Mexican Shredded Beef (for Crunchy Tacos)
This is Nostalgia in a taco for many, a Shredded Beef for crunchy tacos recipe is excellent for classic-crunchy-tacos-dorados. Make as many as 20ish crunchy taquitos. Cook it on the stove or an instant pot and make several styles of meals like tacos, tostadas de carne, guisado, machaca breakfast, and more with this cooked shredded beef.
Servings: 8 people
Calories: 780kcal
Equipment
- Slotted spoon
- Tongs
- Fork
- Knife
- Cutting Board
- Pot or Instant pot.
- Shredder for cheese
Ingredients
- 3 lb beef chuck 2.5 - 3 lbs.
- 3 quarts water
- 1 whole onion large, white or yellow onion.
- 8 pieces garlic whole cloves.
- 2 tsp salt kosher 1 + 3/4 tsp if using sea salt.
- 1/2 tsp ground pepper or peppercorns. Both are good to use.
- 2 - 3 leaves bay leaves (laurel) optional, use them if you have them. It's standard here, but preferential.
- 1 tsp ground cumin
For the tacos:
- 20 Tortillas small or regular.
- 1 Lettuce fresh, whole head.
- 3 Roma tomatoes
- 1 lb block mild Cheddar cheese or Monterey Jack Finely shredded is a vibe.
Instructions
To cook the Beef on the Stove
- Place all meat and all its ingredients in a large stock pot. Set the stove to Medium/ high heat and cook for 50 minutes. Set the timer for 50 minutes as a reminder. Once cooked, leave the lid on the pot for additional 15 minutes.
- Once finished with a slotted spoon, remove the cooked beef from the pot and place it in a large bowl. Quickly shred meat with a fork. It'll be so soft that it'll break up quickly, especially while still hot, so less effort from you.
- Add 1/4 cup of broth from the pot and pour it over the shredded meat, then cover it with a lid or plastic wrap to keep moisture trapped. Set to the side.
To make Beef in the Instant Pot
- Place all ingredients to make the beef in the instant pot, cover with lid and seal the venting. Set to manual mode, removing 'keep warm' setting on the IP. Set manual time to cook for 35 minutes.
- Once cook time is up, let the meat chill in the instant pot for 15 minutes of natural release time before manually releasing the pressure.
- Once finished with a slotted spoon, remove the cooked beef from the pot and place it in a large bowl; quickly shred meat with a fork. It'll be so soft that it'll break up quickly, especially while hot.
- Add 1/4 cup of broth from the pot and pour it over the shredded meat, then cover it with a lid or plastic wrap to keep moisture trapped. Set to the side.
Tortilla prep & Frying the Hard-Shell Tacos:
- Heat comal (pan) on medium heat for a few minutes (2-3). Place stacks of 2 tortillas on the skillet to warm on each side until pliable enough to fold.
- Once warm, set to the side to cool in a tortilla warmer or towel to keep them soft. Repeat for as many tortillas as you place to use to make tacos.
- Add 3 tablespoons of oil to the pan (use the existing pan or a different pan if you used a comal).
- As the oil heats, fill each tortilla with Mexican beef. Fold and lay flat on the pan in oil. Repeat for the remainder of what fits comfortably on the pan.
- Let tacos fry on each side for 2-3 minutes on medium heat until golden.
- Note: Add oil as necessary into the pan in rounds of 3 tablespoons (Tip: Done to prevent oil waste.)
- Remove crispy tacos from pan and place them on a cooling rack. (Or, put it on a plate lined with a paper towel.)
- Repeat for the remaining tacos left to fry.
To assemble the Shredded Beef Crunchy Tacos
- Open the beef taco shell and fill it with lettuce, tomato, and shaved cheddar cheese.
- Additional toppings include drizzled crema, salsa, shaved cotija cheese, or Monterey jack.
Notes
- Recipe yield - Enough shredded beef for 18-22 hard shell tacos. Perfect for all day group tacos.
- Storage - Tacos taste best crispy fried. Place the remaining beef in a food-safe storage container and cover it with a lid and place in refrigeration.
- Reheating instructions - To reheat the tacos, preheat the toaster oven to 325 degrees and heat for 8-12 minutes. If heating on the stove, warm on preheated pan for 4-5 minutes on each side on low heat.
- Planning on keeping the beef broth - additional half onion is great for more flavor if your plan is to save the broth for more meals.
- Tortilla - Prefer soft tortillas? Skip the frying directions and prepare tacos with warm corn of flour tortillas of your choice.
For the full tips, salsa, and recommended ways to flip and use up your Cooked Shredded Beef, visit the full post at the LatinasQueComen website and subscribe to LQC Newsletter!
Nutrition
Serving: 3tacos | Calories: 780kcal | Carbohydrates: 48g | Protein: 49g | Fat: 45g | Saturated Fat: 19g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g | Monounsaturated Fat: 14g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 174mg | Sodium: 1591mg | Potassium: 770mg | Fiber: 14g | Sugar: 5g | Vitamin A: 1142IU | Vitamin C: 6mg | Calcium: 462mg | Iron: 4mg