Seared beef tips with guajillo chile sauce and caramelized red onion (puntas de filete al guajillo)

Pull the stems off the guajillo chilies, tear open, shake out the seeds and tear into flat pieces.

Heat the pan until quite hot, add the lard, and toast the chili pieces a handful at a time, turning, until the flesh side lightens; too much makes them bitter, too little bland.

Cover the toasted chilies with hot tap water, weigh down with a heavy plate and soak about 30 minutes until completely soft.

Over medium heat in the remaining fat, cook the whole garlic cloves until browned, tossing.

Grind the cumin seeds in a mortar and add to the blender jar with the oregano, crushed between the palms.

Add the browned garlic, the drained chilies and about a cup of their soaking liquid to the blender.

Blend on high a couple of minutes to as smooth a puree as possible.

Heat the pan over medium-high and press the puree through a medium mesh strainer into it with a spatula, discarding skins and seeds.

Stir consistently 7 to 8 minutes until reduced, darker and thick like tomato paste.

Add a couple of cups of beef broth, turn to medium-low and simmer half an hour.

Cut the ribeye into about one-inch pieces, removing the central chunk of fat.

Film a 12-inch heavy skillet with lard; salt the beef liberally and lay it in an uncrowded single layer over medium-high heat.

Leave undisturbed about a minute until brown, flip and brown the other side, no more than two minutes in all; rare to medium rare. Turn the heat way down.

Slice the red onion crosswise a little over a quarter inch thick and brown it over medium heat about eight minutes, caramelized but still crunchy inside.

Season the sauce with about a teaspoon of salt; a little sugar can balance bitterness if needed.

Spread the onions out, return the beef and its juices, scrape in the sauce and reheat over medium-low a couple of minutes.

Scatter cilantro leaves over and serve from the skillet.