Spicy Shredded Stewed Beef

This beef recipe borrows elements from the classic Mexican street taco trucks and some flavors of a traditional Caribbean Latino stewing sauce. It cooks low ‘n slow, then you’re left with a spicy, aromatic liquid … perfect for tacos.  When I make this, I frequently increase the amount of onions and add more spiciness of pickled hot peppers.

This recipe requires the patience of a full 3 hours of a low boil (almost a simmer) for the liquid to come together and cook down. The meat will easily break apart and the result is well worth it. I’m sure you could use a slow cooker or Instant Pot, but I personally prefer the stovetop. And speaking of meat, this works best with flank or skirt steak because not all cuts of beef shred this nicely.

Not only is this recipe good for a taco meat, but also put it over plain white rice to balance out the spiciness. Or in use it in my Pork and Sweet Plantain Sandwich to get the spicy/sweet flavor experience.

Ingredients

• 2 pounds flank steak
• 4 – 5 pickled hot peppers
• 2 bay leaves
• 2 spanish onions
• 1 bunch of culantro
• 1 clove garlic
• 4 oz plain tomato sauce (1/2 can)
• 2 tablespoons Dominican oregano, crushed
  
• 1 tablespoon ground cumin
• 2 tsp salt
• 1 package of corn tortillas
• 1 white onion, chopped
• 1 vine tomato, diced
• 1 bunch of chopped cilantro
• 1 lime

Instructions

1. Cut the flank steak crosswise, against the grain into 1 inch strips.
2. Tie the culantro together securely with kitchen twine and make a clean cut 1 inch into the stems to to remove any dead ends. Do the same to remove any unsightly leave tips.  Peel onions and cut in half pole to pole. Finely chop pickled peppers with seeds.
   
3. Combine all ingredients in a large wide pot making sure beef is evenly distributed. Add 4 cups of water.
   
4. Bring to a boil then reduce heat to a gentle simmer. Cover half way and bring to a gentle simmer. Gently stir occasionally keeping onion halves intact. After 1 1/2 hours, remove the onions, culantro, and bay leaves.  Simmer for another 1 hour in remaining liquid until beef easily falls apart when handled and liquid just barely covers the beef.
   
5. Briefly remove beef from pot to a cutting board. Gently shred beef with the tip of a fork or your fingers. Return shredded beef to simmering liquid for another 15 minutes. Remove from heat and let sit for an additional 15 another minutes.
   
    
6. If you prefer a more intense flavor, reheating the beef over high heat in a skillet in small batches is a great option to slightly caramelize the meat. At this point you can test the spiciness and add more hot pickled peppers to your liking.
   
7. Tortillas are best warmed up over a direct flame on a gas stove but a warm flat skillet will also do the trick. Combine the chopped white onions, diced tomatoes, cilantro and juice from the lime into one mixture to prepare for taco assembly.