Carne en su jugo is a cozy, homestyle meal that features tender beef simmered in its own juices, homemade salsa verde, and pinto beans. Enjoy the tasty comfort meal with arroz rojo and warm tortillas.
What is Carne en su Jugo?
Enjoy a popular dish from Guadalajara called carne en su jugo (or meat in its juices in English). The beef cooks in bacon fat before stewing in a tangy combination of salsa verde, beans, and blistered chiles. Garnish the meal with crispy bacon, radish slices, chopped onions, cilantro, and lime wedges.
Ingredients You’ll Need
- Bacon: Dice bacon, beef bacon, or turkey bacon, and cook the pieces in the pan until they are nice and crispy. I recommend adding oil to the pan for turkey bacon since it’s so low in fat.
- Green Onions: Saute large green onions or scallions in bacon grease.
- Banana Peppers: Finish the dish with charred yellow or banana peppers (chiles güeros).
- Beef: Thinly slice flap steak or bavette steak into strips. I usually buy it at Costco, and it’s pretty affordable. You can also visit your local Mexican grocery store or carneceria. I recommend asking for Milanesa, a type of beef cutlet.
- Spices: Add black pepper, garlic powder, onion powder, and salt to carne en su jugo for even more flavor.
- Salsa: Simmer the beef in homemade tomatillo sauce made with jalapeños, white onion, garlic, cilantro, and chicken bouillon powder.
- Beans: Stir pinto beans or black beans into the meat dish.
Additions and Substitutions
- Replace pinto beans with kidney beans or black beans, depending on what you have.
- Use serrano peppers in the salsa verde rather than jalapeños if you want the dish to be spicier.
Tools Used to Make This Recipe
All you need to make carne en su jugo is a heavy-bottomed pot like a saute pan, braising dish, or Dutch oven. You will also need a blender or high-powered food processor to prepare the salsa for the beef to cook in.
How to Make Carne en su Jugo
The full recipe with measurements is in the recipe card below.
Step 1: Warm a saute pan over medium heat. Once hot, add the chopped bacon to the pan and cook until crispy. Remove the pieces from the pan using a slotted spoon and set them on a paper towel-lined plate.
Step 2: Add whole green onions and banana peppers to the bacon grease. Cook over medium heat until the chiles start to blister. Remove them with the spoon and set them aside.
Step 3: Arrange the beef slices into the pan and season them with black pepper, garlic powder, and onion powder. Cook over medium heat until the beef browns.
Step 4: While the beef cooks, prepare the salsa by adding the tomatillos, jalapeños, onion, garlic, cilantro, chicken bouillon powder, and water to a blender. Process until smooth.
Step 5: Pour the salsa into the pan with the beef. Simmer until the color of the salsa changes, then add the pinto beans. Cover and cook for 10-15 minutes.
Step 6: Remove the lid, and stir in half of the bacon, green onions, and peppers. Taste and season the dish with salt, a little at a time (depending on the saltiness of the bacon). Cover and cook for 5-10 minutes.
If you enjoy this meal, try one of these Mexican recipes!
Serving Suggestions
Serve the easy carne en su jugo recipe with fluffy Mexican rice and warm corn tortillas or tostadas to soak up the savory broth.
Just like other popular Mexican stews such as pozole rojo or picadillo soup, garnishes are just as important as the stew. I serve the dish with a heaping platter of thinly sliced radishes, chopped cilantro, diced onion, avocado slices, dried Mexican oregano, and lime wedges.
What to do with the Leftovers
- Refrigerate: Store leftovers in an airtight container for 3-4 days.
- Freeze: Let the dish cool and transfer it to a freezer-safe container or bag. Carne en su Jugo freezes for 2-3 months.
- Thaw: Defrost the beef in the fridge overnight.
- Reheat: Warm the leftovers in a saute pan on the stovetop, and prepare your toppings and side dishes.
Frequently Asked Questions
What kind of meat can I use for this recipe?
The type of meat you include depends on your personal preference and availability. I enjoy flap steak because I can buy it at Costco (sometimes on sale), and it cooks quickly. Plus, I can use the rest of the steak in the package to make carne asada tacos!
Flank steak, skirt steak, and bottom-round steaks produce a similar result. Chuck roast is another popular option because it’s affordable, but you will need to increase the cooking time by an hour or two since the chuck roast takes time to become tender.
More Beef Recipes:
Carne en su Jugo
- 6 slices bacon, diced and cooked until crispy
- 6 whole green onions
- 4-6 whole banana peppers (chiles güeros), depending on their size
- 1 pound flap steak (milanesa), pounded thin and cut into strips
- 2 teaspoons black pepper
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 15 tomatillos
- 4 jalapeño peppers
- ¼ medium white onion
- 3 garlic cloves
- 1 cup cilantro
- 2 teaspoons chicken bouillon powder
- 2 cups water
- 2 cans (15.5 ounces) pinto beans, drained and rinsed
- 1-2 teaspoons salt, to taste (depending on the bacon)
- Warm a saute pan over medium heat. Once hot, add the chopped bacon to the pan and cook until crispy. Remove the pieces from the pan using a slotted spoon and set them on a paper towel-lined plate.
- Add whole green onions and banana peppers to the bacon grease. Cook over medium heat until the chiles start to blister. Remove them with the spoon and set them aside.
- Arrange the beef slices into the pan and season them with black pepper, garlic powder, and onion powder. Cook over medium heat until the beef browns.
- While the beef cooks, prepare the salsa by adding the tomatillos, jalapeños, onion, garlic, cilantro, chicken bouillon powder, and water to a blender. Process until smooth.
- Pour the salsa into the pan with the beef. Simmer until the color of the salsa changes, then add the pinto beans. Cover and cook for 10-15 minutes.
- Remove the lid, and stir in half of the bacon, green onions, and peppers. Taste and season the dish with salt, a little at a time (depending on the saltiness of the bacon). Cover and cook for 5-10 minutes.
- The nutritional information shown is an estimate provided by an online nutrition calculator. It should not be considered a substitute for professional advice.