Friday, July 8, 2011

Slow Cooker Taco Meat


It’s been hot here lately.  And we try not to use our air conditioner.  Needless to say, I haven’t been wanting to do much cooking involving the oven or the stove.  Out comes the slow cooker.

A while ago I found a great sale on cross rib roasts and bought too many.  So last week I took one out of my freezer and let it thaw in the fridge for a few days.  Normally, I would sear the outside of the roast to develop the flavor (like this), but this time I didn’t want to stand in front of the hot stove.  So I literally dumped everything in the slow cooker and let it go.  It turned out great!

This recipe makes a lot of meat, but it freezes well.  After serving it the first night, I ended up with three containers of leftovers.  I froze two and used the third to make chili the next day.

Slow Cooker Taco Meat
1 chuck roast or cross rib roast
½ Tbsp. beef bouillon
½ c. taco seasoning
1 can (28 oz.) diced tomatoes

Place roast in slow cooker.  Sprinkle with bouillon and taco seasoning.



Pour tomatoes over top.  Cook on low for 8 to 10 hours or high for 4 to 6.



Remove meat from crock.  Shred with two forks and return to juices in slow cooker.  Stir to mix thoroughly.



This versatile meat can be used for burritos, tacos, enchilada casserolequesadillas, or taco salad.


7 comments:

StaceyN said...

You and I must be on the same page, because I just made up two crockpots full of shredded pork a couple of nights ago!! I used pork chops because we have SOOOO many of them from our piggies. It’s a bummer how many pork chops come from one pig since we are not totally crazy about pork chops, but they seem to make great tacos. If only I could figure out how to raise bacon-only pigs…

We had family visiting from Seattle the other day, and I used the shredded pork to make your yummy oven chimichangas, and they were a hit!

Just a thought: if you want to sear your roasts without heating up the house, you can throw them on a very hot BBQ for a few minutes on each side and then slow cook. I do that with tri-tip in the summer and then put it in my roaster until it is medium-rare… outside on the picnic table, of course. Thank goodness for outdoor cooking or my family would have PB&J for dinner all summer long!!

Beth said...

I'm gonna try this on Monday, but my family's not big fans of tomatoes. Do you have a suggestion for how much liquid to replace it with?

And is the ½ Tbsp. beef bouillon just a cube smashed?

Love your blog. I've tried several things and they've all been fantastic!

Sumiko said...

Hi, Beth!!

So glad you're enjoying the blog and using our recipes! It's always great to hear success stories!

As far as the bouillon goes, 1 cube equals 1 tablespoon. Rather than cutting a cube and having half of one leftover, I would just use two--it won't make much difference.

If you omit the tomatoes, I would guess about 1 to 1 1/2 cups of water would do.

I hope this turns out for you! Let us know how much water you end up using and how it works!

Kiefler said...

In the post you link to about searing the meat first, you indicated that you would post a carnitas recipe. I would love to see that recipe posted.

When I eat out at Mexican restaurants, I literally order Carnitas 90% of the time. I can't get enough.

Donald

Beth said...

Sumiko this turned out WONDERFULLY! I dissolved 1 bouillon cube in 1 cup of water, poured it over the meat, and then added the seasoning; and it was all perfect. My kids ate it up (which seems like a miracle), and my husband said, "Those are the best burritos you've ever made!"

Thanks for making my life easier!! :D

Sumiko said...

Beth, thanks for letting us know how your variation turned out!! So glad your family liked it!

Kiefler, thanks for the request and the reminder! We'll get on that as soon as pork roasts are on sale again! That's usually fall/winter.

Dr Pattar said...

oh Stacey cure the chops smoke them not so much fat in the chops like bacon so will be drier meet use if you use the grill cool smoke them low temp give some time put them in plastic bag with the brine one day maybe 2 what you like than you ready

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