Chocolomo, Mexican Venison Stew
User Reviews
5
Chocolomo, Mexican Venison Stew
Description
Chocolomo, Mexican Venison Stew, centers on a distinctive spice paste made by charring garlic and toasting whole spices such as black peppercorns, cumin seeds, oregano, cloves, allspice berries, and cinnamon. This recado bianco paste is blended with vinegar to form an aromatic concentrate that infuses the stew. The meat and offal are cooked slowly in a base of stock, red wine, sherry vinegar, charred onion, garlic, and crushed tomatoes, enriching the broth with depth and tang. Chives and mint are stirred in near the end to lend fresh herbal notes.
The stew is served with crunchy fried tortilla strips (totopos), chopped cilantro, radishes, lime, and hot sauce to customize the heat and freshness. It can be accompanied by rice or bread to make a substantial meal.
The recipe notes advise that the stew keeps well for up to a week in the refrigerator and improves in flavor with a few days of resting, making it suitable for preparing in advance. The spice paste can also be made well ahead and refrigerated until needed.
Ingredients
STEW
- 1/4 cup lard divided, or cooking oil
- 3 pounds various meats and offal s(ee above)
- 2 quarts stock or broth
- 2 cups red wine
- 1/4 cup sherry vinegar or red wine vinegar
- salt
- 1 onion charred, peeled and chopped, white, large
- 1 garlic charred, peeled and chopped
- 2 cups crushed tomatoes
- 1/2 cup chives chopped
- 1/2 cup mint chopped
TO FINISH
- totopos (fried tortilla strips)
- radish chopped
- cilantro chopped
- lime
- hot sauce
SPICE PASTE
- 5 tablespoons black peppercorns
- 1 tablespoon cumin seeds
- 1 tablespoon oregano Mexican if possible, dried
- 2 teaspoons clove whole
- 10 allspice berries
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 2 garlic charred and peeled, heads
- 2 tablespoons vinegar
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
- The recado bianco spice paste can be prepared days or weeks ahead and refrigerated for convenience.
- The stew keeps in the refrigerator for up to one week and its flavors develop with resting.
- Serve the stew with fried tortilla strips, fresh cilantro, radishes, lime wedges, and hot sauce to enhance the eating experience.
- Accompaniments like rice or crusty bread are suitable to serve with the stew.
Nutrition Information
Show DetailsNutrition 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.
User Reviews
Overall Rating
5
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