Chipotle Steak Burrito (Old-School Recipe)
The original Chipotle steak burrito, reverse-engineered from their old-school recipe using a traditional Mexican adobo paste made from dried Chipotle Morita peppers. The steak marinates 12 hours in the adobo. The brown rice is cooked via the pasta method for consistent texture. Includes cilantro-lime brown rice, adobo black beans, tomatillo-red chili salsa made with dried Chile de Arbol, and fresh tomato salsa.
Servings 4 burritos
Calories 400kcal
Equipment
- 1 Blender or food processor adobo paste + tomatillo salsa
- 1 Flattop Griddle cooking steak, toasting chiles, roasting garlic
- 1 Pressure Cooker black beans
- 1 Instant-read thermometer steak temp
- 1 Hefty Storage Gallon Bags marinating steak
- 1 Baking Sheet broiling tomatillos and tomato
- 1 Rice Cooker brown rice
- 1 Large Pot pasta method for rice, or stovetop beans
- 1 Fine Mesh Strainer straining citrus juice
- 1 Whisk citrus-salt mixture for rice, citrus juice for beans
- 1 Mixing Bowls rehydrating chiles, mixing salsas, citrus mixture
- 1 Measuring Spoons spices throughout
- 1 Deli Containers storage (adobo paste, beans, salsas, rice)
- 1 Colander draining rice (pasta method)
Ingredients
Adobo Paste
- 8 oz dried Chipotle Morita peppers not Meco, not canned
- 4 cloves garlic skin on, for roasting
- 1 1/4 cup water plus more if needed
- 1 tsp ground cumin
- 1/2 tsp black pepper
- 1 tsp oregano Mediterranean, not Mexican; McCormick's is what Chipotle uses
- 1 tbsp Morton's Kosher salt
Adobo Steak
- 2 lb beef round top round, bottom round, or eye of round; trim fat and silverskin
- 1/4 cup adobo paste up to 1/2 cup if not using a bag
- neutral oil for cooking surface
- Morton's Kosher salt for seasoning while cooking
- 1 tbsp honey optional; this was in Chipotle's original recipe but has since been removed
Cilantro-Lime Brown Rice
- 2 cup long-grain brown rice Riceland brand recommended; any long-grain brown rice works
- 2 bay leaves
- 1 tbsp neutral oil for cooking
- 2 tbsp neutral oil for finishing
- 1 1/4 tsp Morton's Kosher salt
- 2 tbsp cilantro chopped
- 2 tbsp citrus juice lemon/lime blend, see Notes
Adobo Black Beans
- 1 lb Dried Black Beans
- 1 tbsp Morton's Kosher salt for soaking water
- water for soaking
- neutral oil
- 1/2 cup yellow onion finely diced
- 2 tbsp adobo paste
- 2 bay leaves
- 1 tsp Morton's Kosher salt for cooking
- 6 cup water for pressure cooker; add more for stovetop
- 2 tbsp citrus juice lemon/lime blend, for finishing
- 5 tsp Morton's Kosher salt for finishing, adjust to taste
Tomatillo-Red Chili Salsa
- 12 dried Chile de Arbol
- 8 tomatillos husked and washed
- 1 tomato
- 4 cloves garlic
- 1/8 tsp black pepper
- 1/2 tsp ground cumin
- 1 tsp Morton's Kosher salt
- 1 tsp Tabasco sauce optional, but it does taste more like the restaurant version
Fresh Tomato Salsa
- 1 cup tomatoes cored, seeded, medium diced
- 2 tbsp red onion diced
- 1 1/2 tsp jalapeno finely diced
- 2 tbsp cilantro chopped
- 1 tbsp citrus juice lemon/lime blend
- 1/2 tsp Morton's Kosher salt
For Burrito Assembly
- 4 large flour tortillas largest, thinnest you can find; 10-inch minimum
- aluminum foil for wrapping
Instructions
Make the Adobo Paste
- Cut the dried Chipotle Morita peppers in half lengthwise. Remove the seeds and white ribs. You don't need to get every last bit, but remove as much as you can. The seeds don't blend well and can be bitter.
- Heat a large pan over medium heat. Add the cleaned chiles and stir continuously until they're fragrant and slightly darkened, about 4-5 minutes. This step activates the essential oils in the peppers and deepens their flavor. Do not burn them.
- Transfer the toasted chiles to a large bowl. Cover completely with hot water, then cover the bowl with plastic wrap. Rehydrate for 15-20 minutes until the chiles have plumped up. Drain and set aside. Do not use the soaking liquid.
- For the garlic, heat a dry pan over medium heat. Add the garlic cloves with skins on. Turn every few minutes until the skin is blackened on all sides, about 10-15 minutes. Remove, cool slightly, and peel.
- Add 1 1/4 cups water, rehydrated chiles, roasted garlic, cumin, black pepper, oregano, and salt to a blender. Blend on medium to medium-high, adding more water a splash at a time if needed, until you have a thick paste slightly looser than tomato paste. Scrape the sides of the blender as you go. Taste and adjust seasoning with extra salt, pepper, or cumin.
Marinate the Steak
- Trim any fat and silverskin from the beef round. Cut into manageable pieces, roughly the size of your palm.
- Place the steak in a large Ziploc bag. Add 1/4 to 1/2 cup of adobo paste, seal the bag, and rub the marinade around until all pieces are coated. Refrigerate for at least 12 hours.
Cook the Brown Rice (Pasta Method)
- Wash the brown rice under several changes of water until it runs clear. Bring a large pot of water to a boil, like you would for pasta. Add 2 bay leaves and the washed rice. Boil for 20-25 minutes, testing toward the end, until the rice is tender. Drain and set aside.
- In a small bowl, whisk 1 1/4 tsp salt with 2 tbsp citrus juice until dissolved. Stir in the chopped cilantro. Toss the drained rice with 2 tbsp neutral oil until all grains are coated. Pour the citrus mixture over the rice and stir until evenly distributed. Taste and adjust with more salt or citrus juice.
Cook the Black Beans
- Pick through the dried black beans and remove any broken beans or stones. Dissolve 1 tbsp salt in enough water to cover the beans. Pour over the beans, add more water until they're submerged by 2 inches, and soak for 8-12 hours. Drain and rinse.
- Heat neutral oil in a small pan over medium heat. Add the diced onion and sweat until translucent, 2-3 minutes. Add the soaked beans, sweated onion, 2 tbsp adobo paste, 2 bay leaves, and 1 tsp salt to a pressure cooker with 6 cups of water. Pressure cook on high for 15 minutes. (Stovetop: simmer 1-2 hours, adding water as needed.)
- Test beans for tenderness, remove bay leaves, and season with 2 tbsp citrus juice and 5 tsp salt, adjusting to taste.
Make the Tomatillo-Red Chili Salsa
- Heat a small pan over medium heat. Toast 12 dried Chile de Arbol, stirring, until fragrant and slightly darkened, about 30-60 seconds. Transfer to a small bowl, cover with hot water, and rehydrate for 20-30 minutes. Drain.
- Preheat the broiler to high with the rack on the highest level. Line a baking sheet with foil and place the tomatillos, tomato, and unpeeled garlic cloves on it. Broil 15-20 minutes until well charred. Let everything cool completely before blending. Tomatillos blended hot can turn bitter.
- Add the rehydrated chiles, broiled tomatillos, tomato, garlic (peeled), black pepper, cumin, and salt to a blender. Blend on high to your desired consistency. Stir in the Tabasco, if using. Adjust seasoning.
Make the Fresh Tomato Salsa
- Combine the diced tomatoes, red onion, jalapeno, cilantro, citrus juice, and salt in a small bowl. Stir until combined. Adjust seasoning with extra citrus juice and salt.
Cook the Steak
- Heat a large pan or griddle to 350-400F. Lightly oil the cooking surface. Remove the steak from the marinade and place it on the hot surface. Immediately salt the top side. Cook until you have significant browning on the first side, then flip. Monitor the internal temperature closely. Pull the steak at 130-135F for medium (carryover cooking will bring it to 140F).
- Rest the steak on a cutting board for 10 minutes. Cut into 3/4-inch strips, then cut the strips into 3/4-inch cubes.
Assemble the Burrito
- Heat a flour tortilla in a large pan over medium heat, 30-60 seconds per side, until pliable. Lay the tortilla on a piece of foil. Layer on the cilantro-lime brown rice, adobo black beans, steak cubes, fresh tomato salsa, and tomatillo-red chili salsa.
- Fold the edge closest to you over the filling while tucking it in with your fingers. Fold in both sides toward the center. Roll the burrito forward, pressing down gently and crimping the sides as you go. Wrap in foil.
Video
Notes
On the adobo paste: This recipe makes roughly 3 1/2 cups of adobo paste, far more than you need for one batch of steak. That's intentional. The paste is labor-intensive to make. Portion the leftovers into small containers and freeze them. The adobo keeps for about a month in the fridge and up to a year in the freezer. You'll use it again for the black beans and for future batches.
Dried Chipotle Morita vs. Meco: Both are smoked and dried jalapenos. Mecos are dried and smoked for much longer, giving them an intensely earthy, almost overpowering smokiness. Moritas are picked earlier and smoked for less time, producing a sweeter, more balanced heat. Morita is what Chipotle uses. When buying, check that the chiles are pliable, not brittle. If they crumble when you bend them, they're too dehydrated.
Why not canned chipotles in adobo? Every internet recipe tells you to use them. They're convenient. But canned chipotles sit in a sauce diluted with tomatoes, vinegar, and other ingredients, so you're adding a lot of flavors that aren't in Chipotle's actual recipe. The dried Morita peppers give you the pure chipotle flavor and let you control every other variable. The difference is obvious side by side.
The honey question: According to the original recipe found on Chipotle's old website via the Wayback Machine, they used to add honey to the steak marinade. They've since dropped it. Including it here as optional for anyone who remembers (and misses) the old-school flavor.
On the oregano: Chipotle uses McCormick's Mediterranean oregano, not Mexican oregano. The flavor profiles are different. Mediterranean oregano is milder and more floral. Mexican oregano is more pungent and peppery. Use what they use.
The citrus juice blend: Chipotle doesn't use straight lime juice. They use a blend of lemon and lime. Their website states 1 gallon of citrus juice is made from about 63 limes and 25 lemons. The ratio that tastes right at home: 2 small limes to 1 large lemon. Strain out the pulp and seeds.
Brown rice, pasta method: Cooking brown rice via the absorption method (measured water, covered pot) is unreliable and frequently produces mushy or undercooked results. Boiling it in a large pot of water like pasta, then draining, gives you consistently better texture. This is the recommended method.
Storage by component:
- Adobo paste: 1 month in the fridge, up to 1 year frozen
- Cooked steak: 3-5 days in the fridge
- Brown rice: 3-5 days in the fridge
- Black beans: 5-7 days in the fridge
- Tomatillo-red chili salsa: about 1 week in the fridge
- Fresh tomato salsa: 2-3 days in the fridge
Nutrition
Calories: 400kcal