Cowboy Stew — The Bowl You Bring When Words Won’t Do

I drove to Las Cruces this weekend for chile roasting season, and I need you to understand what that sentence means to me. It means I loaded a cooler into the truck at four AM Saturday, drove seven hours south through Raton Pass and down I-25 past Albuquerque and Truth or Consequences, and when I crossed into Doña Ana County and saw the Organ Mountains rising out of the desert floor, I rolled the windows down and breathed in and the air smelled like smoke and roasting chile and home. It is the smell of my entire childhood in a single inhale. I have never been able to describe it to anyone who didn't grow up with it, and I have never stopped trying.

Gloria was ready. She's seventy-three and has been roasting chiles since before I was born and she does not need my help, a fact she communicated by telling me I was turning the drum too fast approximately forty-five seconds after I arrived. Hector sat in his lawn chair with a glass of water — not the beer he wanted, because his blood sugar won't allow it, a compromise he accepts with the enthusiasm of a man being led to the gallows. He looked thinner than June. I noticed. I didn't say anything. You don't tell Hector Medina he looks thin. You bring him a bowl of stew and watch him eat it and measure your worry by the spoonful.

We roasted six bushels. Big Jims, mostly — long, meaty pods with medium heat and a sweetness that you don't get from any other chile on earth. I stood at the drum with Gloria beside me and the skins blackened and blistered and popped, and the smoke wrapped around us, and Diego helped peel with hands that were too small for the job but willing, and Sofia sat under the cottonwood tree reading a book about horses, and the twins chased the dog around the yard until they collapsed in the dirt. Hector watched all of it from his chair. I caught him smiling. He looked away when he saw me looking, because Medina men do not get caught smiling. Too late. I saw.

We peeled and bagged until dark. Ziploc bags, labeled with a Sharpie — Big Jim, medium heat, September 2016. I filled the cooler. Enough to last until next September if I'm careful. I won't be careful. I'll be putting green chile in everything by Tuesday. We're back, people. We are finally back.

Feed your people. The game is won at the table.

After a day like that—smoke in our clothes, chile under our fingernails, Hector smiling when he thought no one was looking—there was only one thing to make with the first bag out of that cooler. Cowboy Stew is the Medina family’s answer to every hard mile and every good homecoming, and loading it with freshly roasted Big Jim felt less like cooking and more like completing something. Here’s how we made it.

Cowboy Stew with Roasted Hatch Green Chile

Prep Time: 20 min | Cook Time: 1 hr 20 min | Total Time: 1 hr 40 min | Servings: 6

Ingredients

• 2 lbs beef chuck, cut into 1-inch cubes
• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 1 large yellow onion, diced
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 1/2 cups roasted Hatch Big Jim green chile, peeled and chopped (medium heat)
• 1 lb Yukon Gold potatoes, cubed
• 1 can (15 oz) pinto beans, drained and rinsed
• 1 can (14.5 oz) fire-roasted diced tomatoes
• 4 cups beef broth
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano (Mexican oregano preferred)
• 1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika
• Salt and black pepper to taste
• Fresh cilantro and warm flour tortillas, for serving

Instructions

1. Brown the beef. Heat oil in a large Dutch oven or heavy pot over medium-high heat. Season beef cubes generously with salt and pepper. Working in batches, brown on all sides, about 3–4 minutes per batch. Transfer to a plate and set aside.
2. Build the base. Reduce heat to medium. Add onion to the same pot and cook until softened, about 5 minutes. Add garlic and cook 1 minute more, stirring so it doesn’t burn.
3. Add the chile. Stir in the roasted Hatch green chile. Let it cook with the onion and garlic for 2–3 minutes — this is where the stew gets its character.
4. Simmer low and slow. Return the beef to the pot. Add tomatoes, broth, cumin, oregano, and smoked paprika. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer for 45 minutes.
5. Add potatoes and beans. Stir in the potatoes and pinto beans. Continue to simmer uncovered for 25–30 minutes, until potatoes are tender and the broth has thickened slightly.
6. Taste and finish. Adjust salt and pepper. Ladle into bowls and top with fresh cilantro. Serve with warm flour tortillas on the side.

Nutrition (per serving)

Calories: 420 | Protein: 34g | Fat: 16g | Carbs: 31g | Fiber: 6g | Sodium: 680mg