Slow Cooker Chile Colorado Recipe
Slow Cooker Chili Colorado is a rich, authentic Mexican-inspired dish featuring tender beef stew meat simmered in a deeply flavored red chile sauce made from a blend of dried guajillo, ancho, and arbol chiles. This comforting chili combines traditional spices and slow cooking techniques to develop complex flavors and a silky smooth sauce, perfect for a hearty meal any time of year.
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 4 hours on High or 8 hours on Low
- Total Time: 4 hours 20 minutes (High) or 8 hours 20 minutes (Low)
- Yield: 6 servings 1x
- Category: Main Course
- Method: Slow Cooking
- Cuisine: Mexican
- Diet: Gluten Free
Ingredients
Scale
For the chile sauce:
- 4 cups beef broth
- 1 tsp ground cumin
- 6 dried guajillo chiles
- 2 dried ancho chiles
- 2 tsp dried oregano (preferably Mexican oregano)
- 1 tsp sea salt
- 2 tsp garlic powder
- 1 small yellow onion, roughly chopped
- 2 dried arbol chiles
For the beef:
- 1 tsp sea salt
- 2 tbsp avocado oil (or neutral oil like canola)
- 1/4 cup gluten-free all-purpose flour
- 3 lb beef stew meat, cut into 1-inch chunks
- 1/2 tsp black pepper, freshly ground
- 2 bay leaves
Instructions
- Hydrate the Chiles: Bring beef broth to a boil in a pot. Add guajillo, ancho, and arbol dried chiles. Remove from heat and let them steep for 10-15 minutes until softened and infused with broth flavor.
- Prepare Chile Sauce: Remove chiles with a slotted spoon, discard stems and seeds. Combine softened chiles, soaked broth, roughly chopped onion, oregano, cumin, garlic powder, and 1 tsp salt in a blender. Blend on high for 2-3 minutes until completely smooth. Strain through a fine sieve into a bowl, pressing gently to extract as much liquid as possible while leaving pulp behind for a silky sauce.
- Coat and Sear the Beef: Toss beef stew meat with gluten-free flour, remaining 1 tsp salt, and black pepper until evenly coated. Heat avocado oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat until shimmering. Sear beef in batches, 2-3 minutes per side, until deeply browned. Transfer browned beef to a plate.
- Slow Cook: Place seared beef into slow cooker. Pour strained chile sauce over beef, add bay leaves, and stir to combine. Cover and cook on High for 4 hours or Low for 8 hours until meat is tender and flavors meld.
Notes
- Soaking dried chiles is essential for softening and extracting deep flavors for the sauce.
- Straining the sauce results in a silky, smooth texture typical of authentic Chili Colorado.
- Searing the beef beforehand develops rich flavor through the Maillard reaction.
- Cooking on Low allows more time for flavors to develop and produces more tender beef.
- Use gluten-free flour to keep the recipe gluten-free.
- Adjust the number of arbol chiles for preferred heat level.
Keywords: Slow Cooker Chili Colorado, beef chili, Mexican chili recipe, gluten free chili, authentic chili colorado, slow cooker beef stew, red chile sauce, guajillo chile, ancho chile
Find it online: https://cheframiflavor.com/slow-cooker-chile-colorado-recipe/
