I purchased this product for $8.49 at Meijer as I have tried and loved many other Frontera products and even though I thought the price was a little high for a frozen bagged dinner, it was still cheaper than one meal dining out even at fast food anymore.
DESCRIPTION
As it states on the front of the package, it is slow-braised beef with 3 chile barbacoa sauce, black and fire roasted beans and vegetables and it states on the package the "heat" from the dish is "Medium". It also indicates the beef was raised without any antibiotics.
There are two servings per container and 270 calories per serving for the prepared product, which is not bad.
FIRST IMPRESSION
When I opened the package it had a wonderful smell and I easily saw the beef bits and the beans and when cooking saw the beans and a bit of carrots, but at the end of cooking only saw beef and beans I didn't think the finished product looked anything like the front of the package.
INSTRUCTIONS
While it does allow you to get a meal on the table in 15 minutes or less, the biggest problem I had is with the preparation instructions. I can understand getting the pan very not and then adding the oil, but adding water to oil will result in grease popping and potential for burns and with the high temperature, adding water to hot grease is recipe for starting a grease fire. Instead, add the ingredients after the oil, THEN add the water.
After it cooks 10-13 minutes the instructions indicate to put it in a serving bowl and shred the meat with two forks. I don't think the pieces of meat were big enough to shred; I just smashed them with the spatula when cooking and put directly in to tortilla and on top of rice and on chips.
TASTE
The product on its own did not taste as flavorful as I expected it to be and seemed a bit dry. I agree that the "heat" is medium, but more on the mild side of medium.
I tried it on a flour tortilla, rice and tortilla chips. I like it best on tortilla chips as the crunchy texture seems to elevate it. The rice seemed to take the heat down a notch and the texture seemed to blend in the product. It was ok with the flour tortilla, but would probably been better in a taco shell for the added crunchy texture.
Even so, I ended up adding salsa and fresh Cilantro on top in addition to the sour cream on the side to make it more enjoyable to eat.
WOULD I PURCHASE PRODUCT AGAIN
Probably not; instead I would purchase a Frontera Cooking Sauce for $2.49 and add it to a protein and/or vegetables, although it would take longer.
Pros:
- Can have dinner ready in under 15 minutes
- Cost for dinner for two about the cost less than one 1 dinner out ($4.25 each)
- Antibiotic-free meat
- 270 calories per serving
Cons:
- Don't think finished product looks anything like the front of the package.
- Instruction might work on an industrial grill, but do not recommend adding water to hot oil in the pan - will splatter grease all over, could result in burns on skin and could start a grease fire - add product first then the 1/4 cup water.
- Instruction never indicate to turn the heat down - I turned it to medium high about 5 minutes in but still turned out dry.
- End product needed to have other items added to it to make it taste better (salsa, sour cream, Cilantro).
Stove top directions on side of the box. My advice is DON'T ADD WATER TO THE CANOLA OIL! Put the ingredients in first, add the water and turn the heat down to medium high and putting lid on and stir every few minutes. I ended up cooking mine for 10 minutes on an electric burner, but can vary by stove.
Back of package describes the dish in more detail and suggests serving over rice or warm tortillas.
Side of package with nutrition information
Seven minutes into cooking.
Finished product on a tortilla and on top of beans and tortilla chip with sour cream on the side. Ended up adding Salsa and Cilantro.
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