This hearty meal features beef sliced into tender thin strips, which absorb the delicious spices and zesty lime juice and create a dish that’s bursting with flavor in every bite. Whether you’re serving it with warm tortillas, rice, or beans, this Steak Picado is sure to be hit for the whole family!
Why You Will Love This Recipe
Easy
This recipe makes a simple meal in just a few steps. After cutting all the meat and veggies, quickly brown the beef in a skillet, then sauté the veggies. Next, add all of the ingredients together and let it simmer for a few minutes. That’s it! Now you’re ready to serve it in tacos or alongside rice and/ or beans.
Cheap
In this recipe, flavorful chuck roast is used, which is a cheaper cut of beef. By slicing the beef into thin strips, even a tougher cut like beef chuck transforms into tender beef pieces, creating a delicious and affordable meal! Beef chuck is probably my favorite cut of meat because it is so versatile, flavorful, and cheap!
Healthy
The simple ingredients in this Steak Picado is as healthy as it gets, offering a hearty serving of protein, healthy fats, vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, and fiber!
Delicious
This great recipe is made with zesty lime juice and flavorful spices like oregano, chili powder, and cumin. Just a touch of tomato sauce adds a hint of sweetness, without taking away from the rich flavors of the beef and vegetables. Sliced onions and peppers add delicious savory and earthy notes, along with a perfect texture.
What kind onions and bell peppers to use?
- Red onion, yellow onion, or white onion will all work well in this recipe.
- I prefer to use orange or yellow pepper, as I find green bell peppers to be too bitter and red bell peppers to be too sweet.
What kind of tomato to use?
- I like to use strained tomatoes in this recipe, which is a plain tomato sauce sold in jars at the grocery store. You can substitute this ingredient with diced fresh tomatoes for a slightly different variation of this recipe!
How to Serve This Mexican Steak Picado
Steak tacos: this recipe makes a perfect taco filling! My favorite way to do this is by making homemade corn warm flour tortillas – check out my favorite Masa Harina (tortilla corn flour) brand at the bottom of this post. Taco toppings like shredded cheese, sour cream, or guacamole are a great addition to this Steak Picado.
Over rice: This main dish served with a side of rice and taco toppings makes an incredible meal ( I like to call it a “taco bowl”). It’s quick and easy, and the rice holds the delicious Steak Picado juices beautifully, creating delicious and flavorful bites. Try it alongside plain white or even Spanish rice!
With a salad: for a lighter meal, feel free to serve this steak picado over a salad with some zesty homemade salad dressing!
Alongside refried beans: refried beans and steak picado make a healthy, delicious meal! I love making homemade refried beans using dried black beans or pinto beans. I recommend soaking beans over night with a big splash of apple cider vinegar, then slow cooking for a long time to aid digestion, maximize nutrients, and reduce phytoestrogens. Check out this video for more about cooking beans a healthy traditional way.
How to Make Picado Meat
The word “picado” in Spanish means chopped, so steak picado means chopped steak! It is important to cut the meat into very thin pieces, because a tough cut of meat like chuck will not be enjoyable as large pieces. I like to cut the chuck into 1/4 inch thick slabs along the grain, then cut each slab against the grain into 1/4 inch long strips. Cutting beef this way turns a tough cut of beef into tender steak pieces!
When browning the meat, I like to use a large cast iron pan set to medium high heat. It is important that the heat is high because we don’t want the meat to boil, we want it to brown, adding tons of flavor. This means it is important not to overcrowd the pan, which is why in the instructions I suggest cooking only half of the meat at a time.
How to Store Mexican Steak Picado
Once fully cooled, store in an airtight glass container in the refrigerator for up to 4 days or in the freezer for up to 4 months.
How to Make Mexican Steak Picado (Bistec Picado)
Preheat 2 teaspoons of tallow on a large skillet (preferably cast iron) set to medium-high heat.
Once the pan and tallow are hot, place half of the beef strips on the pan, evenly spaced.
Cook for about 1 minute, then flip the pieces over and cook for another 30 seconds.
Transfer cooked meat to a plate and set aside.
Give the pan a quick clean and preheat again with another 2 teaspoons of tallow (if you don’t clean the pan in between, it may get a little extra smoky).
Repeat the brown meat step for the second half of the beef, then set aside with the rest of the cooked beef.
Preheat 2 teaspoons of tallow on a stainless steel pan (for this step do NOT use cast iron) set to medium heat.
Add onions and sauté until translucent and soft.
Add bell peppers and cook until soft, stirring occasionally.
Add minced garlic cloves and cook until fragrant, stirring constantly.
Add spices and quickly stir into cooking vegetables, then add tomato sauce, lime juice, and water and combine well with all of the ingredients.
Cover pan and reduce heat to low. Cook on low or medium low or 15 minutes.
Garnish with cilantro.
Enjoy!
Easy Mexican Steak Picado Recipe (Bistec Picado)
Equipment
- 1 large cast iron skillet
- 1 large stainless steal pan, with lid
- 1 wooden spoon or stirring utensil
- 1 large serving bowl
Ingredients
- 1 lb beef chuck, sliced into 1/4 inch strips see notes
- 1 medium onion, thinly sliced
- 2 medium bell peppers, thinly sliced
- 4 cloves of garlic, minced
- 1/3 cup plain tomato sauce (or 2/3 cup diced tomatoes)
- 1/2 cup water or beef stock
- 1/4 cup fresh lime juice
Spice Mixture
- 1/2 teaspoon chili powder
- 1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1/2 teaspoon salt (plus more to taste)
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
Instructions
- Preheat 2 teaspoons of tallow on a large skillet (preferably cast iron) set to medium-high heat.
- Once the pan and tallow are hot, place half of the beef strips on the pan, evenly spaced.
- Cook for about 1 minute, then flip the pieces over and cook for another 30 seconds.
- Transfer cooked meat to a plate and set aside.
- Give the pan a quick clean and preheat again with another 2 teaspoons of tallow (if you don’t clean the pan in between, it may get a little extra smoky).
- Repeat the brown meat step for the second half of the beef, then set aside with the rest of the cooked beef.
- Preheat 2 teaspoons of tallow on a stainless steel pan (for this step do NOT use cast iron) set to medium heat.
- Add onions and sauté until translucent and soft.
- Add bell peppers and cook until soft, stirring occasionally.
- Add minced garlic cloves and cook until fragrant, stirring constantly.
- Add spices and quickly stir into cooking vegetables, then add tomato sauce, lime juice, and water and combine well with all of the ingredients.
- Cover pan and reduce heat to low. Cook on low or medium low or 15 minutes.
- Transfer to serving bowl and garnish with cilantro.
- Enjoy!
Notes
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My favorite organic white Masa Harina Flour for homemade tortillas!
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