Best 6 Tucson Recipes

CHILE COLORADO/CON CARNE - TUCSON'S EL CHARRO

Steps:

• Cut the meat into 3/4" pieces. Put a handful at a time into a bag containing the flour, salt and pepper. Shake well. Repeat with the remaining meat.
• Heat the oil in a large skillet. Add a batch of meat at a time into the hot oil, not overcrowding. Brown slowly.
• Add the Enchilada Sauce, garlic puree and oregano.
• Cook over low heat at least one hour, or until the meat is very tender, stirring frequently to prevent scorching. AAdd water if necessary.
• I put a lid on my pan, and cook the dish for several hours over the lowest possible heat. The meat must be tender!

RED ENCHILADA SAUCE - TUCSON'S EL CHARRO

Steps:

• Rinse the chiles in cold water and remove the stems. Cook in the boiling water until tender, about 15 minutes.
• Remove the chiles, reserving the liquid.
• Place a few of the chiles in a blender or food processor with 1/2 cup of the reserved liquid, and blend to a paste.
• Remove to a bowl. Repeat with the rest of the chiles.
• Heat the oil in a skillet. Add the garlic puree and flour, stirring until the flour browns. Add the chile paste, stirring continuously until it all boils and thickens. Season with the salt. Thin with the cooking liquid.

CHILES RELLENOS - TUCSON'S EL CHARRO

Steps:

• Stuff each chile with cheese, and set aside.
• Separate eggs and beat the whites until stiff. Beat yolks and fold into whites, along with flour, salt and pepper.
• Meanwhile, heat oil in a large skillet. Dip stuffed chiles, one at a time, into egg batter, then remove with a large spoon. Carefully lower coated chiles into hot oil, 3 or 4 at a time. Fry until golden brown on both sides. The chiles may be made ahead to this point.
• To serve immediately, arrange on platter or individual plates and pour warm Taco Sauce over each chile. Garnish with more cheese and run under broiler to melt cheese, if desired.
• May be made in advance up to the point of topping with cheese, and reheated in a 400-degree oven about 10 minutes.

TUCSON TUSCAN PORTERHOUSE

Steps:

• Place steak in an oval baking dish.
• Make the rub: combine the salt, pepper, chili powder, mustard, oregano, garlic powder, cumin, and cinnamon in a small bowl; stir to mix or use your fingers to mix.
• Sprinkle rub all over the steak on both sides, patting it onto the meat with your fingertips.
• Make the cilantro-serrano oil: heat olive oil in a small pan over medium heat; add in the cilantro, serranos, and garlic; cook until fragrant, about 2 minutes; do not let garlic brown; remove pan from heat.
• Set up grill for direct grilling using a two-zone fire (for gas grill-preheat half or two out of three of the burners to desired temperature; leave the rest turned off, this gives you a hot zone for grilling and a cooler zone for dodging the flames or resting the meat).
• For gas grill-place all the wood chips in the smoker box and run the grill on high until you see smoke, then lower one burner to medium.
• When ready to cook, brush and oil the grill grate; arrange steak on the grate over the hot zone, placing it on a diagonal to the bars.
• Grill for about 2 minutes, then move the steak to the medium zone, rotating it a quarter turn to create crosshatch grill marks; let grill for 6-8 minutes longer.
• Turn the steak over, placing it over the hot zone of the grill and on a diagonal to the bars.
• Let this side sear for 2 minutes, then move the steak to the medium zone, rotating it a quarter turn; let steak continue to grill until cooked to taste, 6-8 minutes for medium-rare.
• Brush the top of the steak with some of the cilantro-serrano oil as it cooks.
• Transfer the grilled steak to a deep platter and pour the remaining cilantro-serrano oil over it.
• Let steak rest for about 3 minutes, turning it several times in the oil to baste both sides.
• To carve and serve-cut the two steaks off either side of the T-bone; cut each crosswise into ¼ inch thick slices; pour the juices in the platter over the slices and serve at once.

TUCSON GUACAMOLE

Steps:

• In a bowl, beat cream cheese with an electric mixer until smooth. Add two avocados, green chiles, Worcestershire sauce, garlic salt and pepper; beat until fairly smooth.
• Gently mix in remaining avocado, leaving it a little chunky. Serve immediately or store in refrigerator covered with plastic wrap, pushing the wrap down so that it is touching the entire surface of the guacamole.

TUCSON DIP

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350°. In a small mixer bowl at low speed, beat cream cheese and sour cream until well blended and smooth.Rinse dried beef and pat dry. Chop coarsely. Gently stirdried beef, green chilies and onion into cream cheese mixture. Pour into a shallow 2-cup baking dish. Sprinkle chives and pecans on top.Bake for 20 minutes or until puffed and edges are bubbly. Serve hot with tortilla chips.