Carne Guisada (Mexican beef stew)

This dish is one of my absolute favorite meals to prepare and eat!  Carne guisada, or beef stew, is a Tex-Mex dish that is probably on every menu in any Mexican restaurant in Texas.
It is a beef stew that is slow cooked in a bath of herbs, jalapeños, spices, and cerveza!  Typically you use beef tips or "beef stew".  In this particular recipe, I used beef stew.

Ingredients:
3 pounds beef stew meat
4-5 tablespoons canola oil
1 medium onion, chopped
1 bell pepper, chopped
6 cloves of garlic, minced
1 14 oz. can diced tomatoes
2 jalapeños, seeded and diced
kosher salt
fresh cracked pepper
1 1/4 tablespoons comino (cumin)
1 tablespoon chili powder
1 tablespoon oregano
1 bay leaf
1/2 cup chopped cilantro
1 12 oz. bottle of Negro Modelo
2 - 2 1/2 cups water
1 tablespoon flour

Directions:
In a dutch oven, pour two tablespoons canola oil and turn the heat on medium-high.  Add the meat to the pot.  Season the meat with salt and pepper while it's in the pot (just a few sprinkles of both).  Brown the meat.

This process might need to be done in two batches because of the amount of meat.  I always brown the meat in two batches. Once all the meat has been browned, place the meat aside and add two more tablespoons of canola oil to the pot.







Add the onion and bell pepper to the pot and cook about 5-7 minutes.  Add the garlic and cook 1 minute.
Next, put the beef back into the pot and begin to add all the spices, cilantro and bay leaf as well as the beer.

Mix it around and add the tomatoes and water. Bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer.
Take out some of the juice and pour it into a bowl.  Add the flour and whisk it in until it is completely mixed with the juice, then add back to the pot.

Simmer the carne guisada for about 4 hours, or until you like the texture of the meat.  About half way through the cooking time, you can add a tablespoon of salt.
The meat should be tender and almost falling apart.