Say, remember that bottom round roast I made into BBQ beef last month? I have the uncooked half thawing now. Probably around three pounds, maybe less. I thought I’d make ‘machaca’ (quotes, because it isn’t dried). I’ve done it before, but it was a little on the bland side. The idea is to make some beef enchiladas and/or shredded beef tacos, and use the leftovers to freeze a bunch of taquitos.
Off the top of my head (i.e., typing without what knowing what I’m going to type), I’m thinking of putting it in the slow cooker with some salt, minced garlic, and minced jalapeños. Probably cumin too, since I tend to use cumin in things. I want it to taste not-boring, but I need to be careful about the heat because the SO doesn’t like things too hot. I’m not necessarily looking for authenticity; just some good shredded meat for use in enchiladas, tacos, and taquitos.
For seasoning, I generally just throw a couple packets of taco seasoning into the slow cooker - 1 per pound of meat or so. Along with that, I add in about half an onion, a Roma tomato, a few jalapenos and a few cloves of garlic, cover it with water, and set it on low for about 12 hours. After it’s done, I drain the water and shred it up with some forks.
It’s the closest I’ve found to the shredded beef they use at taco shops in San Diego.
Actually, since I’m not going for authenticity in this case, it sounds pretty good. I’m three ounces short of three pounds, so maybe three packets are in order. Unless I have a partial packet in the cupboard.
The SO and I disagree over water when slow-cooking beef. She always puts it in. I reckon there’s plenty of water in the meat already. (And there is.)
I don’t know nothing about machaca. But, in general, I find you need a LOT less liquid than you think for these slow cooked meats. I only add enough to make sure nothing gets scorched (which is about 1/4-1/2 cup of water for a couple of pounds of meat), but typically there is a lot of liquid that gets released in the cooking, especially if you have vegetables in there, too.
And coriander (Can add some chopped cilantro off heat if your spice cabinet is short coriander), a little cinnamon and once the beef is at the shredded stage finish with a little lime juice.
I used Smapti’s recommendation about the taco seasoning. I cut the 2-1/2 pound roast into four chunks and put it in the crock pot. I added one packet of taco seasoning, half a small-chopped onion, four cloves of minced garlic, half a jalapeño with the seeds and membrane removed (SO doesn’t like it too hot), and just a little water. Cooked it all day, breaking up the meat after a while, and then stirred it up at the end to shred it.
The enchiladas didn’t last long. They were finished off the next day. Last night I used some of the remaining meat to make taquitos. Very good taquito meat. I’ll get some more corn tortillas and roll up the rest.