Picadillo Ultimate Comfort Food Recipe – Glen And Friends Cooking


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Picadillo Ultimate Comfort Food Recipe – Glen And Friends Cooking There are so many variations on the Picadillo Recipe… pretty …

35 replies
  1. Mark2k
    Mark2k says:

    As the son of a Cuban immigrant who grew up in Miami, this was like no picadillo I’ve ever seen. Whole tomatoes? Capers? Cumin?What? The one I had growing up had green pepper, onion, garlic, green olives with some of the brine, tomato sauce, a splash of white wine, and most importantly – showing the dish’s Spanish/Moorish roots – raisins. Puerto Ricans will agree too. Picadillo isn’t picadillo without raisins.

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  2. Ravoj TiJiFi
    Ravoj TiJiFi says:

    In the Philippines, we start with a sofrito (garlic, onions, peppers, tomatoes), diced carrots and potatoes then add ground meat which is usually pork. We use soy sauce or fish sauce and black pepper to season and green peas at the end. Some add sweet corn or raisins as well for sweetness. We use this as well for stuffing empanadas, whole chicken or milkfish or as a base for shepherds pie with mashed potatoes or sweet potatoes on top. It's very versatile since you can add whatever is in the refrigerator (cabbage, bitter melon, bok choy, etc.) thus we had it a lot. Thanks for igniting old memories of this dish.

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  3. RT
    RT says:

    There was a recipe for Pastelón with picadillo! I think on Cooks Illustrated within the last year. I think the starch forward nature of greener plantains would be better than sweet ones but ymmv!

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  4. Brian Barry
    Brian Barry says:

    Haha, I was watching your 2020 episode, 1930's Canadian Tamale Pie, when this showed in my queue. So tomorrow I'm making Tamale Pie stuffed with Picadillo. Not going to use that recipe, maybe try my grandmother's recipe or a more modern cornbread-based version, but I do like your picadillo. I make a mixture that is very similar, didn't know it was called picadillo. We call it Tarsha sauce after a friend who doesn't like capers, olives or tomatoes. I love capers.

    A friend's Dominican grandmother makes great picadillo stuffed empanadas, but she won't tell me her recipe.

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  5. Mike King
    Mike King says:

    Chicken Marengo, essentially the same thing with a chicken. Julia Child made it and cut the chicken up with a sword. (I just use chicken thighs.) And if your capers need a brine top off you can use salt water or brine from the olive jar to top off the caper brine.

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  6. John Dillon
    John Dillon says:

    Love Piccadilly and make it often. I add a little cayenne and definitely raisins, which balance the saltiness of the olives. Rice and black beans are a must to accompany it.

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  7. paperclip2004
    paperclip2004 says:

    The one I had when I was a kid had boiled meat instead of ground beef. It could have been braised with red wine, I don't remember (since I was a child and didn't know about wine), but I do remember the soft string pot roast pieces of meet.

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  8. lee32476
    lee32476 says:

    It’s interesting seeing your local take on this versus mine here in Tampa, Florida. We’re a historically immigrant community to the point that expecting Cuban or Spanish cuisine in other towns, and being shocked by their absence was a surprise. Our Piccadillo is closer to beef chili in consistency. Usually has diced olives, and most recipes have raisins for a sweet hit as well, but the tomatoes are fully cooked down into the stew. Generally served with white rice and black beans as a side. Pretty common as a filler in empanadas around these parts as well.

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  9. Christian Ellsworth
    Christian Ellsworth says:

    I had many "picadillo moments" back in the day…. Picadillo is not really a recipe, is rather a cook made in the barracks kitchen inside a fort. Think of a Bolognese sauce but made by soldiers.

    Get whatever meat you have at hand, get some vegetables that you had at hand .. get some spice if you have them at hand (normally cumin, oregano and some pepper)…. Put tomatoes…

    Olives, cappers, bell peppers… If you find them.

    Think of the old fat cook on the soldier's fort. Dealing with whatever was at hand.

    Recommended recipe? Valdiviano (beef jerky soldiers soup)

    Greetings from Chile.

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  10. Christian Motos
    Christian Motos says:

    My parents are from the Philippines and I remember my mom's way of cooking Picadillo using only potatoes, garlic, onion, and ground beef served over rice. I don't recall it having any tomatoes or tomato paste and the other ingredients you incorporated here.

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  11. Eldelezgon
    Eldelezgon says:

    From the Philippines. Mom adds carrots, potatoes, chickpeas, and green peas to the picadillo. At one point she also added raisins to the mix but she doesn't do it as often these days.

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  12. Losttoanyreason
    Losttoanyreason says:

    Made this in the crockpot the day it posted and it turned out great. Added it to the meal rotation. I have just enough left for a lunch later in the week. I made it with the potatoes and olives and glad I did. I don't think I would have enjoyed it as much without the taters. Only made half the recipe . Added a beef bouillon cube, some smoked paprika, a dash or two of Worcestershire sauce, cut majorly back on the cumin as even the single tsp in the half recipe would have been way too much for us. I like cumin but it is so overpowering so I go easy with it.

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  13. Barbara Bowman
    Barbara Bowman says:

    Back in the day, the Coop Home Economists in Berkeley CA had a picadillo recipe we just loved. IIRC it would have been sweeter than this one – some spice in there that was quite novel, I thought. I would so love to find that recipe again! But this variant also looks like a great, easy dinner – thanks.

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  14. Lori Fields
    Lori Fields says:

    I remember many years ago, in a kitchen show on a major home shopping channel, the host, as demo for a product he was selling, made picadillo. I made it, I loved it, then proceeded to lose the recipe, never to be found again. Very similar to this (obviously) except it used ground pork and also included golden raisins. I will be trying this soon. Thanks, Glen!

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  15. Justin Garcia
    Justin Garcia says:

    The version my grandma made also had raisins occasionally, which was always a split consensus at the dinner table but I appreciate the juxtaposition of salty/briny olives with the sweet raisins (I think this is the most Spanish influenced part of the dish really). Sometimes she’d make a version omitting the olives and raisins and add crispy potatoes right in with the picadillo, served with maduros (sweet plantains), black beans, rice and a fried egg. Either way, the leftovers always made their way into the empanadas the next day 🙂 – Cuban here

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  16. Joanne Hunter
    Joanne Hunter says:

    Omg my sister's best friend married a Cuban, and Papi, Pedro's dad made the best Picadillo (and tamales)! The big difference in his was he added raisins in addition to olives, which sounds awful, but was actually sooooo good! Ty for bringing back that memory!

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