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La Pincée

Dish × condiment pairing

Best New Mexico chile for a steak rub?

Season : summer, all-year · Occasion : cookout, weekend

Chimayó. Its sun-dried cherry and earthy depth make a steak rub that tastes of place, not just heat. Mix the ground chile with salt, garlic, and oregano, then rub on skirt or flank before searing over flame. The low 4-out-of-10 warmth flatters the beef instead of fighting it.

In detail

The best New Mexico chile for a steak rub is Chimayo, the heirloom native chile grown around Chimayo in northern New Mexico. Its sun-dried-cherry, toasted-raisin, and warm-leather notes give carne asada a fruity, earthy depth instead of generic chile heat, and its low warmth, around 4 out of 10, flatters the beef rather than burning it. Build the rub by mixing the ground chile with kosher salt, garlic, oregano, and a little cumin, then rub it onto skirt or flank steak before searing over direct flame and slicing against the grain. Because Chimayo is grown in tiny quantities and increasingly rare, an 8 oz bag runs about $15 to $22, well above commodity chiles. For everyday carne asada, ground guajillo makes a brighter, tangier rub for less, and ancho brings a sweet, plummy depth, but neither has Chimayo's terroir.

Illustration of Carne asada with its condiment recommendation

Our recommendation

Deep brick-red Chimayó chile powder mounded in a rustic clay bowl, a couple of dried whole pods beside it, warm natural light on a weathered wood surface

Spice · Chile

Chimayó Chile

Chimayó, Española Valley, Río Arriba County, New Mexico, USA

Intensity 4/10

sun-dried cherry · earthy red soil · toasted raisin

Chimayo makes a steak rub with real character. Its sun-dried-cherry, toasted-raisin, and warm-leather notes give carne asada a fruity, earthy depth instead of generic chile heat, and the low warmth around 4 out of 10 flatters the beef rather than burning it. Mix into a dry rub for skirt or flank. As an heirloom crop, an 8 oz bag runs about $15 to $22.

Intensity 4/10

Where to buy it

Prices checked on

Merchant Price Action
Amazon US — Amazon US
Made in New Mexico — Made in New Mexico
Chimayo Chile Shop — Chimayo Chile Shop

Prices may vary depending on current promotions on the merchant site.

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The catch

The catch: a chile this good doesn't belong in a kitchen-sink rub. Pile Chimayo into a blend of ten spices and you've drowned the very cherry-and-earth depth you paid heirloom money for. The whole point of single-origin chile is that you can taste the place, so keep the rub spare: chile, salt, garlic, oregano. Bury it under cumin, coriander, and brown sugar and you might as well have bought the cheapest chili powder on the shelf.

Chef's note

Rub it on dry and late, fifteen to thirty minutes before the sear, not the night before. Ground chile left on raw beef for hours pulls moisture and turns pasty, and the delicate Chimayo aromatics fade. Mix the ground chile with kosher salt and garlic, coat the skirt or flank just before it goes over the flame, and let the rub form a fragrant crust in the sear rather than steaming on the meat overnight.

Tasting note

sun-dried cherry · warm leather · toasted raisin · gentle building warmth · about $15 to $22 for an 8 oz bag; a little seasons a lot of steak. A splurge for flavor over heat.

These three sections appear on every one of our pairing pages — our methodology.

Alternatives to explore

Complementary ingredients

Frequently asked questions

How do I build a Chimayo chile steak rub?
Mix ground Chimayo chile with kosher salt, garlic powder, oregano, and a little cumin. Rub it onto skirt or flank steak before searing over flame. The chile's low warmth and cherry-earth depth season the beef without burning, and the rub builds a fragrant crust.
Is Chimayo chile worth it for a rub?
If you want flavor over heat, yes. At about $15 to $22 for 8 oz it costs more than guajillo or ancho, but its single-origin cherry-and-earth depth gives a rub real character. For everyday carne asada, guajillo is the cheaper, tangier pick.
Which cut for carne asada with a chile rub?
Skirt or flank steak. Both are thin, take a dry rub well, and cook fast over high heat. Rub the ground Chimayo and spices on before searing over flame, then slice against the grain. The chile's mild warmth suits the lean beef.

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This pairing was validated according to our methodology. Purchase links are marked sponsored and may earn a commission — details on our Affiliations page.