Mexican Shredded Beef Recipe

A super easy Mexican style shredded beef cooked in a slow cooker with smoky chipotle chilies with a hint of cocoa and cinnamon.

Mexican cuisine is one of my all time favourites and it’s been a while since I shared a recipe so here we have one from my short list of goto recipes, slow cooker Mexican shredded beef. This recipe is so easy! It’s a slow cooker recipe so all you have to do is season the beef, toss it into the slow cooker all day and then shred the beef before serving. The long and slow cooking process makes this the perfect way to enjoy some cheaper cuts of beef like the chuck or eye of round roast where the long and slow braise will make the meat super tender and leave it nice and moist, not drying it out. The base seasoning for this beef is ground chili peppers and I like to go with a combo of chipotle and ancho cili powders for the smokey heat and flavour. The rest of the seasoning includes cumin, oregano, salt, pepper, orange and lime juice along with garlic and onions. I like to add a hint of cocoa and cinnamon, kind of like a mole sauce, but a more subtle addition that brings that special hit of flavour that you can’t quite put your finger on! This Mexican shredded beef is so easy to make in the slow cooker that you will want to be making it all the time and that’s good since there are so many way to enjoy it from tacos to burritos, quesadillas, sandwiches, etc! (See below the recipe for some ideas on what to use it in!)

A 5-6 pound eye of round roast!
Pour the juices back into the shredded meat to get the most flavour and keep the meat nice and moist, tender and good!

Mexican Shredded Beef

Prep Time:10 minutes Cook Time:8 hours Total Time:8 hours 10 minutes Servings: 12

A super easy Mexican style shredded beef cooked in a slow cooker with smoky chipotle chilies with a hint of cocoa and cinnamon.

ingredients

3 pounds beef roast (such as chuck, eye of round, etc.)
1 tablespoon ground chipotle chilis
2 tablespoons ground ancho chilis
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 tablespoon oregano
2 teaspoons cocoa powder (optional)
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon (optional)
2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon pepper
1/4 cup orange juice
1 tablespoon lime juice
1 large onion, sliced
4 cloves garlic, chopped

directions

Rub the mixture of the chipotle chilis, ancho chilis, cumin, oregano, cocoa, cinnamon, salt and pepper all over the beef before placing it along with the remaining ingredients into a slow cooker and cook on low until the beef is pull apart tender, 8-10 hours.
Remove the beef and onions from the slow cooker, retaining the juices, and shred the beef.
Skim the fat from the juices, transfer to a pan and simmer oven medium-high heat on the stove to reduce to 1 cup before mixing into the shredded beef.

Option: Use your favourite ground chilies instead of the chipotle and ancho!
Option: For oven: Place the seasoned beef and the remaining ingredients in a pot along with 1 cup beef broth or water, cover and braise in a preheated 275F/140C oven until the meat is pull apart tender, about 3-4 hours.
Option: Cook the beef the day before, place the juices from the slow cooker into the fridge over night so that the fat solidifies and you can easily skim it off before reheating and mixing into the shredded beef.