South Texas Picadillo - Yo!

When I look back in my mind’s eye, I think of food. Well, food . . . and the time I tried to roll around in the grass like I had seen people do on TV and rolled in a large fire-ant hill. All the times I remember family gatherings, even though I didn’t discover I could understand Spanish in a border-town until I was a teenager, I remember good food served. And the person who made a lot of that good food was my mom.

Now, Mom worked full-time for a large portion of my childhood. Sometimes she’d come home exhausted with a bag of take-out. When she had more time, I remember her making picadillo. Like many dishes laid before me as a kid, I was not instantly in love with picadillo because it was, well, plain. The flavor consisted of tomato and ground beef; so basic – spice-level the exception. 

Both my parents loved spicy foods, so there were always two to three jalapenos or, if we were out of jalapenos, serranos swimming around in the simmering tomato broth. Picadillo is what I lovingly call a “chop and dump” meal since, aside from browning the meat you just cut the ingredients and throw them in the pot as you go. To save time, my mom would just throw the peppers in whole. If they stayed intact you’d have a rich jalapeno-serrano flavor with a small wave of heat. If one or, God help you, multiple peppers burst because the heat was dialed-up too long. Then it felt like I rolled around in that fire-ant hill with my mouth open.

Watch us make the recipe here!

It was a few years ago that I started enjoying making meals and doing most of the meal prep between Hallease and I. Also around that time I wanted to re-create some of the flavors of my childhood. This recipe is based on my mom’s preparation. It has a few ingredients and is low-maintenance. It can just simmer on the stove if you’re doing housework and will happily bubble away until everyone’s ready to eat.

As with most dishes, there’s a lot of variability in making this dish depending on region and the person making it. Some add raisins, others olives, and some use cumin. I think raisins go great in rice pilaf, olives with wine, and I remember cumin from the cafeteria-style Mexican food from grade-school (this was always offensive to me, especially since there was so much authentic Mexican flavor to be had in the area. I guess that’s how you try and add flavor in food prep sourced out to the cheapest bidder…but I digress). That’s not how I envision picadillo, but doesn’t mean either preparation is wrong. If it tastes of childhood, then it sure tastes right. 

Chew on. - Chris

INGREDIENTS

1-2 lbs ground meat

1 onion

4-6 medium tomatoes

2-3 russet potatoes

1-2 jalapenos 

Salt and pepper to taste

Preferred cooking oil

INSTRUCTIONS

1.     Place a Dutch oven (or medium-sized, high-walled pot) on the stove over medium heat. Add cooking oil to the pot.

2.     Dice onion and add to hot oil. Cook 2-3 minutes or until just softened.

3.     Add ground meat and cook until browned, about 5-7 minutes. Season lightly with salt and pepper.

4.     As meat browns, peel and chop the potatoes into roughly ½ inch pieces. Set aside.

5.     Roughly chop tomatoes. Set aside.

6.     Remove jalapeno stems and dice. Remove seeds and veins if you’d like less heat.

7.     Once meat has browned, drain the fat. 

8.     Add all vegetables into the pot and cover for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add additional seasoning.

9.     Reduce heat to medium-low and allow to simmer another 20 minutes or until tomatoes have broken down and potatoes are soft. Stir occasionally. 

10.  Season to taste, take off heat, and serve.

COOKING NOTES

Preparing for a smaller group? Err on the smaller ingredient size.

Devein and deseed the jalapenos for less heat.

Mashing potatoes or adding additional cook time will break down the potatoes and thicken the dish.

Season lightly throughout cooking process.