Kris' Amazing Shredded Mexican Beef

As a "gringo" who loves authentic Mexican food, this was absolutely wonderful! I varied the recipe only a bit, using a bone-in chuck roast that weighed about 2 1/2 pounds. I reduced the quantities of most of the other ingredients about one third (not exactly, just eyed it). I had chipotles in adobo in freezer (great way to store them if you don't use a whole can) and I threw in 4-5 fat ones. I also used home made beef stock instead of water and beef bouillon. Cooked for about 7 hours then shredded and returned to the juices as stated. Served on flour tortillas with some jalapeno poppers (from this site) and some beans. A fiesta in your mouth!

Muy bueno! This is a delicious meat filling for Mexican dishes...tacos, enchiladas, burritos....It was just the right amount of spicy for me, but I like the heat. Faint of heart should follow the author's suggestion to cut down some of the ingredients.

Made this for my boyfriend and he loved it! This recipe is flavor-packed! We even added some more green chilies. Also added a tsp or so of salt. Served as fajitas with fresh salsa, sliced avocados and cheese. Will be making this again!

This is probably the absolute best recipe I've ever tried from this site. Tripled for a 50th birthday fiesta - I didn't change any of the ingredients, just tripled them - and it was a hit, even after warning about the heat! Served with tortillas, refried beans, lime cilantro rice and other toppings . . . everyone at the party loved it. Thanks for posting this awesome recipe!

This recipe is a new family favorite! My husband absolutely LOVES it and requested that I make it for his family when we made a trip home to Utah. It was a HUGE hit. Everyone thought our shredded beef tacos tasted better than anything they've had from any mexican restaurant! Excellent recipe!

This was very flavorful and the meat was so tender and the house smelled terrific. I did add a little bit of salt to the sauce (about 2 tsp.). I made shredded beef enchiladas and the family really liked them. To me, it seemed very authentic. Thanks.

mmm Spicy!! loved it! had some for breakfast this morning. i didn't have the green chilis but had a can of jalapenos, so used them instead. lots of flavor and heat in this one.

I don't have much basis for comparison, but this was a pretty good recipe. I halved the recipe (spices included) and it has just the right amount of heat for me. The only modifications I made to the recipe were to add a sliced green pepper while cooking because I don't like my meat to be too dense and adding the juice of 1/4 lemon at the end. We ate ours on flat bread with guacamole, cheese and salsa and a side of spanish rice.

Great flavor to this recipe. I used 4 chipotle peppers in adobo sauce and froze the rest of the can 3 peppers/bag for future use in this recipe. 4 peppers were a bit spicy for our taste. I took them out before I shredded the beef and stained the broth and put some of the broth back in with the shredded beef with a little water to lessen the spice. Served with lime/cilantro brown rice, black beans, corn, and sauteed onions on wheat tortillas.

Holy schnikes, honking hot! I didn't even use the cayenne. It was super good but no way could I serve to the kids. Next time I will try half the can of chipotle peppers or maybe I will try to seed them since I know the heat is in the seeds. Update: I tried this again with 1/2 can chipotle and I seeded and chopped the chilis. The heat was much more contained but I discovered that the flavor was all in the heat. Without the heat, it was kind of bland and watery from the crock pot. Since the heat makes it impossible to feed to most humans and the lack of heat makes it plain shredded beef that isn't really tasty on a taco, I have to downgrade my rating. I won't be trying this a third time.

I made this for Mother's Day dinner, and it was a hit! This is now my go to shredded beef recipe for soft tacos and enchiladas. It was so good! The only changes I made were to use boneless chuck roast (at Costco I bought a pack that had 2 roasts in it for a total of 4.8 pounds). There were about 15 chipotle peppers in the can, I used 3 (although my son loves heat, I was cooking for my 70 year old parents!) I removed the seeds and chopped the peppers. I personally think 5-7 peppers - seeds removed (about 1/2 can or less) would be perfect for my tastes - some heat, but not clear your sinuses make your eyes water heat. After I shredded the beef, I added 2 tsp. of salt since I started with nearly 5 pounds of meat. We put the meat in flour tortillas and topped with chopped onion, tomato, lettuce, olives, grated pepper jack cheese, sour cream, guacamole, and the fresh pico de gallo from Costco. Devine! I plan on buying a can or 2 of the chipotle peppers and removing the seeds from the entire can, chopping in my food processor, and then freezing them in ice cube trays. Once frozen I'll use my FoodSaver vacuum sealer to vacuum seal and freeze the individual cubes of the chopped chipotle pepper and keep them in the freezer for use later - just add as many cubes as needed to the recipe!

We really liked this recipe. It has great flavor and it was easy to prepare. BEWARE it is very spicy, so if you like a more mild flavor omit the chipotle peppers and reduce the ground cayenne.

I served on bolillo rolls with guacamole, a little monterey jack and fresh cilantro for tortas that were my delicioso! As listed (with cayenne and chipotles in adobo) it was too spicy for our younger boys. But that means more for us! Husband loved it.

Holy Moly! This was HOT!!! I had never used chipotle peppers before and added slightly more than the recipe called for... Yikes! :) I am a novice... But this was super yummy and delicious and pretty easy to make! Loaded with guacomole and sour cream... it was delicious!

Deliciously addicting! I made something similar to Chipotle restaurant big burritos using this meat, cilantro lime rice, black beans, shredded cheese, sour cream, and green chile sauce.

Made this last week for my family. Heeded the warning about the heat so only added 4 medium chipotles. It was too hot so I simmered only the meat with added water in a frying pan which toned it down a bit. Served in flour tortillas with refried beans, cheese, cilantro, tomatoes, and sour cream with a squeeze or fresh lime juice. It still had what we call "an afterburn." I made it again this week for my sister's family with no cayenne and 4 medium chipotles. That was perfect and everyone loved it! I did remove the chipotles from the crock but put the shedded meat back into the juices/marinade. Served the same as above. Froze the rest for another time. Will try this in enchiladas in the future. Thanks for sharing!

Too darn hot.

My husband and I both thought this was just OK. Wasn't as hot as we thought it would be - probably will not make again.

LOVED it!!! This will definitely go into our dinner rotation. It was spicy but that's what we prefer. Topped with black beans, avocado, romaine and sour cream it was perfect!

Made exactly half of the recipe and omitted the bouillon. It was absolutely delicious. All it needed was a pinch of salt at the end when I tasted it. I served it over lettuce (to wrap them like tacos), and pomegranate guacamole. Will make again.

Even though I like spicy, I only put half the can of peppers. It barely had any heat. Next time, because there will definitely be a next time, I will put the whole can. This is now my favorite beef recipe.

The name is right on, this is AMAZING. The meat came out moist, tender and flavorful. What more could you ask for? I think this recipe would work equally well with pork or chicken.

WOW! I was trying to find a recipe to match a local restaurants, and boy I found one that out did it! This was flavorful, yummy and amazing. I didn't want to mask the flavor so I just served it on locally made tortillas and a little quesadilla cheese. Fabulous

Smells excellent! I didn't get to cook it as long as I would like, but it can only get better with time. Used pork instead.

Very good but very spicy, even after cutting the peppers, cumin and chili pepper by half. Definitely a put in burrito with sour cream and cheese kind of meat to mellow it out.

This is a question: has anyone made this without the Slow Cooker? I don't have one, but the recipe sounds delicious and will try it with traditional pot roast technique.

This turned out really nice. I used 2.8 lb rump roast and 3/4 or so of the can of adobos. I've never made this type of beef before. At first I thought it may be too spicy, but turned out just right for us (from cajun country though). Consider adding less liquid or titrate with desired amount after shredding it separately. We considered also adding bbq sauce to the leftovers next time for some variation. It keeps for days of course. Thanks!

Doesn't get any better than this. Wouldn't change a thing.

WARNING: The instructions for this recipe say to reduce the chipotle peppers to 1/4 amount if you 1/2 the recipe. I didn't see that note in the COOK'S NOTES until too late as I did 1/2 the recipe. I even chopped the chipotle peppers into small pieces. Nonetheless, we found the recipe was delicious. It was not too spicy for us - I was worried based on the reviews calling this "beef in fire water" - but we are used to even spicier food than this (Indian Cuisine). I will definitely make this recipe again, and add just a bit more cumin (only change). I myself followed with a sweet dessert (berries topped with honey) because "sweet beats heat." Thank you Kriss Ross for sharing your recipe.

My husband made this for his work colleagues- they were all full and we still have lots for yummy leftovers. Came out great!

This was SO good! Everyone in my family ate it and enjoyed it, that's saying a lot! This recipe will be a staple in my house. Just a side note, my roast was done in 6 hours, so tender, it just fell apart.

This is by far the best shredded beef I have ever made. I will definitely use this recipe again and again!!

Fantastic use for a rump roast! Followed directions except for heat - 2 chipotle peppers and 1/4 tsp cayenne was enough spice for the kids. Fished out the peppers after cooking, then used a neat, quick trick from Cooks Illustrated to shred - placed the meat on a cutting board, covered with plastic wrap and pounded gently.

great flavor! husband loved it

Super good! I don't have a slow cooker so I made this in a dutch oven - 4 hours @ 325 - and it was perfect. Also, used roasted peeled anchos (from last year's harvest) instead of canned peppers.

It was very good, but very spicy. My own fault for putting the whole cane of chipotle peppers in, next time I will definitely cut in half.

Wow this was good. I just did it in the oven for 4 hours at 160 Celsius and came out perfect. The key for me was the chipotle chillies in adobo sauce. The smokey smell that came from the kitchen and infused the beef was a master stroke. I used it as a shredded beef layer in individual nachos for 50 people and they were raving about it. Can't wait to make it again!!!

Best shredded Mexican beef I have ever had!

The taste of this is amazing! My husband loves it! I would reduce the amount of chilis in adobo sauce by at least 1/2. It was extremely hot and myself and the kids couldn't eat it, but I will make it again with less heat and give the remaining chilis to my husband because he loves the heat! He can add them as he likes! ??

Incredible, simply the best dish ever! We've tried it with lime cilantro rice, as burritos, & on salads. Best crock pot meal I've ever made-awesome!

Way too spicy. I didn't even add the whole thing of chipotle peppers or the diced chilis. Should be renamed beef in fire sauce.

I used a 2 1/2 pound roast and the full amount of seasonings. .. This was DELICIOUS!! There were 3 of us and tons of leftover.

Spicy but quite delicious. Certainly too spicy for serving to the general public, about 25% of my group (50ish people) wouldn't eat it due to the fire. That's the difference between New Mexico/Arizona and California I suppose.... Spices are a complement - but the beef is the real star of the dish. In this recipe, salt and hot spice is fairly overpowering which is not a characteristic of Sonoran - style cooking. I'll keep as is for family and halve the spicy for larger groups in the future.

Calling all spice lovers...this recipe delivers! Great combo of flavours. Moist, tender, pull apart beef. Love this recipe. Served it on Chef John's homemade tortillas as beef tacos. http://allrecipes.com/recipe/chef-johns-flour-tortillas/detail.aspx. I used a blade roast because that's what I had & only used 2 heaping tablespoons of chipotles in adobo,& half of the called for cayenne because I have a heat wimp in the house. If we were only eating the beef as is without the taco condiments it may have been too spicy for my heat wimp but not for the spice lover. I will make this again soon! Thank you happygirl820.

Sounds xlent! Looks like there's corn in the picture but not in the recipe.

This was very easy and very good. I am a spicy wimp so we left out the chipotles peppers and added salt and 2 tbsp tomato paste. I served it with a black bean, corn and cilantro salad with olive oil, cider vinegar, salt & pepper to taste and served it on tortillas with cheese sour cream and onions. Yum!

Cut the spices down so it would be kid friendly. Served it at a party the first time I made it and I had passed the recipe out it was so popular.

Made per recipe.. Outstanding.. Wouldn't change a thing...

I have a Cinco de Mayo party every year and as a Southern Californian, I know Mexican food! This is pretty authentic! Every last bite was gone from my taco bar. Great recipe! Mine is close, it was just always missing something....the green chiles were it:)

Oh my gosh, I have searched and tried a ton of shredded beef/pork recipes, and this one wins!!! It's very spicy, and full of flavor. You can tune down the spice and reduce the Chili powder, and still get amazing flavor, but we like it hot. Added Grated cheese, arugula and sour cream..... YUM

Outstanding recipe!!!! My husband who lived in NM for 10 years was thrilled with this beef! Followed other reviewers' suggestion and cut chipotle by half which is a nice heat level for my family with young children. To be authentic southwest: use Hatch green chiles (they are rated mild or hot) look for them in the canned section of your grocery.

We live in Southern California and my husband is from Arizona. Mexican food is practically a religion for him. I made this tonight for smothered burritos. He was in food heaven.

Made this recipe for meat for taquitos, it was awesome. I would definitely use this again. Very flavorful and authentic tasting. Delish!

Update: I bumped my rating from 4 to 5 stars! We made these again over the weekend and I used the entire can of peppers in Adobe sauce (still removing the whole peppers before shredding the beef) it was not too spicy for us and the flavor was incredible! My kids have already requested this again! First Review: I found the recipe last night and made them tonight!! Yummy! I used a 3 lb roast and only 3 peppers, I did pour a little of the Adobe sauce in before starting the crock pot. I also used 2 fresh cloves of garlic, minced, instead of the powdered and beef stock in place of water and the bullion cube. The whole family enjoyed them. We served them with sour cream, freshly grated cheese, diced tomatoes and slices of avocado. THANKS for a great recipe. This one is a keeper!

Great flavor. I upped the spice level by adding canned, diced jalapenos. I had thought 8 hours on high would be too much, but meat shredded perfectly and was tender.

Folks I make this a lot ... It is a family favorite and a crowd pleaser. We use it in chili, nachos, burritos and even just plain rice and black beans. Give this one a try and follow the recipe the first time to get a sense of how it tastes ... Then make your changes here and there. I always use at least a 4.5 to 5 pound roast and maybe a little less liquid. I also use chicken broth instead of bullion. I made it a few time while visiting Family in England where I could not find the chipotle peppers but I found adobo paste ... Also used a brisket instead of a bottom roast ... It was awesome! This is a must try!!!!

This recipe is delicious, but SCREAMING hot. I like hot food and this was almost too hot. I think it would be perfect to half the cayenne and chili powder. I'd also add a squeeze of lime for some tang. The flavors are so good and the meat fell apart it was so tender. I put the meat in a tortilla with tomatoes, cheddar cheese and sour cream. A definite keeper!!!

Couldn't find the cayenne pepper, and it didn't need it. Spicy enough.

I made the recipe as written and found it just a tad too picante for us, but still very good. There's only the two of us, so I used a 2 lb bottom round roast and took the author's advice about the spices. We're glad for the leftovers. This made delicious burritos!

It was okay, I made it just as the recipe said, just lessening the ingredients a bit as I didn't have quite a 4 lb roast. The chipotles add a significant smokey flavor that I don't care for. There is another Mexican meat recipe on this site that I prefer much more.

I have made this multiple times and my family loves it!

Amazing!

It was pretty good although I skipped the cayenne pepper. I live in So. Louisiana and even though we're used to very spicey food, I felt the red pepper would overwhelm the dish. I also did not cook for 8 hours as suggested. If I had done that, the meat would've been reduced to a soggy, pasty mess. Only needed 4 hours in my slow cooker. I also added a small jar of sofrito paste, omitted the chipotle peppers and used powdered adobo instead, along with a small amount of smoked paprika. I was pleased with the results.

This was just - ok - not a "rich" flavor. I'll try it again - with some changes - first - don't bother putting pepper on the roast - it comes off when the liquid is added. I will use beef broth instead of water and the beef cube - and will have alot of added sides to top with - such as - rice, guac, shredded cheese, salsa, sour cream and a chipotle type dressing.

Love this recipe :) I didn't have chipotle in adobo sauce but I did have chipotle powder it came out really good. Good job happygirl820

Five stars. I did not add the adobo based on preference. This was delicious. I was worried about adding the water. But for the last 30 minutes I turned the cooker to high and opened the lid. It allowed some of the liquid to evaporate. We served the meat in hard and soft taco shells. It was YUMMMMMY.

I like spicy and this was unbearable. I even added half of the chilis!!!

Absolutely delicious! Very good flavor.

"Kris' Amazing Shredded Mexican Beef" was really good! Next time I will up the cumin - otherwise perfect for our tastes. Thank you Kris Ross for sharing your recipe.

I left out the chipotle peppers and the flavor was still amazing. My family of 5 males LOVED this!!!

I made a half recipe because I don't have many mouths to feed, but kept all the normal amount of spices and chipotle peppers. This is an AMAZING recipe! Delicious! Thanks for sharing! (Also, I LOVE spicy foods.)

Amazing!!! Had leftovers to freeze!

Great recipe! I was looking to duplicate the Mexican Tacos that I love from a local place. This recipe was perfect, except that I am a wimp and could not endure all the heat that goes in the pot. I left out the chili powder and cayenne pepper. Next time I will add taco seasoning for added flavor.

This was amazing, even my hubby loved it! I served this over rice with red peppers and stewed tomatoes with a little cumin. Will make again.

Fantastic even without the cayenne (which I forgot). My husband said 5 stars.

Followed recipe almost. Read footnote and kept all spices the same level as recommended for a 4 pound roast even if your using a smaller roast. Two changes. I increased the Chipotle peppers from 1/4 to 1/2 the can for a smaller roast and I used can of 16 oz Beef broth (eliminating the beef bouillon and water option) NO NEED TO ADD ANY SALT. as some reviews suggested. This was spicy but not flaming hot. Also when using a 2 pound roast you don't need to cook it for 8 hours. I was able to pull it apart in 6 hours, lower it to low as instructed and put the shredded beef back into the pot. Saving the drippings for a spicy chicken soup. Waste not; Want not. A family favorite

Awesome! Tender and full of flavor! I served it with lime cilantro rice, refried beans and a black bean and corn salsa. I will totally make this again!

After removing the meat, I used an immersion blender to purée all the good stuff in the cooker into a thick sauce.

Made this for dinner last night, before placing the shredded meat back into the crock pot I smashed the peppers with a potato smasher. Returned the shredded meat and cooked on low for another hour. Served on corn tortillas, with shredded jack, sour cream. Spicy, and packed with flavor! I can't wait to share with friends!!!

This recipe rivals a far more difficult barbacoa recipe I normally use. It was SO good!

ThIs recipe is AMAZING. Rarely do I find a recipe that is this good without any tweaking. I make it with rice and corn salsa. If it is too spicy, a little sour cream is all it takes. Highly recommend

I am positive that it is delicious. But IMO, it can be just as good within an hour. No need for 9 hours given the few ingredients (plus the simple seasoning). And the ingredients one can easily buy in any grocery store today, which can be cut, seasoned, and slowly fried in 1 hour. I say this as one born and raised in Los Angeles, where I frequently had very good Mexican food, and have both visited Mexico numerous times and lived there. Enjoy and cheers.

this was a great recipe! We made tacos, and had enough leftovers to make nachos the next night.

I added some Anaheim, Poblano, and Jalapeno peppers in the crockpot for more flavor and spice and strained them out at the end. What I did not like were the chipotle peppers in adobo sauce. They made it WAY too smoke flavored for the whole family.

Excellent recipe! Thank you Kris! I made this as stated on the recipe but added a can of Rotel and one can of beef broth. Using the Rotel without draining allowed me to use less water. I made quesadillas with this and will make enchiladas next. So delicious!!

Husband exclaimed that this was perfect and told me to make it exactly this way every time now!

Very tasty and with some nice kick!

Sooo yummy! Beware of the chipotle peppers. They do make it spicy, but we love this recipe!

This is a hit with the family. I made it without the cayenne and with half of the chipotles in adobo, and the spice was about right for my kids' preference. I could have taken it a bit spicier. I should also note that I used Better than Bullion instead of a beef stock cube, so I had to add some salt to the dish before serving it. Perhaps if I had added the salt initially, the flavor would have popped more, but it was overall a success. A 4 pound roast was totally consumed by my family of 6.

I made this last night, the possibilities are endless for the use of the meat and spicy broth. I used 4 Chipolte in adobo sauce in the beginning. Tasted it in an hour, and removed 3 of them. We eat spicy hot food, but not scorching hot. Very nice heat to this, I used Chipolte chli powder. Very easy recipe that I will be glad to keep. Thank you.

Thanks for sharing very delicious I used the shredded meat to make rolled tacos for a get together:)there where no taqitos left.

I also grew up in Southern California and have yearned for the taste of authentic burrito/taco beef. I only used a half can of the pepper in adobo sauce and 1 tsp black pepper...It came out great...a bit spicier than my husband likes but, the rest of my family loved it...I will definitely make it again!

It was good, but it was way, way too hot. Oddly, it seemed less hot after a couple of days. I think it would be better with many, many more mild chilies.

Awesome recipe!

Loved this! Followed the recipe to a T. Very spicy! Shredded the meat in the Crock-Pot then poured it all into a big skillet and cooked it down on the stove. Hubby had his in a flour tortilla and I had a lettuce wrap on a leaf of Romaine. Topped it with avocado corn black bean salsa from this site. Absolutely yummy! Probably going to freeze some of the leftovers. Thanks Kris!

excellent recipe. I added to my tacos fresh jalapeños for an extra kick. 10/10

This was extremely hot which we love but that was the only flavor I tasted. Will not make again.

This was very good and had a lot of flavor. I cut the roast down to 2 pounds but kept everything else the same except the chipotle peppers (I used two peppers). It was one the verge of being too spicy for my family, but was pretty close to being perfect. I cooked it on low for ten hours in lieu of cooking it on high for eight hours, as the recipe indicated. The roast literally fell apart and was cooked perfectly. We served on baked corn tortillas with lettuce, monterray jack cheese, tomatoes, sour cream and guacamole. It made for a wonderful meal! Thanks for sharing your recipe, happygirl820!

Followed the recipe without any changes, and it was wonderful! Loved the little bit of heat and that it makes so much. We used it for tacos and enchiladas, and still have enough for another meal! Yum