Steak Ranchero, love at first bite | Mexico in my Kitchen (2024)

Published: Nov 26, 2017 · Updated: Aug 16, 2019 by Mely Martínez

JUMP TO RECIPE

Many Tex-Mex restaurants offer a dish similar to this Steak Ranchero. Some slice the meat into strips or cut it into cubes, and some serve it like in this recipe, with the steak whole and covered with the sauce. I’m sure you’ve seen this dish before when eating out at Mexican places.

Steak Ranchero, My Way

Steak Ranchero, love at first bite | Mexico in my Kitchen (1)

This mouthwatering meal means home to me; it's comforting food at the highest level. I think I could eat steak ranchero 3 times a week and wouldn’t get tired of it! Plus, the leftovers (if any) taste better the next day when you eat them with a warm crusty French roll and some refried black beans.

There are two recipes that are very similar but often confused: “Steak Ranchero” and “Steak a la Mexicana”. They are both very similar because they use the same ingredients, but what changes is the process used when cooking them. When making steak “Ranchero”, the ingredients are ground in a molcajete or a blender, and when making steak “a la Mexicana”, the ingredients are simply chopped or diced. Nevertheless, there are many places that confuse the two terms and name something “Ranchero” or “a la Mexicana” incorrectly.

I called this recipe Steak Ranchero My Way because the ingredients for the sauce are neither chopped nor ground, but the end result is just as delicious.

Enjoy!

How to make Steak Ranchero Recipe

JUMP TO FULL INSTRUCTIONS

DIRECTIONS:

Steak Ranchero, love at first bite | Mexico in my Kitchen (2)

Grind the garlic and peppercorns in yourmolcajeteuntil you have a fine paste. Add the 2 tablespoons of water and stir. Rub this paste all over the steaks and season with salt.(Please check the ingredients list below)
Heat the oil in a large skillet (make sure theskilletis big enough for the two steaks). Once it is hot, add the steaks and cook for about 3 minutes per side.

Steak Ranchero, love at first bite | Mexico in my Kitchen (3)

Add the onion and peppers to the skillet and cook for 3 more minutes, until the sliced onion starts looking transparent. Stir to make sure everything is cooking evenly.
Now, place all the tomato slices on top of the meat, as shown in the picture. Cover the skillet and let it cook for about 5 minutes. After this time, the tomatoes will start releasing their juices. Pour in the beer, season with salt, and keep cooking for 5 more minutes, stirring from time to time. Serve withfried beans,rice, and warm corn tortillas.

Steak Ranchero, love at first bite | Mexico in my Kitchen (4)

Provecho!

Mely,

Check my other recipe forBeef Tip Mexican Style

📖 Recipe

Steak Ranchero

Mely Martínez

5 from 13 votes

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time 10 minutes mins

Cook Time 25 minutes mins

Total Time 35 minutes mins

Course Beef, Main Course

Cuisine Mexican

Ingredients

▢ 1 Pound Rib Eye steak* 2 steaks, each ⅓ or ½ – in. thick
▢ 1 Large garlic clove or 2 small garlic cloves**
▢ 6 peppercorns
▢ 2 tablespoons of water
▢ Salt to taste
▢ 2 tablespoons of vegetable oil
▢ ½ large medium white onion sliced
▢ 2 jalapeño peppers or 4 Serrano peppers sliced
▢ 4 Large Plum tomatoes cut into slices
▢ ⅓ cup beer pale lager

Instructions

Grind the garlic and peppercorns in your molcajete until you have a fine paste. Add the 2 tablespoons of water and stir. Rub this paste all over the steaks and season with salt.
Heat the oil in a large skillet (make sure the skillet is big enough for the two steaks). Once it is hot, add the steaks and cook for about 3 minutes per side.
Add the onion and peppers to the skillet and cook for 3 more minutes, until the sliced onion starts looking transparent. Stir to make sure everything is cooking evenly.
Now, place all the tomato slices on top of the meat, as shown in the picture. Cover the skillet and let it cook for about 5 minutes. After this time, the tomatoes will start releasing their juices. Pour in the beer, season with salt, and keep cooking for 5 more minutes, stirring from time to time. Serve with fried beans, rice, and warm corn tortillas.

Notes

* Other cuts of meat to use for the steaks include Chuck or Sirloin.

** You can substitute the fresh garlic cloves and peppercorn for the powered versions, but believe me, using the fresh ingredients will take the dish to a whole new level of flavor! It’s worth your time to grind those ingredients.

*** The Tex-Mex version has cumin and oregano.

NEW COOKBOOK

BUY IT NOW

Nutrition

Serving: 8ozCalories: 649kcalCarbohydrates: 10gProtein: 47gFat: 46gSaturated Fat: 25gCholesterol: 138mgSodium: 128mgPotassium: 976mgFiber: 2gSugar: 5gVitamin A: 1220IUVitamin C: 36.1mgCalcium: 35mgIron: 4.2mg