Easy Slow Cooked Pulled Beef Tacos

These Pulled Beef Tacos are loaded with juicy shredded beef that has been braised until fork tender then smothered in a rich velvety sauce. For the ultimate finish, they're pan-fried until the cheese is melty and the tortilla is crispy golden brown.

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• Why this recipe works
• What goes into this recipe
• Ingredient Notes
• How to make pulled beef tacos
• FAQs
• Expert Tips
• More taco recipes
• Did you make this recipe?
• 📖 Recipe

Why this recipe works

This recipe is not only easy to make, but it's a really low maintenance recipe. Your dutch oven will do all the work. So, while your meat is cooking low and slow, you can do other things or simply unwind after a long day.

These pulled beef tacos are made with chuck roast which is a pretty affordable cut of meat. Chuck roast is typically 3 to 4 lbs or bigger which will pretty much guarantee that you'll have enough for leftovers the next day. Of course this will depend on the number of people you're serving. For a family of 4, you will most likely have enough for leftovers the next day.

This recipe is rich in flavor although only a handful of ingredients are used. By the way, this is a great recipe to meal prep over the weekend and have for dinner during the week.

This pulled beef can be used for a magnitude of things and does not have to be limited to tacos. For example, burritos, enchiladas, burgers, nachos, top over a bed of salad.

What goes into this recipe

Ingredient Notes

• Chuck roast is used for this recipe. It's a tougher cut of meat; however, when cooked low and slow or braised for at least a 2 hour period (i.e. depending on the thickness) will result in ultra soft, juicy, fork tender meat.
• Feel free to use store bought Cajun seasoning or homemade either one is fine.
• For the braising liquid use low sodium chicken broth or beef broth instead of water. Broth will add much more flavor than water alone.

How to make pulled beef tacos

• Rinse the chuck roast in cold water and pat it dry thoroughly with paper towels and season both sides generously with kosher salt.
• Place your dutch oven on the stove-top over medium high heat, add oil, when oil is hot add the chuck roast and do not disturb. Sear both sides for 6 to 8 minutes or until browned.
• Remove the chuck roast from the dutch oven and place on a clean plate.
• Add the sliced onions, bell pepper, Cajun seasoning, and garlic cloves and give a quick saute.
• Deglaze your dutch oven with broth then add your seared chuck roast back to the dutch oven making sure the sides of the roast are submerged in the broth. If you need to move the sliced onions and bell pepper around the sides or on top of the roast.

• Cover with the lid and place in a 350 degree oven for 2 to 2.5 hours or until the chuck roast is fork tender. If not, place it back in the oven for an additional 30 minutes or so. (The roast should be so tender that it can easily shred with tongs or a fork).

• When it's done, remove the chuck roast from the oven and place on a clean baking sheet or plate leaving the pan juices and sliced onions and bell pepper in the dutch oven.
• Use 1 or 2 forks to shred the beef whichever is easiest for you then set aside.

Making the Sauce (*Photo not shown)

• Use tongs to remove all the sliced onion, bell pepper, and garlic cloves from the dutch oven (leaving the pan juices inside the dutch oven) and place in a blender or Nutri Bullet. Secure the lid and blend for a few seconds until thick and smooth.
• Skim off as much of the grease as you can from the dutch oven and discard. This will be the top layer sitting on top of the pan juice. No need to remove all of it but most of it is fine.
• Pour about a ¼ to ½ of the sauce from the blender into the dutch oven and whisk. Add the shredded beef back to the dutch oven and combine until it's all coated in the pan juice. Add fresh lime juice from half a lime.

Assemble

• Lay your tortilla flat, add a layer of cheese, then a layer of shredded beef and another lay of cheese.

• Place a skillet over the stove-top on medium high heat and add a little oil.
• When the oil is hot, add your tacos and fold the tortilla so it looks like a taco. Brown one side for a few minutes or until crispy golden brown, flip and brown the other side for an additional 2 to 3 minutes or until crispy golden brown.

• Remove tacos from the skillet and serve with a side of dipping sauce or not.

FAQs

Expert Tips

• Use a generous amount of kosher salt to season the chuck roast.
• To get a proper sear, your beef MUST be completely dry.
• If after 2 or 2.5 hours, you can't shred the roast easily, allow it to cook for an additional 30 minutes or so.
• Ensure that the braising liquid, covers the sides of the roast; however, the roast does not need to be submerged in the braising liquid (you can move the onion and bell pepper along the sides or on top of the roast if necessary).
• When pan-frying the tacos in the skillet, only use a little drizzle of cooking oil, so your tacos aren't saturated in oil.
• After pan-frying, you can feel free to add your favorite taco toppings.
• After blending the sauce, set some aside and use as a dipping sauce if you'd like or simply add it all to the pan juices.

More taco recipes

If so, let me know how it went. Leave a 'Star Rating' within the recipe card down below and/or TAG @cookingwithbliss on Instagram. I can't wait to see how it turned out.

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