pan over medium-high heat
  • Once hot, add flour and whisk together let cook 1 minute while continuing to stir
  • Pour in chicken stock, vinegar and tomato paste and whisk to combine
  • Add in all spices and whisk until all ingredients are well incorporated
  • Bring sauce to a low boil then reduce heat to low.. simmer for 15 minutes while stirring occasionally
  • Remove from heat and pour on top of braised beef.  Cover and simmer on low for 8-10 hours. When fork tender, serve with rice, potatoes or with whatever your favorite side dish is!

Notes

  • Don't skip the step of braising the beef. Searing in those flavors makes all the difference!
  • Let your meat cook uninterrupted for 3 minutes on each side. Don't peek!
  • Use two forks or even heavy duty tongs to flip your chuck roast.
  • After searing the meat and making the sauce, you can move this to a slow cooker to finishing cooking if you don't want to keep it cooking on the stove top.
  • The beef and red chile sauce can be frozen for up to 3 months in a resealable container or freezer bag. To thaw, place in the fridge overnight then pour the beef and sauce into a pan and warm over low heat until hot.
  • For the BEST Chile Colorado tacos, serve with sauteed peppers or fresh pineapple salsa.