Machaca (Authentic Mexican Shredded Beef)

Submitted by BecR2400

"An authentic Mexican recipe from the book "Mexican Cookery" by Barbara Hansen. This delectable shredded beef is perfection! Wonderful served stuffed into a warm flour tortilla. Recipe is easily doubled, or tripled. Could also be made in the crock pot."

 

• Ready In: 2hrs 15mins
• Ingredients: 13
• Serves: 4

ingredients

• 1 lb boneless beef chuck
• 1 cup water
• 6 peppercorns
• 1⁄4 medium onion
• salt
• 1 garlic clove
• 1⁄4 teaspoon salt
• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
• 1⁄2 medium onion, chopped
• 1 california chili pepper, roasted, peeled (or 1 roasted and peeled poblano chili, or 1 canned whole green chili)
• 2 small tomatoes, peeled, chopped (1/2 pound)
• 1⁄4 teaspoon ground cumin
• fresh ground pepper (to taste)

directions

1. Place meat in large saucepan. Add water, peppercorns, 1/4 onion and salt to taste. Bring to a boil, reduce heat. Cover and simmer until meat is very tender, about 1 1/2 hours.
2. Cool meat in broth. Drain, reserving 1/3 cup broth. Mash garlic with 1/4 teaspoon salt to make a paste. Heat oil in a large skillet. Add chopped onion and garlic paste. Cook until onion is tender. Cut chili into short strips. Add chili strips and tomatoes to cooked onion.
3. Cook 3 to 4 minutes. Add meat, cumin and freshly ground pepper to taste. Cook until meat is heated through. Stir in reserved broth. Taste and add salt if needed. Keep warm.
4. NOTE: Can be served as a main dish or in tacos or other tortilla dishes.

Reviews

[Muffin Goddess]

I was pretty impressed with this! I was a teensy bit put off by the amount of fat in the meat (before it was cooked), but I simmered the meat yesterday afternoon and allowed it to chill until this morning due to time constraints. I skimmed the solidified fat, removed all the "sketchy parts" lol, and pulled the beef into chunks. I used a poblano for the chile pepper, but also ended up adding one diced serrano because DH likes the extra heat. I served this with some leftover red chile sauce and Monterey Jack polenta (reserved from another meal which had no leftover meat), then used fresh pico de gallo as a condiment. VERY good! I think my next use for the little bit of leftover meat is going to be burritos. I'd definitely make this one again, thanks for posting! Made for PAC Spring 08 :)

 

[Big Sis]

This was excellent! Added two Tablespoons of Chipotle and family made burritos with it! This is a keeper!

 

[Kathiecooks]

yummy authentic and sooooo good! i'm trying it with chipotle in adobo today for a smoky beef burrito!! gotta love it!!

 

[Gassie Gastronomica]

This recipe may not be an authentic version of “machaca” (it’s not dried shredded- it’s moist) but it’s damn delicious and captures authentic Mexican flavor. I even sent some to my next door neighbor who is an authentic Mexican and she loved it too. You don’t want to lose this recipe. It’s a KEEPER!

 

[jkpape1967]

Made this per the recipe and directions specified. Also made it using slow cooker and can of Rotel in lieu of tomatoes and poblano. Awesome both ways, but easier using the latter approach. Soooo much better than ground beef taco/enchilada/burrito filling. Thanks for posting!