Beautifully tender and flavoursome, this shredded beef is great for tacos, salad toppings or to share tapas style.

I’m very fortunate to live close to Borough market, one of the most vibrant and varied produce markets in London. I like going there very early on Saturdays (before the tourists get there!) and buy my veggies, eggs and some meat from the local organic farmers.

Every now and then I walk around looking for new products and inspiration, and last Saturday was one of those days. I have been eyeing out the Cool Chile Co stall which has lots of mexican ingredients, and I finally decided to give it a try and went ahead and bought a pack of blue corn tortillas which I really liked and will be definitely buying again!

On the way home I started thinking how I was going to prepare them, and this is the result. A beautifully tender and flavoursome beef that pairs greatly with the tortillas and some fresh veggies like avocado, tomatoes, lettuce, crunchy cabbage, cucumber, etc. So it’s great to make a salad too if you are looking for a low carb or grain-free option.

Note: this recipe was originally created for pressure cooking, but can be made low and slow in a slow cooker for 6h-8h or using a normal pot on the stove for about 60-70 min to achieve the same level of tenderness.

Shredded taco beef recipe

Servings: 4   |   Cooking time: 25 min   |   Preparation time: 5 min

Ingredients:

  • 500 grams – beef bavette or flank steak
  • 1 – red pepper, chopped
  • 1 – brown onion, sliced
  • 1 – medium tomato, chopped
  • 3 – garlic cloves
  • 1 cup – bone broth (beef stock or water also work)
  • 1 and 1/2 tbsp – beef dripping (tallow), ghee or coconut oil, separated
  • Salt & pepper to taste

Seasoning:

  • 1/2 tsp – ground cumin
  • 1 tsp – sweet or smoked paprika
  • 1/4 tsp – cayenne pepper or hot paprika
  • 1 tsp – turmeric
  • 1/4 tsp – nutmeg
  • 1 tsp – Salt
  • Freshly ground black pepper to taste

Instructions:

  1. Mix all the seasoning ingredients and rub onto the beef spreading it equally throughout the entire cut. Ground some pepper over it and leave aside.
  2. Get your pressure cooker or instapot, add the first tablespoon of cooking fat and heat it up. Add in the sliced onions and let them cook through until translucent but not brown. Then add garlic, salt and pepper and cook for 2 more minutes. Remove from the pot and set aside whilst you sear the beef.
  3. Add remainder fat to your empty pot, put the heat on high. Once your fat is really hot, grab your flank steak and place it on the bottom of the pot to sear. After 1 minute flip it around and sear the other side.
  4. Put the cooked onions and garlic back in, add in the red pepper, tomato and bone broth and lift the flank steak to make sure the veggies fall to the bottom of the pan and the steak rests on top. The liquid should almost cover the beef, if your pot is really big you might have to add a little bit more water.
  5. Put the lid on and let the pressure do it’s magic! Let it cook for 20 min after pressure cooking starts. Switch it off and let the pressure release naturally.
  6. Take the beef off and place it on a mat or plate. Then use a slotted spoon to take out the veggies. Leave the reminder of the water and juices in the pot, bring the heat up and let the liquids reduce until you get a thick and semi-sticky sauce. In the meantime, shred with the help of two forks.
  7. Once the sauce is reduced add the shredded beef and the veggies back in and mix all together.

Serve on top of tacos or as you prefer!

The tacos on my picture are made from non-GMO blue corn, and I filled them in with my taco beef plus chopped avocado, coriander and a drizzle of homemade kefir 🙂

tacos_full