Mexican Picadillo

March 10, 2024

Picadillo is a comfort food staple in Latin American kitchens around the world. The base ingredients of this homey dish are ground beef, various vegetables, tomatoes and warm spices, but when you start getting into the different variations of this dish, you will notice the addition of some very interesting ingredients…

When it comes to variations of this dish, the list will go on for a while, but here are the basics:

- - - Mexican picadillo typically contains poblanos, potatoes and tomatoes with some carrots for a little sweetness and ground cinnamon for warmth.
    - Cuban picadillo has a more tangy flavor profile and often contains red wine, bay leaves and vinegar with raisins instead of carrots for the sweetness.
    - Puerto Rican picadillo usually has a more herby, vegetable base and is often served as a filling for bread or layered in between pieces of smashed plantain as a casserole.

There are more variations of picadillo in the Philippines, Dominican Republic, Spain and Costa Rica where ingredients like green olives, hard boiled eggs and chayote squash are added into this uniquely inviting dish.

Today, we are making Mexican picadillo with lots of vegetables, warm spices, capers and cilantro in a flavorful tomato based sauce. This is one of those super flexible dishes that you can add what you have and omit what you don’t love and it will still come out delicious.

This is my favorite version of picadillo. Let’s get started…

Begin by gathering your ingredients. This skillet will feed 4-6. If you are serving rice, beans or tortillas with your picadillo then it is definitely enough for 6 servings.

You will need 16 ounces of ground beef, a small yellow onion, 4 cloves of garlic, 2 vine ripened tomatoes, a poblano pepper, a jalapeño, a large carrot, a russet potato, 8 ounces of tomato purée, 1 tablespoon of tomato paste, garlic powder, onion powder, sazon, cumin, ground cinnamon, beef broth, some capers and fresh cilantro.

As soon as the beef is browned, all of the vegetables going in together, so I like to chop everything up in the beginning, so it’s ready to go.

When you are prepping the vegetables, as long as everything has been scrubbed clean, there is not need to peel the potato or carrot. The skin will soften as your picadillo simmers, so there is no need to waste your time peeling anything.

When it comes to the peppers, poblanos are quite mild, so feel free to chop them up any size. The heat in a jalapeño is in the white membrane that the seeds are connected to, so if you are not a fan of heat, I would suggest removing that membrane and the seeds and mincing the jalapeño up small. Now if you are not interested in any heat at all, feel free to omit the jalapeño all together.

Now that everything is ready to go, grab a large deep skillet or braising pan and place it over medium heat. Add 16 ounces of ground beef, break it into small pieces and season with a teaspoon of garlic powder, a teaspoon of onion powder, a teaspoon of sazon, 1/2 teaspoon of cumin and 1/2 teaspoon of ground cinnamon.

Brown the ground beef and then add your beef broth, tomato paste and puree and stir until evenly distributed.

Now add all of the other ingredients… the garlic, onions, tomatoes, potatoes, poblanos, jalapeños, carrots, capers and cilantro. One of my favorite things about this meal is how you just add everything in together. There is no need to layer the vegetables in any certain order, just toss them in and start mixing.

This is the consistency that I prefer and this took a cup and a half of beef broth. You can always start with a cup and add more later if things need loosening up a bit.

Cover the pot, reduce the heat to medium low and simmer for about 20 minutes or until the potatoes are tender.

When the potatoes are tender and your kitchen smells incredible, transfer the pot off the heat and do a quick taste test to see if you need any salt or pepper. There is usually a little salt in the tomato puree and the capers are salty too, so I don’t add salt until the end, but if you ever feel like a dish is missing something, it probably needs some salt.

I really enjoy picadillo. It takes very little effort, but has so many wonderful layers of texture and flavor. It can be enjoyed on its own, over a bed of rice, with some beans or in a tortilla. It is a flexible meal that feels comforting and hearty. Perfect for a weeknight dinner or a cozy meal with friends.

I love adding a bit of crema and some crumbled cojita or queso fresco. If you are a fan of heat, I love adding a splash of cholula to bring a little heat into this truly delicious dish.

If you have never had picadillo or if you are a big fan exploring different versions of this Latin staple then I hope you love this warm, comforting dish.

Disfrutar!

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