Casual Conversation

Just in case I'll share the recipe I follow:

• 100g bacon, diced small
• 1kg beef, cut into large chunks [see notes for the cuts]
• some veg oil, if necessary
• 1 medium onion, peeled, diced
• 3 Roma tomatoes, peeled, diced
• 2~4 cloves of garlic, peeled, diced
• 4 Tbsp red wine vinegar
• beef broth or water
• cumin, salt, black pepper, red pepper, bay leaf to taste
• optional: parsley, for garnish

1. In the open pressure cooker, over medium-low heat, render the bacon fat. Reserve the meaty bits, keep the fat in the pot.
2. Turn fire up, and use it to brown the beef. Don't worry about cooking it inside, you only want to brown it in the outside.
3. Add onion, tomato, garlic, vinegar, enough broth/water to cover everything, and seasoning. Return the bacon bits to the pressure cooker. Close the lid, let it cook for 1h30min or so.
4. By then the vegs probably dissolved. Now use two forks to shred the meat, and add more water/broth if necessary (use your judgement). Close the pressure cooker again, let it cook for some additional 15min.
5. If garnishing with parsley, do it. Either way, enjoy it. It's traditionally served with yucca meal and sliced bananas.

It should end looking like this (check top left):

It isn't a "pretty" dish, but it's tasty.

Notes:

• This dish isn't picky on beef cuts. I typically use the equivalent of brisket (peito) or shin (músculo), but something like chuck (acém) works fine too.
• The step to brown the beef isn't traditional, but I strongly recommend it, IMO it tastes better.
• In the early 18th century, this recipe was in an ad hoc pressure cooker: a clayware pot with the lid glued by a mix of yucca meal and wheat flour, so the vapour doesn't escape. It's hilariously unsafe and I can't recommend it. If possible, use a plain pressure cooker; but something like a slow cooker would work fine too, just adjust the times.
• For freezing I recommend to split the dish into individual portions first.
• In case you're used to prepare bœuf bourguignon and/or goulasch, keep in mind you can mix concepts and ingredients of all three; I do it often. Paprika and mushrooms for example go really well in it. However in case you decide to use wine like in bœuf bourguignon, don't add vinegar, and I'd recommend to not add cumin (cumin in wine sauces tends to taste weird IMO).