Ecuadorian carne colorada {Achiote marinated meat}

Carne colorada is an achiote marinated meat (beef or pork) dish from the province of Imbabura in Ecuador.

En Español

Carne colorada translates as reddish meat, this traditional Ecuadorian dish gets its name from the orangish red color that the meat absorbs from achiote or annatto seed. Carne colorada is a typical dish from the provinces of Carchi and Imbabura in the northern highland region in Ecuador. This Ecuadorian meat dish is made by marinating beef (or pork) in marinade made with achiote or annatto, beer (or chicha), garlic, onion, cumin and oregano.

Carne colorada is another one of the typical Ecuadorian dishes that is served as a composed plate with a variety of traditional side dishes. The exact side dishes will vary based on the restaurant or the home cook who prepares it, but some of the most popular options include fried ripe plantains, boiled mote or hominy corn, llapingachos or potato patties, avocado slices, rice, yuca or cassava, boiled potatoes with cheese sauce, empanadas, salad, curtido sauce, tostado corn nuts, among others.

Once you add all the sides to the dish it becomes a huge plate (sometimes served on 2 plates to accommodate all the side dishes). When preparing it a home, you can choose to omit some of the heavier side dishes and just include the ones that you prefer or that are made with ingredients that you have available. Personally I usually serve carne colorada with fried ripe plantains, avocado slices, a small salad and at least one of the starchy sides: rice, potatoes (boiled or made into llapingachos potato patties), hominy or yuca.

I posted this recipe a while ago and realized that it isn’t as authentic as it could be. It tastes fine, but is missing that intense achiote flavor. I also wanted to make sure that it had that characteristic bright red color that makes this Ecuadorian carne colorada so recognizable. If you are familiar with achiote or annatto then you know that its flavor is very subtle, it is used more coloring the food than for the flavor.

However, for this particular dish of carne colorada, in addition to the color of the dish, you should be able to distinctly taste the earthiness of the achiote in the meat. For this updated version, I increased the amount of ground achiote that goes into the marinade, and I also made an achiote oil to cook the meat.

The other thing that I wanted to improve was the meat, carne colorada can be made with either beef or pork. When I asked around what was the preferred option, I got different answers, so really it’s up to you. In Ecuador, many meat dishes, beef in particular, are usually made with cuts of meat that require a long period of cooking in order to get tender.

I’ve had this dish at restaurants where they cook it very quickly, and as a result the meat is very tough and overcooked, but not enough to get it tender. This is unfortunately something very common in Ecuador, people are used to eating meat well done, which works great for secos and stews where you have tougher cuts of meat that are cooked slowly until very tender, but can be so wrong for steaks and premium cuts of meat.

For the beef variation, I wanted to try making this achiote marinated meat dish with both a stew type meat, and cook it slower until tender, as well as with a nicer steak cut – which I would cook just medium (or medium rare – adjust based on preference). The pork variation is easier and can be made using tenderloin, which shouldn’t take too long to cook and should be tender.

Carne colorada {Achiote marinated meat}

Carne colorada is an annatto or achiote marinated meat dish from Ecuador, this traditional recipe is made with beef or pork cooked in a bright red achiote sauce.

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Course: Main dish, Meat

Cuisine: Andean, Ecuadorian, Latin, South American

Keyword: Achiote, Achiote marinated meat, Beef or pork, Carne colorada

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cook Time: 30 minutes

Marinating time: 2 hours

Total Time: 45 minutes

Servings: 4 to 6

Ingredients

• 2 lbs of beef top sirloin or pork tenderloin cut into medium sized cubes or strips

For the achiote marinade:

• 6 garlic cloves
• 1 red onion chopped in large chunks
• 2-3 tbs ground achiote or annatto
• 1 tbs ground cumin
• ½ tbs oregano
• 2 tsp salt
• 2 tbs lemon juice
• ½ cup of beer can also use chicha or water

Achiote oil to cook the carne colorada:

• 3 tablespoons of oil butter or lard
• 1 tablespoon of achiote seeds
• Salt to taste

Side dishes:

• Mote or hominy corn
• LLapingacho potato patties or boiled potatoes
• Boiled yuca/cassava
• Fried ripe plantains
• Onion curtido
• Avocado slices and/or side salad
• Aji criollo
• Tostado/cancha/chulpi corn nuts
• Cheese slices or cheese sauce

Instructions

• Blend the garlic cloves, red onion, achiote powder, ground cumin, oregano, 2 teaspoons of salt, lemon juice, and beer until you have a smooth puree.
• Place the meat pieces in a bowl and combine with the marinade. Cover and let rest in the fridge for at least two hours (overnight is ideal).
• Heat the oil (or butter/lard) in a large sauté pan over low to medium heat; add the achiote seeds and simmer for about 10-15 minutes or until the color from the seeds has transferred to the oil. Use a slotted spoon to remove the seeds from the oil and discard the seeds.
• Heat the achiote oil over medium high heat, add the beef and cook until the sauce is reduced completely, about 20-30 minutes. Stir frequently to keep the meat/sauce from burning.
• Taste and adjust salt if needed. Serve with your choice of side dishes.

Notes

You can also make a variation of this dish using chicken.

Side dish recipe options:
Recipe for fried ripe plantains
Recipe for mote or hominy corn 
Recipe for llapingachos potato patties
Recipe for onion curtido or Ecuadorian pickled red onions
Recipe for tostado corn nuts
Recipe for aji criollo hot sauce 

Step by step preparation photos for Ecuadorian carne colorada {Achiote marinated meat}