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Ancho's Southwest Grill Steak Ranchero

Subject: Re: Ancho's steak ranchero recipe
From: Matt
Date: 12/9/2020, 4:43 PM
To: phaedrus@hungrybrowser.com

On 12/9/2020 3:12 PM, Matt wrote:

I used to live in Riverside CA near a restaurant called Ancho's Southwestern grill.  
Amazing food and service.  I swear they knew everyone that came in.  They knew 
me only after a couple times of going.  Best homemade tortillas I've ever had and 
they make them right in front of you.  They are still open or were before the pandemic.  
I unfortunately do not live near there any more. I'm about a thousand miles away now.

After I moved away and got married, I made sure I took my wife every time we went 
to California.  She fell in love just like me.  I would love to recreate the Steak 
Ranchero recipe. I've searched Google and I've tried the Riverside Daily Press. 
I've tried emailing the restaurant and only received some of the ingredients. 
Those are chicken broth,  ketchup,  tomatoes. That's all I got.  I know it's skirt 
steak marinated for 24hrs and then grilled over mesquite. Served with a bit of 
sauce that has jalapeños and tomatoes.

Anything you can do would be greatly appreciated.  I would also love to have their 
salsa recipe.

Thank you.
Matt 

Hello Matt,

When someone asks for a restaurant recipe and nothing turns up in a Google search, the next thing I do is try to find an online copy of the restaurant's menu. I found one for Ancho's Southwest Grill here: Ancho's Menu

At first, I was puzzled because there is no "Steak Ranchero" listed on it. The listing for steak is "Carne Asada Uncut Skirt Steak. " However, I found from reading a number of reviews of Ancho's that Steak Ranchero isn't on their regular menu, but it is a daily offering on their "Specials" menu. Mesquite grilled skirt steak is one of Ancho's specialties and is in their tacos, burritos, and fajitas.  Ranchero sauce is a thing unto itself, and is used in other dishes besides steak ranchero.

However, I could not find a recipe anywhere at all for "Ancho's Steak Ranchero". Breaking it down into two recipes, I also could not find a recipe or a copycat or a "tastes-like" for either "Ancho's mesquite grilled skirt steak" or "Ancho's Ranchero Sauce".  There are other recipes on the web for mesquite grilled skirt steak and for ranchero sauce, but there is no way to determine which, if any, might be similar to Ancho's if they don't mention Ancho's by name. Similarly, I was unable to find a recipe for Ancho's salsa.

Ancho's has a Facebook page here: Ancho's Facebook

There is an article about Ancho's here that might interest you: Amyisms

I will post this on my site. Perhaps one of my readers can provide additional information about the dish.

Phaed