Chocolomo, Mexican Venison Stew
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5.0
39 reviews
Excellent
Chocolomo, Mexican Venison Stew
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This stew is traditionally made with a losing bull after a bullfight, so it lends itself well to older, tougher, more flavorful animals. Any sort of venison certainly, but Canada geese, older hogs, bears, ducks, even jackrabbits would all work well here. You really want to toss in whatever offal you are OK with eating. With birds, certainly hearts and gizzards, and liver if you want. With mammals, hearts, kidneys, tongues, shanks, tail are all good choices. Chocolomo hinges on the distinct char flavor you get from burning the onions and garlic. If you don't do this, it will still be a nice stew, but it will lack the jarringly smoky flavor that attracts me to this recipe.
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Ingredients
STEW
- 1/4 cup lard or cooking oil, divided
- 3 pounds various meats and offal s(ee above)
- 2 quarts stock or broth
- 2 cups red wine
- 1/4 cup sherry or red wine vinegar
- salt
- 1 large white onion, charred, peeled and chopped
- 1 head of garlic, charred, peeled and chopped
- 2 cups crushed tomatoes
- 1/2 cup chopped chives
- 1/2 cup chopped mint
TO FINISH
- Totopos (fried tortilla strips)
- Chopped radishes and cilantro
- limes
- hot sauce
SPICE PASTE
- 5 tablespoons black peppercorns
- 1 tablespoon cumin seeds
- 1 tablespoon dried oregano, Mexican if possible
- 2 teaspoons whole cloves
- 10 allspice berries
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 2 heads of garlic, charred and peeled
- 2 tablespoons vinegar
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Instructions
- Your first task is to make the spice paste, the recado bianco, which can be made days or even weeks ahead and then stored in the fridge. On a grill or gas burner, set the garlic heads over the fire. You want to burn off the paper and cook the garlic at the same time, so you will want to turn the heads frequently as they cook. You want some parts of the garlic to burn and char. This normally takes a solid 5 to 10 minutes, and longer is better. When they are cool enough to handle, peel off any remaining paper around the garlic cloves and chop them roughly. Set them in the bowl of a blender or small food processor with the vinegar.
- Toast the peppercorns, cumin, cloves and allspice in a dry pan over high heat until they are fragrant, a minute or three. Put them into a spice grinder with the oregano and cinnamon. Grind into a powder and add to the blender with the garlic. Buzz this to a paste, stopping to scrape down the sides of the blender or processor a few times. This paste will keep for months in the fridge.
- To make the stew, cut the meats and offal into pieces you'd want to eat. Get 3 tablespoons of the lard hot in a large, heavy, lidded pot like a Dutch oven. Pat the meats dry and brown them in batches so you don't crowd the pot. This may take a solid 20 minutes. As they brown, set the chunks in a bowl. When the meats are all browned, add some stock to the pot and use a wooden spoon to scrape up any browned bits on the bottom. Add the rest of the stock, the wine, vinegar, 4 tablespoons of your recado bianco spice mixture and the meats -- along with any juices that have collected in the bowl. Bring this to a simmer and add salt to taste. Cook until the meats are tender, which can be anything from 90 minutes to 4 hours.
- About an hour after the meats have started simmering, heat the last tablespoon of lard in a frying pan and cook the onion and garlic over medium heat until they're nice and softened, but not browned. Add the tomatoes and cook until most of the liquid has evaporated, then add the contents of the frying pan to the stew pot.
- When the meats are nice and tender, add the chives and mint and cook another couple minutes, just to wilt the herbs. Serve in big bowls with the finishing garnishes.
Notes
- Serve with the accompaniments and maybe some rice or bread. The stew keeps for a week in the fridge, and, like most stews, gets better a few days after it's made.
Nutrition Information
Show Details
Calories
416kcal
(21%)
Carbohydrates
16g
(5%)
Protein
40g
(80%)
Fat
16g
(25%)
Saturated Fat
4g
(20%)
Cholesterol
105mg
(35%)
Sodium
1130mg
(47%)
Potassium
981mg
(28%)
Fiber
4g
(16%)
Sugar
6g
(12%)
Vitamin A
917IU
(18%)
Vitamin C
9mg
(10%)
Calcium
118mg
(12%)
Iron
6mg
(33%)
Nutrition Facts
Serving: 8people
Amount Per Serving
Calories 416 kcal
% Daily Value*
| Calories | 416kcal | 21% |
| Carbohydrates | 16g | 5% |
| Protein | 40g | 80% |
| Fat | 16g | 25% |
| Saturated Fat | 4g | 20% |
| Cholesterol | 105mg | 35% |
| Sodium | 1130mg | 47% |
| Potassium | 981mg | 21% |
| Fiber | 4g | 16% |
| Sugar | 6g | 12% |
| Vitamin A | 917IU | 18% |
| Vitamin C | 9mg | 10% |
| Calcium | 118mg | 12% |
| Iron | 6mg | 33% |
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet.
Genuine Reviews
User Reviews
Overall Rating
5.0
39 reviews
Excellent
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