Cocoa Braised Beef
Recipe makes 4 to 6 portions
Ingredients + Cooking
2 to 3 pound piece Boneless Beef Sirloin, Shoulder or Chuck, excess fat trimmed, meat cut into 1 inch pieces
2 Sweet Onions, thinly sliced
2 cups Beef Stock, Vegetable Broth or Water
28oz. can Diced Tomatoes
1 Tb. Ground Cumin
2 tsp. Granulated Garlic
2 tsp. Kosher Salt
1 tsp. Ground Cloves
3 Tb. Cocoa Powder
2 Tb. Fresh Parsley, Cilantro, Chives or Basil
1 Tb. or more Pristine Cocoa Powder for dusting as a garnish
Select a large pot with a tight fitting lid that will be appropriate for a long slow cooking time on the stove or in the oven. Heat the pot over medium high heat on the stove; when hot add enough grapeseed or vegetable oil to coat the pan. Place half of the meat into the hot pan leaving at least half and inch of space between each piece (**see note). Sear each piece of meat on two sides to a medium brown texture. Remove the meat to a bowl. Cook the second half of the meat in the same manner; add more oil to the pan if it seems too dry. Move this second batch of meat to the bowl with the first batch. Keep the heat on under the pan and add the onions. Sauté until the onions are browned and tender, about 2 minutes. Stir the cumin, garlic, salt and cloves into the onions and sauté until spices are fragrant, about 30 seconds. Pour the stock, broth or water into the pan to deglaze; use a spatula to scrape the bottom of the pan to loosen any fond that has built up on the pan. Stir in the cocoa powder; bring the mixture to a simmer. Return the meat and any accumulated juices to the pot, nestle the meat into the sauce so it is partially submerged. Cover the pot with its lid at this point.
Cooking Method Options:
1. To continue cooking the stew on the stovetop, reduce the heat to low and plan for about 2 hours to simmer for the meat to become very tender. Be sure to check the meat every 30 minutes to stir things around and add more liquid if the mixture seems too dry.
2. The covered pot can also be moved to the oven and cooked at 325F convection for about 3 hours. Be sure to check the meat every 30 minutes to stir things around and add more liquid if the mixture seems too dry.
3. For Pressure Cooking method, transfer all ingredients into the insert bowl of your machine; seal the lid as appropriate. Set the machine to “Pressure Cook”, select Medium setting if available, set cook timer for 40 minutes.
As the meat braises it will release a lot of its own liquid and the meat shrinks in size, so you may not have to add more liquid during the cooking process, but it is best to check at intervals just to be sure. Once the meat is very tender when pierced with a fork (but the meat pieces are still holding together, not falling apart) and the sauce has darkened in color the stew is just about ready. Taste the broth and add more sea salt if desired. Ladle the bbef with a generous amount of the sauce into serving bowls; garnish with the chopped herb of your choice and dust with some of the raw cocoa powder to serve.
**Leaving half an inch of space between the pieces of meat will allow for plenty of space for the steam to escape from the meat as it heats up. If steam is trapped between the pieces of meat it will boil the meat instead of searing it. Starting with a good sear - the dark brown crust that develops on the meat that is in contact with the pan – is essential to develop flavor for a braising recipe. The meat can be cooked in two batches for this initial searing step if the pan is too small to allow for adequate space between the pieces of meat.