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Slow Cooker Mexican Shredded Beef Tacos
Slow Cooker Mexican Shredded Beef Tacos are made with slow-cooked, shredded chuck roast and vegetables – all flavored with Mexican-inspired seasonings and herbs. Serve in taco shells with your favorite toppings for an easy and delicious meal.
Ingredients
5–6 pounds boneless chuck roast (could use two 3-pound roasts or cut the quantity down for smaller yield)
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 large white onion, trimmed, peeled and cut into four thick slices
1 large bell pepper stemmed and seeded and cut into four quarters. Flatten each quarter with your hand so they cook flat
1 large jalapeno pepper stemmed and seeded and cut in half and flattened
3 large garlic cloves, peeled and left whole
Juice from one fresh lime, about 2 tablespoons
1 cup beef broth or stock
2 tablespoons tomato paste
1 bunch of fresh cilantro, stems separated from leaves (tie stems with twine and save leaves for tacos)
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon ground coriander
1 teaspoon sweet paprika
Topping suggestions
Soft or hard taco shells
Shredded iceberg lettuce
Diced fresh tomatoes
Shredded Jack cheese
Diced red onion
Fresh cilantro leaves
Sliced fresh jalapenos
Lime wedges
Sour cream
Taco sauce
Or any of your favorite toppings
Instructions
- Pat the roast dry with paper towels and season with salt and pepper on all sides. Set aside.
- Heat a large cast iron skillet or a carbon steel pan on high and when smoking hot, add the sliced onion, red bell pepper pieces, jalapeno pieces and whole garlic. May need to do in batches depending on your pan size.
- Remove the garlic just as it starts to brown and place in the slow cooker. Keep cooking the other vegetables until they are slightly blackened and charred. Also add to the slow cooker.
- Add the vegetable oil to the hot pan and add the beef to sear on all sides. Once the beef has browned (about 8-10 minutes), add to the slow cooker, placing the meat over the charred vegetables.
- Pour lime juice in pan to deglaze, then add beef broth and scrape up brown bits and pour into slow cooker.
- Add all other ingredients to slow cooker but tie the cilantro stems with twine so you can easily remove them at the end.
- Slow cook covered for 8-9 hours on low or 5-6 hours on high or until the beef is fall-apart tender. Slow cookers vary so you will need to monitor yours for total cooking time. We cooked on low and the beef was tender in nine hours, but we did flip the meat over half way through cooking.
- Remove and discard cilantro stems.
- Pour off liquid into a fat separator and remove and discard fat that floats to the top.
- Shred the beef and vegetables with two forks and using the liquid, moisten just enough of the shredded beef to serve. Save any remaining liquid to reheat leftovers.
- Serve in soft or hard shells with your favorite toppings. We used two six-inch flour tortillas and sprinkled on jack cheese to melt, added chopped red onion, cilantro leaves and fresh jalapeno slices then served lettuce, tomato, lime wedges and sour cream on the side for guests to top on their own.
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