El Salpicon

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There is the Chile Salpicion and the Mexican Salpicion.

This dish consists of shredded beef or chicken is a "spicy Mexican beef salad." It serves a lot as a meal while serving more as an appetizer. Makers of this dish can adjust the temperature of the heat by reducing or by getting rid of hot Chipotle peppers or replacing them with more mild ones.

The dish can be served either hot or cold. It is plentiful as a meal while also serving more as an appetizer. The Salpicon is an excellent dish when having a party because you can partially prepare it a few days before the day of your event.

Since this is not a mainstream food item on many Mexican restaurant menus you may have to do a little bit of traveling to experience the tastiness of this delicious dish. One popular restaurant, Pepin, in Scottsdale, AZ, serves this dish with shrimp, octopus and calamari. Click here to view the restaurant's website.

There are three parts to the dish:

The brisket, dressing and the salad itself.

The brisket, or a beef brisket, consists of chopped onions, stocks of beef, bay leaves, garlic, Chipotle Chile peppers, salt, and black peppercorns. Details on measurements and such can be found here.

The dressing for the salad has a beef broth, chipotle peppers, olive oil, lime juice, white vinegar, ketchup, minced onions salt and black pepper.

The salad its self has tomatoes, avocados, red onion, cubed Monterey Jack cheese, fresh cilantro with the option of adding radishes. To take a look at the preparation and execution in the cooking process of a Salpicon spicy Mexican beef salad, see below.

Here is a step-by-step explanation from www.recipezaar.com that describes what is involved in creating a Salpicon.

1. Prepare brisket: In a Dutch oven or a small stockpot, combine meat with onion, stock, bay leaves, garlic, chipotles, salt and peppercorns.

2. Bring mixture to a boil over high heat, skimming off any foam.

3. Reduce heat to low, cover and simmer 3 1/2 to 4 hours or until the meat is falling-apart tender.

4. Let cool 30 minutes in cooking liquid.

5. Reserve 2 tablespoons cooking liquid for salad dressing and save remainder, refrigerated, for a Southwestern soup or stew.

6. Pull meat apart into shreds.

7. (The dish can be made ahead to this point and refrigerated 1 or 2 days. Before proceeding, warm foil-wrapped meat in oven.) To make dressing: In a blender or food processor, combine reserved brisket liquid, chipotles, olive oil, lime juice, vinegar, ketchup, onion, garlic, salt and pepper and purée.

8. To complete salad: In a bowl, mix brisket with about 3/4 of the dressing.

9. Transfer brisket to a serving platter or bowl and toss it lightly with tomatoes, avocados, onion, cheese and cilantro.

10. Drizzle additional dressing over top, enough to make the mixture moist.

11. Garnish with radish roses if desired.

12. Serve warm with fresh hot tortillas, or chilled with tortilla chips for dipping.

(information from: http://www.recipezaar.com/65156)