Machaca Guisada (Northern Mexican Braised Dried Beef) Recipe

This Northern Mexican beef stew comes together in no time with the help of juicy tomatoes and tender onions.

By
Christian Reynoso
Christian Reynoso: Contributing Writer at Serious Eats
Christian Reynoso
Christian Reynoso is a freelance recipe developer with a focus on seasonal food and helping home cooks achieve restaurant-level success in the kitchen. He's the former sous chef at Zuni Café.
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Updated November 10, 2023
A Dutch oven filled machaca guisada, a dried beef stew with onions and tomatoes.

Serious Eats / Jillian Atkinson

Why It Works

  • By using machaca—beef that's already been seasoned, slowly dried, and pounded—the stew comes together in no time.
  • Juicy, ripe tomatoes provide almost all the liquid you need to quickly braise the beef.

Machaca guisada is a beef stew typical of Northern Mexico's Sonoran cuisine. It’s made from dried beef called machaca, which is simmered with tomatoes, onion, chiles, and cilantro until rehydrated and tender. Traditionally, machaca is made by marinating and salting strips or slices of beef and then drying them in the sun until they achieve a jerky-like texture; they are then pounded into small, fluffy bits that are easily added to a variety of dishes, like this stew.

This version of machaca guisada is decidedly simple and straightforward. It was designed to be made with homemade machaca, but if you find yourself in a hurry, you should be able to find pre-made machaca at your local Mexican market in packages bearing the names machaca, machacada de res, or carne seca de res.

The key to this stew is to find the ripest, juiciest tomatoes you can—they provide most of the braising liquid needed to rehydrate the machaca. If you find yourself with under-ripe tomatoes, you can add a little beef or chicken stock to keep the tomatoes and machaca just submerged as the stew simmers.

Serve it with refried beans and flour tortillas, or as a filling for Mexican-style burritos.

November 2020

Recipe Details

Machaca Guisada (Northern Mexican Braised Dried Beef) Recipe

Cook 20 mins
Active 20 mins
Total 20 mins
Serves 3 to 4 servings

Ingredients

  • 1 tablespoon (15ml) extra virgin olive oil

  • 1 large (9-ounce; 255g) yellow onion, thinly sliced

  • 1 small red Fresno or serrano chile, stemmed and finely chopped

  • 2 medium ripe tomatoes (about 8 ounces; 225g total), cored and sliced into 1/2-inch wedges

  • 4 ounces homemade or store-bought machaca

  • 2/3 cup loosely packed, roughly chopped cilantro leaves and tender stems

  • Beef or chicken stock, only if needed

  • Kosher or sea salt, as needed

Directions

  1. In a medium Dutch oven or large sauté pan, heat olive oil over high heat until shimmering. Add onion and chile pepper and cook, stirring occasionally, until onions have started to brown but are not yet translucent, about 5 minutes.

  2. Stir in tomatoes and machaca, lower heat to medium, and cover with a lid. Cook, stirring every few minutes, until tomatoes have broken down and coated the machaca in a sauce and the machaca has rehydrated and softened, about 10 minutes; if your tomatoes are not juicy enough, you can moisten the stew with just enough beef or chicken stock to barely cover the tomatoes and beef. Stir in cilantro, turn off heat, and taste; season with salt only if needed. Serve warm.

Special Equipment

Dutch oven

Make-Ahead and Storage

The braised machaca can be refrigerated in an airtight container for up to 5 days. Reheat before serving.

Nutrition Facts (per serving)
114Calories
4gFat
10gCarbs
10gProtein
×
Nutrition Facts
Servings: 3 to 4
Amount per serving
Calories114
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 4g5%
Saturated Fat 1g4%
Cholesterol 22mg7%
Sodium 797mg35%
Total Carbohydrate 10g4%
Dietary Fiber 2g7%
Total Sugars 5g
Protein 10g
Vitamin C 12mg62%
Calcium 26mg2%
Iron 1mg6%
Potassium 332mg7%
*The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a food serving contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice.
(Nutrition information is calculated using an ingredient database and should be considered an estimate.)

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