The Best Dutch Oven Mexican Steak Picado Recipe

Protein:

Origin: North American, Mexican

Method: Stovetop, Dutch Oven

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Juicy strips of steak are browned and stewed with a vibrant sauce of onions, peppers, tomatoes and spices. For Cinco de Mayo, or an easy weekday meal with your family, this Dutch oven steak picado is sure to be a hit.

What is Steak Picado?

Also known as bistec picado or carne picado, this Mexican steak picado recipe is a one pot dish consisting of tender braised beef, green bell peppers, onion, and fresh tomatoes.  This easy Dutch oven recipe makes for a delicious meal that won’t break the bank and requires very little hands-on time.

Making Mexican Steak picado at home

To make the authentic homemade steak picado you will just need to prepare your steak and vegetables, briefly sear the steak, and then slowly cook the dish.

Ingredients for Steak Picado

To make the Mexican steak and peppers you will need the following ingredients:

2 pounds of steak: Carne picado can be made with a variety or steak, depending on your preferences.  Top sirloin steak is one of our favorites as it provides a nice balance of tenderness and flavor.  Beef tenderloin, flank steak, or chuck steak are other options.  This steak picado recipe was prepared with petite tender, which is a lesser-known cut.  

Bell Pepper:  Traditionally, green bells peppers are used in the bistec picado, but red, yellow or orange peppers can be used as well.  If desired you can also substitute other peppers varieties like poblano peppers, Anaheim, or even Hatch chile.

Onion:  We typically use yellow onion for the steak picado, but white onion or red onion may be used as well.

Garlic: You will need 2-3 cloves garlic for the Mexican braised steak recipe.

Jalapeno Peppers: The addition of jalapeño pepper gives the dish a little kick.  You can substitute serrano peppers or other mildly spicy green peppers. To adjust the spice level of the dish, you can easily adjust the number of spicy peppers used.

Seasonings and spices:  To season the steak picado you will need salt, black pepper, oregano, cumin, and chili powder.  For the chili powder you can use a premixed chili powder, but we prefer to use a mixture of Chipotle, Guajillo, and Ancho chili powder do give the dish a nice balance of smokiness and spice.

Tomatoes:  We find that Roma tomatoes work best in the steak picado recipe as the hold their shape better, compared to larger tomato varieties.

Tomato Sauce:  If possible, we like to use a Mexican style tomato sauce like El Pato or Goya.  Our personal favorite is the Hot Tomato Sauce by El Pato, but you can substitute regular tomato sauce if that is all that you have available.

Broth or Stock:  You will need about 2 cups of broth to braise the steak and veggies.  Beef broth or chicken broth tend to work best.  

Prep the ingredients

Making bistec picado requires minimal prep.  Prepare the vegetables by thinly slicing the onion.  Cut the jalapenos in to inch strips and cut the bell pepper into thin strips.  Finley mince the garlic cloves.

Cut the tomatoes into wedges.  Typically, we cut the tomatoes into 8ths when using Roma tomatoes.

Cut the beef into thin strips.  Be sure to slice your steak against the grain in order to maximize tenderness.

Cooking the carne picado

Heat a Dutch oven or cast-iron pan with a couple tablespoons of oil, over medium-high heat. This is a one-pot Mexican dish, so you will also love the minimal clean up. Add the beef strips and sear until browned on the outside. Remove the steak from the pan.  

Next, add a little more oil and sauté the green peppers and sliced onion, until softened and starting to caramelize.  Once tender, add in the garlic and spices and seasoning and cook for about 1 more minute.

Next, add in the tomato sauce and about 1 cup of water.  Bring to a boil, then add the tomato wedges and reduce to a simmer or low boil.  If using tougher cuts of meat like chuck roast, add the meat back into the pot.  If you are using leaner of more tender cuts of steak like tenderloin, it is best to add the steak back in toward the end of cooking.

Simmer the carne picado

Continue to simmer the steak picado in a Dutch oven for about 30-45 minutes until the sauce has thickened, stirring occasionally.  If you did not add it earlier, add the slices of tender steak back into the Dutch oven for about the last 5 minutes of simmering to finish cooking the beef.  Tender cuts of picado meat like tenderloin are most tender when just cooked through and can become tougher if overcooked, so we recommend waiting until the end of the cooking to add them back in.  

The carne picado is now ready to serve.  If desired top with a squeeze of lime juice and some additional cilantro. Serve as a standalone meal, or with some of your other favorite traditional Mexican dishes:

What to serve with Steak Picado

Bistec picado can be served alongside other Mexican and Tex-Mex favorites like a side of rice, refried beans, black beans, or stewed pinto beans, grilled jalapenos, or elotes.  The tender Mexican steak dish also works perfectly with warm flour tortillas for some delicious steak tacos.

The leftover steak picado should be stored in the refrigerator in an airtight container.  Leftovers are best when eaten within 3-4 days. 

For more of the best Dutch oven recipes don’t forget to check out some of these favorites:

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