Servings
Font
Back
Mexican Picadillo, Sonoran Style
5 from 30 votes

Mexican Picadillo, Sonoran Style

Mexican Picadillo, Sonoran Style, features ground venison cooked with lard, aromatic vegetables like onions and carrots, and a mix of roasted green chiles and tomatoes. The addition of diced potatoes provides bulk and texture, making the dish hearty. Seasoned with oregano, cumin, black pepper, and accented by chopped green olives, this savory picadillo offers a balance of spice and earthiness. It simmers in venison stock for a moist consistency, making it versatile for fillings or as a main dish.

Prep Time
20 mins
Cook Time
20 mins
Total Time
40 mins
Servings: 8 people
Calories: 283 kcal
Course: Main Course
Cuisine: Mexican

Ingredients

  • 3 tablespoons lard or some other fat, freshly rendered
  • 2 pounds venison ground or other meat
  • 1 white onion large, chopped fine
  • 1 carrot peeled and diced
  • 1 cup potato optional, peeled, diced
  • salt
  • chiltepin chile or any hot chile, dried, crushed
  • 4 cloves garlic chopped fine
  • 1 cup Hatch Chile about 4 to 6 chiles, roasted, chopped or Anaheim or poblano chiles
  • 2 to 4 tomato roasted whole, crushed by hand
  • 10 green olive chopped
  • 2 teaspoons oregano Mexican if possible, dried
  • 1 teaspoon cumin ground
  • 1 teaspoon black pepper ground
  • 2 cups venison stock or any other stock

Instructions

    Cup of Yum
  1. Heat the lard over high heat in a large skillet; I use a cast iron frying pan. Add the venison, spreading it out in an even layer. Salt it well. Sear this without touching for 2 to 3 minutes. Then stir well and sear some more. You want the meat to get legitimate browning, not just turning gray. Sometimes this takes 10 minutes or so.
  2. Add the onion, carrot, potato and hot chiles, if using. Mix well and cook these for about 5 minutes, stirring often.
  3. Add all the remaining ingredients and stir to combine. Turn the heat down to medium and let this simmer for maybe 5 to 10 minutes, until it is as soupy or as dry as you like.

Notes

  • Use finely ground meat to preserve the classic texture; a 4.5 mm grind size works well if grinding yourself.
  • Add diced potatoes when making burritos to provide more bulk and texture to the filling.
  • Substitute canned roasted green chiles if fresh roasting is inconvenient.
  • Adjust the heat level by choosing preferred hot chiles; chiltepin chiles can be replaced with red pepper flakes, cayenne, serranos, habaneros, or others.
  • Skip olives if you prefer, as they are optional and not present in every version of picadillo.

Nutrition Information

Calories 283kcal (14%) Carbohydrates 11g (4%) Protein 27g (54%) Fat 14g (22%) Saturated Fat 8g (40%) Cholesterol 91mg (30%) Sodium 389mg (16%) Potassium 694mg (15%) Fiber 3g (12%) Sugar 3g (6%) Vitamin A 1431IU (29%) Vitamin C 13mg (14%) Calcium 43mg (4%) Iron 4mg (22%)

Nutrition Facts

Serving: 8 people

Amount Per Serving

Calories 283

% Daily Value*

Calories 283kcal 14%
Carbohydrates 11g 4%
Protein 27g 54%
Fat 14g 22%
Saturated Fat 8g 40%
Cholesterol 91mg 30%
Sodium 389mg 16%
Potassium 694mg 15%
Fiber 3g 12%
Sugar 3g 6%
Vitamin A 1431IU 29%
Vitamin C 13mg 14%
Calcium 43mg 4%
Iron 4mg 22%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet.