Rick Bayless's Chile Colorado

Total Time: 1 hr 45 mins Preparation Time: 20 mins Cook Time: 1 hr 25 mins

Ingredients

• Servings: 6
• 2 lbs lamb shoulder
• 8 dried new mexico chiles
• 1/2 onion, diced
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1/4 cup oil
• salt, as needed
• ground black pepper, as needed
• water, as needed

Recipe

• 1 wash the lamb, remove excess fat, cube and set aside.
• 2 take the new mexico chilies (or use dried california chilies which are also mild) and remove the stems, veins, and seeds. break the chilies into big pieces.
• 3 heat a nonstick fryng pan over medium heat. when hot, add 1/3 of the chilies and cook just until they start to change color, pressing down occasionally with a spachula. flip over the chilies and repeat on the second side. remove. repeat with the last two batches of the chilies.
• 4 put the toasted chilies into a pie plate, fill part-way full with water and top with a salad or other smallish plate. let the chilies soak for 30-45 minutes.
• 5 once the dried chilies are done soaking, put them into a food processor or blender along with the onion, garlic, oregano and cumin. add some of the soaking liquid (at least one cup or more) and puree. strain through a wire mesh. set the red chili sauce aside.
• 6 meanwhile, in the same nonstick frying pan, heat it over medium-high heat. when the pan is hot add 1/4 cup oi and when the oil is warm, add half of the meat cubes. use a spachula to turn over the meat as it cooks. when the meat gets brown spots, remove the first batch, and repeat with the remaining meat cubes.
• 7 readd all of the meat back into the frying pan. add the red chili sauce and cook until the sauce has thickened.
• 8 next, put the meat and sauce into a medium-largish size saucepan. add 1 1/2 - 2 cups water.
• 9 bring the liquid to a boil, cover, reduce heat to medium-low and cook about one hour or until the meat is very tender and the sauce is thick.
• 10 add salt and pepper to taste.
• 11 if the sauce is too runny because there is too much liquid, increase heat to high and boil away the liquid unti the sauce thickens. you can also add 1-2 table. masa to the sauce to thicken it as it boils.
• 12 if desired, you can reduce the amount of meat to 1 - 1 1/2 lbs. and add one 16 oz. can drained pinto beans the last 15 minutes of cooking.