Why it works: Beef and onion are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 7% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 17,092 recipes. Both carry 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine, which smells earthy, pea. The science ↓
Chili Colorado
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare the chile sauce
Place chiles and 3 cups water into a medium stockpot, and bring to a boil.
Remove from heat and steep for 30 minutes to soften.
Strain into a bowl, reserving the cooking liquid.
Place the chiles and some of the liquid into a blender, and purée until smooth.
Add more liquid as necessary to form a smooth sauce.
Pass sauce through a fine mesh strainer to remove any seeds and the tough skins; set aside.
Prepare the beef
Cut the beef into 1–2-inch chunks.
In a medium bowl, combine flour, salt, and pepper.
Dredge the beef chunks in the seasoned flour; set aside.
Brown and simmer
Heat olive oil in a large pot over medium heat.
Sauté onion until tender and translucent, about 5 minutes.
Add beef chunks a few at a time, so as not to overcrowd the pot, and cook until evenly brown.
Remove cooked meat, and continue browning remaining meat.
Return reserved cooked meat to the pot.
Stir in pureed chile mixture.
Add beef stock to just cover beef chunks, or to personal preference.
Bring to a boil over medium heat.
Reduce heat to lowest setting, and simmer for 3 hours, or until meat is tender.
If necessary, adjust with more stock during cooking.
Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)
Counts 6 of 8 ingredients. The other 2 aren't in our nutrition table and add nothing above, so the real totals are higher.
What these numbers assume: 6 portions
| Ingredient | Portion assumed | kcal |
|---|---|---|
| Flour | 1 cup (125g) all-purpose | 455 |
| Beef | 100g cooked | 250 |
| Olive Oil | 1 tbsp (14g) | 119 |
| Onion | 1 medium (110g) | 44 |
| Black Pepper | 1 tsp ground (2.3g) | 6 |
| Salt | 1 tsp (6g) | 0 |
| Seed | not in our table | 0 |
| Water | not in our table | 0 |
One typical portion per ingredient; the recipe's quantities are not counted. A rough guide only, not for medical or dietary planning.
Steps grouped into stages for easier reading; the method is the source's own.
Explore the science
The flavor team
The pairs that carry this dish. Each one is judged two ways: how much their aromas overlap, and how often cooks already put them together.
-
Beef + oniontop 7% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together17,092 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
-
Olive + oniontop 8% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together29,779 recipes
Shared aroma: 2,4-decadienal (seaweed).
-
Beef + peppertop 10% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together18,971 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
-
Pepper + oniontop 11% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together68,474 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
-
Pepper + olivetop 11% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together30,263 recipes
Shared aroma: 2,4-decadienal (seaweed).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- New mexico dry chiles
- Provide the main earthy, mildly hot chile flavor and the thick body of the sauce once puréed.
- Boneless beef chuck roast
- Provides rich beefy flavor, and its connective tissue turns tender during long simmering.
- All-purpose flour
- Coats the beef so it browns well and helps thicken the sauce slightly.
- Olive oil
- Conducts heat for browning the beef and softening the onion, and carries flavor.
- Yellow onion
- Adds sweetness and savory depth as it softens in the oil.
- Beef stock
- Adds liquid for the long simmer, building savory beefy flavor in the sauce.
The step that matters
Browning the beef in batches. Crowding the pot releases moisture and steams the meat instead of browning it. Browning in small batches creates the Maillard flavors that give the stew its depth.
Swap the onion
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (beef, flour, pepper, olive):
- Capsicumfits better
- Tomatofits better
- Eggplantfits better
- Onionthe original
Fit is the average pairing score against beef, flour, pepper, olive. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.
“What each ingredient does” and “The step that matters” were written by Claude from this recipe’s own method and reviewed in samples by CompKitchen.
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