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Easy to make Carne Picada is tender, flavorful beef braised with a combination of onion, jalapeño, and tomatoes with a bold Tex Mex seasoning blend. The perfect beef recipe for tacos, burritos, burrito bowls, nachos and more!
What is Carne Picada?
Carne Picada translates to “minced meat.” It’s a popular taco filling in Texas and Tex-Mex cooking. Although its name is similar to carne guisada, and they are both made from the same cut of meat, the two dishes are prepared differently, with guisada having large chunks of meat and prepared in a gravy-type broth for stew.
This braised beef is also different from carne asada in both the cut of meat and the cooking method. Carne asada is a grilled skirt or flank steak. It’s also different than ground beef. Carne picada meat is chopped beef and not put through a grinder.
Ingredients Needed
Braising the beef in a blend of seasonings, including salt, pepper, ground cumin, Mexican oregano, garlic powder, onion powder, chili powder, fresh veggies, and broth, creates an ultra-tender and flavorful meat.
- Chuck Roast: You can quickly chop this affordable meat into smaller pieces. Or substitute with stew meat, which is typically the same cut as chuck roast, and chop that up.
- Tomatoes: dice fresh tomatoes to cook in the sauce while the meat cooks.
- Jalapeño: Remove the seeds and membranes to reduce the heat. If you prefer, you can leave them in for more heat. You can also substitute with Serrano peppers for more heat. Or swap out for a poblano or green bell pepper if you are concerned about the heat.
- Onion: White onions are commonly used in Mexican cuisine, but yellow onions can be used as a substitute.
- Beef Broth: Use an unsalted broth, or you may need to adjust the amount of salt called for in the recipe.
How to Make Carne Picada
- Thinly slice the chuck roast until it’s minced. You may be able to find pre-chopped meat packaged as Carne Picada in some markets in Texas, I’m not sure if it’s something carried outside of the state.
- Add the meat to a medium size bowl and add the seasonings. Stir to combine and ensure all the meat is coated in the seasoning mixture.
- Heat the avocado oil over medium heat in a medium skillet or pan. Add in the meat and cook, allowing the meat to sear. Add in the diced onion and jalapeno to cook with the meat.
- Keep cooking until the meat has turned mostly brown, is no longer pink, and the vegetables have become soft. Add in the diced tomatoes and broth. Stir to combine and bring to a simmer. Add the bay leaves and cover to cook on low for approximately an hour..
- After the meat has cooked and is nice and tender, remove the lid and continue cooking for another 30 minutes uncovered to reduce the amount of liquid in the pan.
Serving Ideas
- Carne picada makes an excellent taco filling. Load the meat into soft flour tortillas or warm corn tortillas and top with your favorite taco toppings.
- Use this beef recipe to fill burritos or enchiladas.
- Stuff into Gorditas, or make burrito bowls by layering in a bowl with some cilantro lime rice and adding your favorite salsa and toppings.
Storage Information
- Storage: Store in a sealed container in the refrigerator for 3-4 days.
- Freezer: Store in a freezer-safe bag or container for up to 3 months. Remove to the refrigerator to thaw overnight.
- Reheating: Add the meat to a skillet and cook on the stovetop over medium heat for 5-7 minutes until warmed.
More Tex Mex Beef Recipes
Carne Picada
Ingredients
- 2 pounds chuck roast
- 2 tablespoons avocado oil
- ½ cup onion diced
- 2 jalapeno seeds and membranes removed, diced
- 1½ teaspoons salt
- ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon ground black pepper
- ½ teaspoon onion powder
- 1 teaspoon cumin
- 1 teaspoon chili powder
- ½ teaspoon mexican oregano
- 4 roma tomatoes diced
- 2 cups beef broth unsalted
- 2 bay leaves
Instructions
- Thinly slice the chuck roast until it’s minced.
- Add the meat to a medium size bowl and add the seasonings. Stir to combine and ensure all the meat is coated in the seasoning mixture.
- In a medium size skillet or pan heat the avocado oil over medium heat.
- Add in the meat and cook allowing the meat to sear.
- Add in the diced onion and jalapeno to cook with the meat.
- Continue until the meat is mostly browned, no longer pink and veggies are softened.
- Add in the diced tomatoes and broth. Stir to combine. Bring to a simmer
- Add the bayleaves, cover and turn heat to low. Allow this too cook for an hour stirring occasionally.
- After meat has cooked and is nice and tender, remove the lid and continue cooking another 30 minutes uncovered to reduce the amount of liquid in the pan.
- Serve meat in tacos, burritos, or over rice with your favorite toppings.
Video
Notes
- Storage: Store in a sealed container in the refrigerator for 3-4 days.
- Freezer: Store in a freezer-safe bag or container for up to 3 months. Remove to the refrigerator to thaw overnight.
- Reheating: Add the meat to a skillet and cook on the stovetop over medium heat for 5-7 minutes until warmed.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Photography by the talented KJandCompany.co
