Chipotle Beef for Tacos

This is a delicious, Tex-Mex style meat mix that lets you have tacos ready in a flash for meals or parties.

The prep work for canning is also really fast: the entire mixture is raw pack.

This recipe comes from the Ball All New book (2016).

Like many Ball recipes, the sodium in this can be a bit high (at least 664 mg per serving), but you can reduce the salt, which is just there for seasoning.

You may wish to double or triple this recipe to get a full canner load: if so, just do your calculations on paper first before proceeding so that you aren’t trying to do mental gymnastics in the thick of things.

The recipe

Jar size choices: Half-litre (US pint / 16 oz) OR litre (US quart / 32 oz)

Processing method: Pressure canning only

Yield: 2 x litre (US quart) jars

Headspace: 3 cm (1 inch)

Processing pressure: 10 lbs (69 kPa) weighted gauge, 11 lbs (76 kpa) dial gauge (adjust pressure for your altitude when over 300 metres / 1000 feet.)

Processing time:  Half-litres (pints) 75 minutes; litres (quarts) 90 minutes

If you don’t have a pressure canner, you can freeze this in plastic containers or straight-sided jars with no shoulders. (Water-bath canning is not acceptable for safety reasons.)

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Chipotle Beef for Tacos

This is a delicious, home pressure-canned Tex-Mex style meat mix that lets you have tacos ready in a flash for meals or parties.

Course Main Course

Cuisine Mexican

Keyword Beef

Prep Time 30 minutes

Cook Time 1 hour 30 minutes

Total Time 2 hours

Yield 2 1 litre (quart) jars

Calories 232 kcal

Ingredients

• 2 teaspoons oregano (dried)
• 2 teaspoons salt (OR non-bitter, non-clouding salt sub)
• 50 g coriander (aka cilantro, fresh, chopped. ½ cup / 2 oz)
• 8 cloves garlic
• 2 chipotle chiles (in adobo sauce)
• 200 g onion (sliced. 2 cups / 8 oz. Measured after prep. 2 medium onions)
• 1 kg stewing beef (chuck, round, or brisket) (2 lbs)
• Beef broth (hot)

Metric - US Customary

Instructions

1. Put the oregano and salt in a large bowl or pot.
2. Wash and chop the fresh coriander. Add to bowl.
3. Wash, peel and slice the garlic. Add to bowl.
4. Finely chop the chiles, add to bowl.
5. Mix the contents of the bowl.
6. Wash and peel onions. Slice, and add to bowl.
7. Put a kettle or pot of water on to boil for you to make your beef broth from, if you are using bouillon cubes, powder or liquid. If you're using home-made, start heating it in microwave. Mind the surge when you remove it.
8. Trim excess fat off beef. Cut into 5 cm (2 inch) chunks. Add to bowl.
9. Using your clean hands or a very sturdy spoon, mix the contents of the bowl.
10. Jar size choices: half-litre (1 US pint) or 1 litre (US quart.)
11. Pack the warmed jars firmly (but not overly tightly) with mixture.
12. Leave 3 cm (1 inch) headspace.
13. Top up the jars with hot beef broth (or even just plain boiling water is fine.)
14. Debubble; adjust headspace.
15. Wipe jar rims.
16. Put lids on.
17. Processing pressure: 10 lbs (69 kPa) weighted gauge, 11 lbs (76 kpa) dial gauge (adjust pressure for your altitude when over 300 metres / 1000 feet.)
18. Processing time: half- litre (1 US pint) 75 minutes; 1 litre (US quart) 90 minutes.

See also if applicable:  Dial Gauge Pressures.

Reference information

How to pressure can.

When pressure canning, you must adjust the pressure for your altitude.

For salt substitute, Herbamare Sodium-Free was used.

Recipe notes

• As this is a raw pack, there will be shrinkage during processing. Thus they want you to pack the jar “tightly.” But that doesn’t mean squish it down, either.
• To be clear, you don’t heat or pre-cook the mixture before packing it in jars. This is a raw pack. Ball says, “These easy raw pack recipes are an innovative way to create delicious ready-to-eat meals for your pantry all year long. Raw ingredients and seasonings are combined, packed in the jar, and covered with hot broth; all of the cooking takes place right in the jar! Note: To ensure proper pressure and temperature is achieved for safe processing, you must process at least 2 quart or 4 pint jars in the pressure canner at one time.”
• The chili peppers they mean are the ones that come in tins. They have a smoked taste that is wanted in this recipe. If you can’t find those, use another milder pepper such as jalapeno. As for the smokey taste you could use a few drops of liquid smoke, or, a teaspoon or so of dried, ground chipotle powder or smoked paprika.

Usage notes

Ball says, “Drain contents of jar and shred meat (reserve broth.) Sauté a sliced onion in oil until soft; add beef and 125 ml (½ cup / 4 oz) of broth; simmer 10 minutes. Serve in warmed tortillas with taco toppings.”

Garnish the tacos with one of your home-canned salsas, if desired.

Chipotle Beef shown here served in corn tortillas, along with home-canned salsa and home-canned black beans on rice.

Recipe source

Butcher, Meredith L., Ed. The All New Ball Book of Canning and Preserving. New York: Oxmoor House. 2016. Page 275

Modifications: none

Nutrition

Serving size: 1 cup (250 ml)

Regular version

Per 1 cup (250 ml): 232 calories, 664 mg sodium

Note: does not include any possible sodium from the broth. Allow for that in your mind as well if that matters to you, unless you made your own from scratch salt-free

No-added salt version

Per 1 cup (250 ml): 232 calories, 83 mg sodium

* Nutrition info provided by https://caloriecount.about.com