I made a Cuban Picadillo recipe I found online yesterday

[OriginalGeek]

I think I did OK - it was what my wife wanted for her Mother's day supper and she said she loved it - but, as usual, I am a harsh critic of myself. (And I wonder if a lot of her love for it was that she didn't have to lift a finger except to tell me how to cook the rice lol.)

I think it was a little too tomato-ey so I'll definitely make it again and adjust the spices some. I probably should have left out the tomato paste but I had half a can left over from the BBQ sauce I made Saturday and didn't want it to go to waste so I just threw it in. (I should remind everyone that everything I know about cooking I made up or saw on FoodTV and tried to remember while cooking even as I poorly follow directions from online.)

But pretty much it was edible and there's none leftover so I reckon I passed.

One thing I noticed is the recipe called for browning the hamburger but never called for draining it. Did they just forget? OR is that extra kick of beef grease part of the dish? I drained it because I always drain it and it never occurred to me not to drain it. I didn't have and real flavor to go on - Picadillo is what my wife always orders at Cuban (or other Latin restaurants that have it) but I usually try to get Boliche (Only at a few of our favorite places) or Ropa Vieja if they don't have Boliche. This recipe specifically said it was Cuban recipe but I'm not sure how different that is from Puerto Rican or others. It was definitely thicker than what I see her get at restaurants (the paste maybe?) but they also break it up much finer than I do because she likes her ground beef chunkier lol.

Anyway it was tasty and I enjoyed cooking it. Might dump a little beer in next time just because.

Feel free to suggest additions/subtractions/changes!

[dameatball]

1. You did right to drain it. Who cares what the recipe may have said?.

[OriginalGeek]

2. lol, i kinda care

since I know very little and imagine a lot. So I need the recipes to be accurate at least to start with. I may wander off the path but I try to stay in sight of it.

I just wanted to make sure there wasn't some beef grease technique I was unaware of.

Neither of us tolerate grease very well so I would have drained it anyway but maybe next time I'll use a leaner mix. (I almost always use 80/20 for anything burger related)

[iscooterliberally]

5. I tried it once and did not strain the beef. I think that was a mistake.

When I made it, it had absolutely no flavor. It's not that it tasted bad, there was literally no flavor at all. I did put a bunch of spices in there and they all got washed out by the hamburger fat.

[OriginalGeek]

10. Draining the grease is my least favorite chore

When cooking ground beef. I rarely cook less than 2 lbs and usually more like 3. It's so heavy and my main pan is a tank. But I gotta do it. I think you are probably right..I notice if I forget and put in anything prior to draining that it is not as prominent in the end product.

[lucca18]

3. You did a great job!

I think I will try this recipe.
In looking up and reading the recipe, I like where potatoes are incorporated into the dish (instead of beans).

Again, great job! You made your wife very happy.

[OriginalGeek]

6. thanks!

I did make some black beans but don't nobody get too excited - I just opened a couple cans of La Preferida and heated them up. Thankfully, we have a lot of La Preferida stuff in our stores so I don't have to buy shitty, right-wing Goya products. I did chop the onions myself though!

[Sneederbunk]

4. Is there a link to recipe?

[OriginalGeek]

7. YES! Sorry -

https://www.laylita.com/recipes/picadillo-recipe/

I also left out the raisins and the bell pepper because she doesn't like either of them.

lol, I just noticed it DOES say to drain off the grease - I kept losing the recipe page on my phone and might have been re-googling and thinking I had the same recipe but actually used more than one.

[Sneederbunk]

8. Thanks.

[Siwsan]

9. Your post triggered a serious craving so I'm making some Picadillo, today

Fortunately, I happen to have all of the ingredients, right at hand, including a packet of saffron rice.

[OriginalGeek]

11. Nice!

I prefer any flavor rice over white rice but wife likes white rice only and it was kind of her day so I made white rice. (I had a box of Spanish rice that I made for me and my son as we both like that but the main rice was plain ol' white.)

[XanaDUer2]

12. What a lovely thing to do

when I make it, I don't use paste or sauce, imo makes it too sloppy-joe like.

I use cut-up tomatoes instead. You've inspired me to make a batch!

[OriginalGeek]

13. How cut up?

I mean, like little bitty dices or just chunks? I like the idea if supermarket tomatoes are suitable (I know they aren't the best but I don't think i have access to better ones).

The single best pizza I ever had just used super thinly sliced tomatoes marinated in garlic and herbs and olive oil (and probably a little vinegar of some kind) placed on the crust where sauce would normally go. It was then covered in the regular toppings (cheese and pepperoni and stuff) and the tomatoes basically melted to become the sauce and it was just the best.

The weirdest part about that was it was at Disney's MGM Studios theme park in Orlando. I live in Orlando and don't generally expect theme park food to be any good lol. (I have been visiting WDW since it opened because before I moved here in the early 80s my grandparents lived in Florida and we visited every summer plus I worked at theme parks in my youth and my wife worked at Seaworld for several years. I have had a LOT of theme park food. The only other great theme park food I've had is at Mythos - a real, sit-down restaurant at Universal Studios Islands of Adventure and you have to make reservations ahead of time if you don't want to waste all your ride waiting time waiting in a food line)

Sadly, that Disney restaurant was replaced by something less interesting so no more fancy slice tomato pizzas. At least, until I get me a mandolin.

Enjoy your batch of picadillo!

On a side note, although a real cook might slap me, I found that the frozen microwave maduros were easy and good enough for something someone's grandma didn't make. Next time I'll plan better and have time to pan fry them so the edges get a little crispy/chewy/candied.

[XanaDUer2]

14. Tiny dice. You don't have to cut them perfectly

good, ripe tomatoes. You sound like a good cook.

PS about 2 medium tomatoes for a lb of meat

[OriginalGeek]

15. Thanks! I'm a good eater

and an avid FoodTV watcher so I know some things in theory but I've only started actually making things in the last few years. My wife is happy to leave it to me but I usually only get to cook on weekends. (I work late during the week so if I did the cooking too we'd be eating at 10:00 and sometimes still do).

Her mom was an amaaaaaaazing cook - she made everything from scratch and I do mean everything. She even made her own BBQ sauce and all cakes and pies and Apples Brown Betty were straight from the flour canisters she always kept full. The first time my wife invited me to dinner at her parents house it was Sunday dinner and quite a feast and I was thinking "Hail yeah jackpot!"

It was quite some time later I found out my wife inherited none of her mom's cooking skill or desire. But we will be celebrating our 35th anniversary this July so I reckon it worked out. I think my cooking might have started from just doctoring up her Hamburger Helper.

The worst part is probably the first 20 years of our marriage we ate Sunday dinner at her folks house every week and I never once soaked up even an inkling of what Mom was doing. During those times I worked 2 and 3 jobs and never had the energy to cook and my wife just made stuff for her and the kids and I got fast food somewhere in between shifts so it didn't matter. Sunday was rest day and I ate and passed out on the couch like a good son-in-law.

My wife is retired now and our youngest is 30 and I can afford to only have one job so I can get to cook but I'm really still learning and miss more than I hit but I love the idea of your chopped tomato picadillo and I will search for some juicy ripe ones and give it a shot! Thanks again!


ps. We did find a can of her mom's recipes but they were so old they pretty much deteriorated as we were handling them. Mom-in-law wrote stuff down a loooong time ago and I don't expect she consulted them much in the time I knew her as she already had it down.

[XanaDUer2]

16. Oh, I'm sorry they were so old they decayed

food means so much in our family histories.

My grandmother made Irish soda bread so much she knew what to do. I'd give anything to have a loaf of that now, warm out of the oven!

I got the Piccadillo recipe from an old copy of the joy of cooking. I love the olives and raisins, but you can substitute almond slices if you wish. Try it with the chopped tomatoes next time. Let me know how it goes.

[XanaDUer2]

17. PS

I not only drain the meat, I put it in a collander and rinse it off. Works great. Put it back in the large skillet and then add spices and tomatoes and onions and tbs vinegar