Mexican Shredded Beef
User Reviews
5
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Prep Time
30 mins
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Cook Time
3 hrs
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Total Time
3 hrs 30 mins
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Servings
12
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Calories
268 kcal
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Course
Main Course
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Cuisine
Mexican
Mexican Shredded Beef
Description
Mexican Shredded Beef features a hearty cut of beef such as brisket or chuck roast that is cooked slowly until it becomes very tender and easy to pull apart. The distinctive flavor comes from a homemade enchilada sauce prepared by roasting ancho chiles to deepen their flavor, along with Roma tomatoes, onions, and garlic. These ingredients are blended with stock and seasoned with Mexican oregano, cumin, salt, and pepper to create a balanced sauce with smoky, earthy, and slightly spicy notes. The beef simmers in this sauce, absorbing its flavors while becoming tender.
The texture of the final dish is tender shredded beef coated in a richly flavored sauce, making it flexible for various uses such as filling for enchiladas, tacos, or even served alongside rice or beans. The recipe emphasizes tasting the chili soaking liquid and the sauce at different stages, adjusting seasonings or aromatics to balance the flavors. Leftover enchilada sauce can be reserved for other preparations, enhancing versatility.
Cooking times depend on the equipment and type of beef used, with the key doneness indicator being that the meat pulls apart easily with a fork. The sauce is roasted and blended to enrich its depth, highlighting the importance of the roasting step for both chile and tomatoes, and sautéing the onions and garlic to develop sweetness and aroma before blending.
Ingredients
- 3 lbs. beef brisket or chuck roast
- 1 cup stock
- salt
- black pepper
- olive oil
- 1 lime
For the enchilada sauce:
- 7-8 ancho chiles
- 4-5 Roma tomato
- 1.5 onion
- 4 garlic cloves
- 4 cups stock or soaking liquid
- 2 teaspoons Mexican oregano
- 1/2 teaspoon cumin
- 1 teaspoon salt
- black pepper
Instructions
- 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.
Notes
- Check meat tenderness after a couple of hours to ensure it is fork-tender and easy to shred.
- Reserve some of the enchilada sauce before mixing in the shredded beef for future uses.
- Taste the chile soaking liquid before using it to adjust the sauce flavor according to your preference.
- After cooking, taste the final sauce and adjust with aromatics if the beef flavor is overpowering.
Nutrition Information
Show DetailsNutrition Facts
Serving: 12Serving
Amount Per Serving
Calories 268 kcal
% Daily Value*
| Calories | 268kcal | 13% |
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet.
User Reviews
Overall Rating
5
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