Authentic Mexican Shredded Beef Recipes

KRIS' AMAZING SHREDDED MEXICAN BEEF

Steps:

• Trim the roast of any excess fat, and cut into four pieces. Rub with black pepper, and place into a slow cooker. Add the onions, green chiles, chili powder, cayenne pepper, garlic powder, cumin, chipotle peppers, and beef bouillon. Pour in enough water to cover 1/3 of the roast.
• Cover, and cook on High until the meat begins to fall apart, about 8 hours. Add water if needed to keep the roast from drying out.
• Turn the slow cooker to Low, and remove meat to a large bowl with a slotted spoon. Shred the meat into bite-sized pieces using two forks. Return the meat to the slow cooker; cook about 20 minutes to reheat before serving.

MEXICAN SHREDDED BEEF

Steps:

• If you're making the enchilada sauce from scratch, start by wiping off any dusty crevasses on the Ancho dried chilis. De-stem and de-seed the chilis, but don't worry about getting rid of every last seed.
• Roast the chili pieces for 1-2 minutes in a 400F oven. Add them to a bowl and cover them with hot tap water. Let the chilis reconstitute for 20-30 minutes. If they float to the surface you can use a small bowl or plate to keep them submerged.
• Roast the tomatoes in a 400F oven for 20-30 minutes (or until you need them).
• Roughly chop 1.5 onions and peel 4 garlic cloves. Add a dollop of oil to a skillet on medium heat and saute the onions and whole garlic cloves until lightly browned.
• Add the roasted tomatoes, the drained chilis, the onion mixture, and 4 cups stock to a blender and combine well. (Alternatively, you can use some of the chilis' soaking liquid in place of the stock. It's best to take a taste of the soaking liquid before using it to see how your palate reacts.)
• Strain the sauce through a fine-mesh sieve and discard the leftover skin and seed remnants. You might have to use the back of a spoon to push the sauce through the strainer.
• Trim the beef and discard any unwanted pieces of fat. I usually cut it into 2-3" chunks. Season generously with salt and pepper.
• Heat a thin layer of oil over medium-high heat in a Dutch oven or saucepan. Once the oil is hot add the beef pieces and brown on all sides, approx. 3-4 minutes per side.
• Add 1 cup of stock to deglaze the pan, scraping up any bits of fond that have stuck to the pan. Add 2 teaspoons Mexican oregano, 1/2 teaspoon cumin, 1 teaspoon salt, and some freshly cracked black pepper.
• Add the strained enchilada sauce to the pan. Once boiling reduce the heat to a quiet simmer (medium-low on my stove) and cook for 2-4 hours or until the beef is fork tender. This batch simmered for 3 hours.
• Once the meat is fork tender, remove it from the pan and shred it using 2 forks.
• Take a final taste of the sauce for seasoning. I added: salt, Mexican oregano, a pinch of cumin, some hot chili powder, and a squeeze of lime. You can optionally raise the heat to reduce the sauce down if you want a thicker sauce. You can also skim off any fat at this point if you want to.
• Once you're happy with the final flavor of the sauce, set some aside to be used later. I removed about half of the sauce before adding the meat back in to coat it.
• Once the meat is coated with the sauce you can serve it immediately. I usually give it a final squeeze of lime as this really brightens it up. Store leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge.

MACHACA (AUTHENTIC MEXICAN SHREDDED BEEF)

Steps:

• Place meat in large saucepan. Add water, peppercorns, 1/4 onion and salt to taste. Bring to a boil, reduce heat. Cover and simmer until meat is very tender, about 1 1/2 hours.
• Cool meat in broth. Drain, reserving 1/3 cup broth. Mash garlic with 1/4 teaspoon salt to make a paste. Heat oil in a large skillet. Add chopped onion and garlic paste. Cook until onion is tender. Cut chili into short strips. Add chili strips and tomatoes to cooked onion.
• Cook 3 to 4 minutes. Add meat, cumin and freshly ground pepper to taste. Cook until meat is heated through. Stir in reserved broth. Taste and add salt if needed. Keep warm.
• NOTE: Can be served as a main dish or in tacos or other tortilla dishes.

AUTHENTIC BEEF ENCHILADAS

Steps:

• In a medium size mixing bowl, add shredded beef and diced onions, mix well and set aside.
• In a medium size sauce pan, add the oil, flour, and chili powder. Turn to medium heat and whisk the ingredients together.
• Continue to whisk as the mixture begins to boil for one minute, then whisk in the water, tomato paste, cumin, garlic powder, and cayenne pepper until smooth. Allow the sauce to come up to a simmer. Once it reaches a simmering boil it will begin to thicken slightly after about 20 to 30 minutes.
• Add salt to taste and 1/4 teaspoon sugar, mix to combine and then add about 1/4 cup of sauce to the shredded beef mixture and stir to combine. Set aside remaining sauce for enchiladas.
• In a small size skillet, add oil to medium-high heat. Gently add one tortilla at a time and fry to a semi soft stage. Dab each tortilla with paper towels to remove excess oil.
• As each tortilla is fried and dabbed with paper towels, stack them to keep them soft for rolling.
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease or spray with a nonstick cooking spray a 9x13 baking dish. Set aside.
• Lay (one at a time) fried tortilla on a flat surface, add about 2 tablespoons shredded beef mixture to the middle of the fried tortilla and top with about 1 teaspoon shredded cheese.
• Roll the tortilla tightly and place in the baking dish (seam side down). Repeat until all 12 tortillas are filled. (For best results, line the enchiladas into two rows of 6).
• Pour the enchilada sauce evenly over the top of the filled tortillas, and then add remaining shredded cheese evenly to the top of the sauce and top with the sliced olives.
• Cover baking dish with foil and bake in preheated oven for 35 to 40 minutes, or until bubbly and hot. Serve with sour cream, optional.
• Makes: 6 servings.

BARBACOA-STYLE SHREDDED BEEF

Steps:

• Season beef chunks with salt and pepper on all sides.
• Heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add beef in batches; cook until browned, about 1 minute per side. Transfer beef to a slow cooker.
• Combine beef broth, apple cider vinegar, lime juice, chipotle peppers, garlic, cumin, oregano, and cloves in a bowl. Season with salt and pepper and mix well. Pour over beef in the slow cooker. Stir in bay leaves.
• Cook on Low until beef is fork-tender, 8 to 10 hours.
• Discard bay leaves. Remove beef and shred using 2 forks. Return beef to the slow cooker to marinate in the sauce for at least 10 more minutes before serving.