Featured beef cut:
*** Ground beef ***
Ground beef is made from the trimmings created after the butcher separates the primal cuts in to all the different individual cuts of beef. Sometimes ground beef also contains portions of the primal cuts- sometimes we will have steaks ground in, or the arm and rump roasts go in when its not the season where roasts are popular.
Our ground beef is an 85/15 blend, meaning 85% meat and 15% fat. I find this blend is a good all purpose blend, as well as being the most tender and delicious.
There are an infinite number of recipes for ground beef, and an infinite number of recipes for Picadillo. This is for my personal version of a Puerto Rican style Picadillo. It’s super simple and easy to cook in a crockpot.
We like to eat this Picadillo over cilantro lime rice with tajin sprinkled on top, with a side serving of maduros (baked sweet plantains).
Ingredients:
- 2 pounds ground beef
- Cooking oil (I use canola)
- 1/2 finely chopped white or yellow
- Minced garlic- measure with your heart, at least 4-8 cloves
- 2 finely chopped red/orange or yellow bell peppers
- 2 packages Sazón Goya – Sazón con Culantro y Achiote
- 1 tablespoon ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon Mexican oregano
- 1 8oz can tomato sauce
- About 1/2 cup pimento stuffed manzanilla olives, with brine
Directions:
- Heat a skillet over medium high heat and brown your beef. I like to use a ground beef chopper to get the pieces all broken up nice and small.
- Drain off any excess fat or liquid and add beef to the crockpot
- Add a bit of cooking oil and sauté the onions and peppers until soft. Add the garlic and cook until fragrant.
- Add the vegetables to the crock pot.
- Add all remaining ingredients (cumin, oregano, Sazón con Culantro y Achiote, tomato sauce, olives and brine) and stir to combine.
- Cook over high heat for 3-4 hours or low for 6-8.
- Enjoy!
Serving suggestions:
- Serve over rice with a side of maduros.
- For the hot sauce lovers out there, I love to top this with a bright and acidic green hot sauce (like the green Cholula), or our very own sweet and smokey Big Daddy’s Man Sauce – Smokey Chipotle!
- Use as a filling for tacos, beef burritos, beef quesadillas or a tortilla pie!
