Wow, it’s been a minute since I’ve put up a recipe! In my time off, I’ve honed my cooking skills some more, tested loads of new recipes, traveled to Thailand and found all kinds of new flavor inspiration (more on that in future posts), and did lots of things not related to cooking that I also enjoy! I’m learning to play the guitar, and bullet journaling, and playing old video games that I only ever have time for in January when the world majorly slows down. January also makes me excited to spend a lot of time on snowy days cooking rich, hearty meals that are essentially coziness in food form. Braised beef fits that bill for me, especially when it’s loaded with flavors and spices that make it perfect for any version of a burrito bowl or taco that you could dream up.

Developing this recipe took a while because I fell into what I now think of as the slow-cooker trap. By this, I mean the problem with a lot of slow cooker-centric meals is that we assume we can just dump anything in the mix and it will magically become delicious as it cooks for eight hours. Cue me spending years trying out pre-made sauces and testing several ultimately disappointing recipes for shredded beef, chicken, etc. (I’ve already found my dream come true pulled pork – check it out here!)

This version was the result of me swearing that I would no longer make bland shredded beef. I wanted to season the hell out of it, and make sure every bite had the kick I expect when I bite into something that is promised as having some Mexican inspired flavors. I went through a few tests for this recipe, adding more lime, more jalapenos, more…everything. The more I cook, the more I discover just how easy it is to under-season food and prevent it from reaching its highest potential.

The flavor profile for this shredded beef is reminiscent of Chipotle barbacoa, except that this is arguably better. The lime and jalapeno flavors are more prominent, and the added onion and green pepper give each bite more dimension in flavor and texture. My favorite way to eat it is piled into a homemade burrito bowl, with loads of avocado, salsa, crema, and shredded cabbage for crunch. By the time the beef is finished cooking, it will have a good amount of (absurdly delicious) drippings/fat in with it, and rice in a burrito bowl soaks it up beautifully. If you prefer to use the meat for tacos, which I highly recommend, make sure you drain some of the liquid off before using it. Unless you love extremely messy tacos – I’m not here to judge your taco preferences.

Slow Cooker Spicy Shredded Beef

A 3lb roast yields approximately 8 cups of shredded beef. Honestly more than it sounds like.

Ingredients

1 3-4lb chuck roast
1 medium onion, cut into strips
1 green bell pepper, de-seeded and cut into strips
1/2 cup beef broth
1/2 cup Mt. Olive diced jalapeno peppers – include some of the liquid from the jar in this measurement
1 4.5oz can mild diced green chiles
1/4 cup lime juice (approx. 2 limes)
2 Tbsps tomato paste
3 tsps onion powder
2 1/2 tsps chili powder
2 tsps paprika
2 tsps garlic powder
2 tsps cumin
1 tsp oregano
1 tsp salt
1 tsp sugar
1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper

Instructions

Slice the roast into 4-6 chunks and sear in a hot skillet, until all sides of each piece are browned.
While the meat is cooking, add all other ingredients to the slow cooker, and give them a stir to combine. They don’t need to be completely mixed. Top with the cooked meat and set the slow cooker to low for 8 hours.
If you are leaving the slow cooker for the whole eight hours, pull some of the seasonings and vegetables from the bottom of the slow cooker on top of the beef, so that it’s surrounded by the other flavors. If you’ll be able to check the beef periodically, give it a stir every hour or so.
After the cooking time is up, shred the beef right in the slow cooker with two forks – it should fall apart very easily.
If using for tacos, drain some of the liquid off the meat before serving.