Carne Guisada — Print Recipe — The Culinary Codex

Tender chunks of beef braised in a rich sofrito, tomato, and olive sauce with potatoes and carrots until fork-tender.

Ingredients

1kg beef chuck, cubed
3 tbsp sofrito
2 tbsp tomato sauce
1 packet sazon
2 potatoes, cubed
2 carrots, sliced
8 olives
1 tbsp capers
2 tbsp olive oil
2 cups beef stock
1 bay leaf
Salt, pepper, and adobo

Instructions

1 Season beef cubes with adobo, sazon, salt, and pepper. Let rest twenty minutes.
2 Heat olive oil in a caldero. Sear beef in batches until browned on all sides. Remove and set aside.
3 Add sofrito and tomato sauce to the pot. Cook three minutes until darkened and fragrant.
4 Return beef to pot. Add stock, bay leaf, olives, and capers. Bring to a boil and reduce to a simmer.
5 Cover and cook forty-five minutes. Add potatoes and carrots, cook twenty more minutes until everything is tender.
6 Adjust seasoning and let the sauce thicken. Serve over white rice.

Did You Know?

The key to great carne guisada is the searing step — Puerto Rican cooks call this "sellar la carne" and consider it non-negotiable for building deep flavor.