New Mexican Red Chile with Ground Beef

This is one of the most unique and delicious chiles I’ve ever had! My friend Colin said it was the best chile he’s ever had, and Lori loved it too. I’ve been wanting to recreate this restaurant dish for a long time.

In this case, “New Mexican” refers to the southwestern U.S. state of New Mexico. “Chili” is the most common spelling, or “Chilli” in the U.K. and some other countries for this type of dish.

Here it is spelled “Chile” as that is the spelling for the actual New Mexican chile peppers that are part of the dish.

This preparation comes from NuMex, a restaurant that offered New Mexican and Southwestern cuisine that operated at 2710 Central Avenue in St. Petersburg, Florida. It opened in late 2017 and closed in November 2019, after celebrating its second anniversary.

This was one of my favorite items there, and Ray, the owner of NuMex gave me links to buy the exact chile powder, and garlic oil he used to help recreate the dish.

The chile is uniquely served in layers kind of like a layered taco dip. Building up from the bottom, it starts with refried beans, whole pinto beans, then ground beef, and chile sauce, topped with cheese, and then finally pico de gallo.

The chile sauce is made separately from the meat, and then poured on top of the meat so it oozes down into the rest of the dish. The best way to eat it is to drag your spoon up from the bottom grabbing a bit of each layer.

New Mexico is famous for the Hatch chile as it was invented there, but that’s another story. However, in this case the chile pepper used is the Chimayó pepper. It is named after the town of Chimayó, New Mexico, where roughly 200 hectares (500 acres) of Chimayó peppers are harvested annually. It is considered one of the two best chiles in the state, the others being those grown in Hatch. Chimayó chiles have a complex flavor described as sweet and smoky.

The pepper is so prized that powdered Chimayó pepper can cost as much as $100 per pound (454 g). The one I have was $25 for 14 ounces (397 g) – so about 1/4th of that. Food & Wine Magazine says it sells for $45 per pound. These chiles are hand harvested and only be grown on small family farms.

Talking about prices, the garlic oil was ridiculously expensive at $14 for a 2 ounce bottle – that’s $112 for 16 oz (473 ml). None of these prices include shipping from New Mexico.

Lastly, it should be known that New Mexican cuisine is influenced as much by Native American culture and terroir as Mexican.

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