Recipe for Mexican Style Beef Tips

Beef Tips a la Mexicana is the type of dish that you will find served all over Mexico at family restaurants that offer a comida corrida, a daily lunch special. It’s hearty dish that is easy to prepare at home. A word of warning though, Beef Tips a la Mexicana is very spicy.

When you make Mexican style beef tips, choose a cheaper cut of meat that benefits from the longer cooking time. Better cuts of meat lose their flavor and the meat becomes chewy.

This recipe makes 4 large portions or 6 modest portions. Serve Mexican style beef tips with rice or beans and a stack of tortillas on the side.

How to make Mexican Style Beef Tips

Ingredients:

• 1.5 Pounds beef tips
• 5 Roma tomatoes diced
• 1 Medium onion diced
• 4 Serrano chiles cut into rounds- jalapeno chiles can be substituted. Dice the jalapeno if used.
• 1 Clove of garlic minced – add an extra clove if you really like garlic
• 1 Sprig of cilantro minced – parsley works too

Put two tablespoons of oil in a pan. Add the onions, chiles, and garlic over medium-low heat and fry until the onions turn transparent. Add the tomatoes and continue to cook over low heat for about 15 minutes.

In a separate pan, brown the beef tips with two tablespoons of oil over a medium-high heat. When the beef is browned on all sides, add the vegetable mixture to the beef. Add one cup of water to the pan. Cover the pan and simmer the mixture over low heat for 25 minutes. Add the cilantro and cook for 5 more minutes.

That’s all there is to it. A simple recipe for hearty Mexican style beef tips.

How to Make Mexican Salsa

Authentic Mexican table salsa is easy to make and tastes far superior to any store bought salsa. Mexican cooks use ingredients on hand to make vibrant, flavorful, and healthy salsas.

Start with the freshest ingredients available. The vegetables are charred which cooks them lightly but fresh flavors of the vegetables still come through. Any salsa is best when you use vegetables at their peak. Don’t worry too much if your veggies don’t look like the ones you see in food magazines. Your salsa will still turn out great.

To make the salsa you can mix and match the following ingredients to suit your taste:

• Tomatoes – preferably Roma but regular tomatoes work fine
• Tomatillos
• Onion
• Bell peppers
• Jalapeno chiles
• Serrano chiles
• Poblano chiles
• Anaheim chiles
• Garlic
• Cilantro
• Lime juice

The most important step for making a great salsa is charring the vegetables as shown in the picture below. You really want to char the vegetables. Make sure they are good and burnt all the way around.

To char the vegetables hold them over an open flame on a gas stove. If your stove is electric, preheat a large frying pan on high and char the vegetables in the pan turning often. The charred bits give the salsa a deeper smokier flavor.

Recipe for a Typical Version of the Mexican Table Salsa

Ingredients:

• 6 Roma tomatoes or 3 large regular tomatoes
• 1 Medium white onion
• 3 Jalapeno or serrano chiles (add more or reduce quantity to taste)
• 1 Garlic clove
• 1 Cup loosely packed cilantro
• 2 limes (the smaller Mexican limes are the best)
• Salt
• Makes 5 to 6 cups of salsa

Char the tomatoes, onion, garlic and chiles. Remove from heat and let cool. Remove the tops of the tomatoes and chiles.

Put all ingredients in a blender including the cilantro and the juice from two limes. Add salt to taste. Blend until coarsely ground. Do not over blend.

The finished salsa. Really, really, good!

More Mexican Salsa Recipes to Try:

Green Enchilada Sauce

Red Enchilada Sauce

Tomatillo Salsa

Red Tomato Salsa