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La Piña en la Cocina

Embracing my Mexican heritage and sharing all the wonderful flavors, colors and foods I grew up with. Join me on this journey as I also learn new foods and cooking techniques. Dedicated to my parents Ramiro and Blanca.

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Home » Beef~Res » Chile Ancho Braised Beef in the Slow Cooker

Chile Ancho Braised Beef in the Slow Cooker

February 15, 20142 Comments

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Braised Beef? It is possible to prepare a delicious taco filling using the slow cooker! Do you ever just have those days when the slow cooker is your best kitchen appliance? I don’t remember many crockpot meals as a kid, except for the shredded braised beef my Mom would prepare for tacos or tortas. It was simplicity at it’s best! Seasoned with just salt, pepper and garlic powder, the beef was shredded and served with warm corn tortillas, avocado slices and a freshly made bowl of pico de gallo salsa. On the weekends my dad would buy warm pan bolillo(rolls) from la panaderia(Mexican bakery) and we would make the best tortas (Mexican sandwich).

cooked

When We Enjoy A Recipe, We Revisit Over And Over!

I originally published this recipe on February 15, 2014! Almost nine years ago! In all honesty, I don’t use my slow cooker that often. Especially since I began using the pressure cooker twelve years ago. Chile ancho sauce in any variation is one of my top favorites for many recipes.

braised beef taco

I Cannot Help Myself, But I Love Tacos!

If they made me choose between giving up tacos or sandwiches, goodbye sandwich! Lol! I do prefer a fresh made corn tortilla over bread any day! A warm corn tortilla with a sprinkle of salt makes me happy! Not full, but happy. All in moderation of course.

https://animoto.com/play/nFeGkPDIO8esA85spMhQhA

When In Doubt, Reach Out To Your Followers!

This past week I asked my followers on Facebook if they wanted to see me share a video of this easy recipe? But, I gave them a choice on the cooking methods, which were slow cooker, pressure cooker or stove top. Slow cooker method beat out the other two.

Slow Cooker Chile Ancho Braised Beef

I Still Love The Original Photos!

I thought I should leave the original photos of the tacos I prepared with this delicious recipe. Those bright red chile infused tortillas with fresh salsa Mexicana(pico de gallo) make me hungry every time! And if you can swing a pot of charro beans and Mexican rice, that’s a complete meal!

Slow Cooker Chile Ancho Braised Beef

I am having such a good time revisiting my older recipes!!

My recipes are like my babies, ha, ha, ha! No, seriously, they are. I have learned so much more in the past ten or more years of food blogging. My goal is to make it easy for you all to follow the recipes with some visuals that help. Guess I could just leave them as is, but I know they could be better with a little work and effort on my part. We all need a new look now and then, right, lol!

ingredients for chile ancho sauce

Do You Have To Use Flank Steak?

No! I will splurge on flank or skirt steak once in a while, but there are other cuts of beef that will work as well. Top round roast, chuck roast and tri tip will work. But, what am I saying, all beef seems pretty expensive these days. When I think of the hefty cost of going out to dinner, I’d rather spend the money on a home cooked meal. Most times there are leftovers! Bonus! This recipe works well with pork shoulder/butt, boneless country pork ribs, chicken thighs or whole pieces of chicken. Delicious!

ingredients for beef
removing seeds and stems from the chile ancho pods
fresh ingredients with spices in the bottom of slow cooker

In the video, I did not show where I seasoned the beef! Ooops! That’s the beauty of editing. I will load the new video soon!

browning and searing beef in a large skillet
pouring in chile ancho sauce3 into slow cooker

You could prepare the chile ancho sauce ahead of time and freeze it! In my experience working with dried chile sauce recipes is that the flavors improve after a month in the freezer.

pouring in beer after deglazing the pan
beef cooking in the slow cooker
slow cooked beef with sauce in shallow bowl
Shredding the beef with two forks for tacos
braised beef taco with fresh and spicy salsa
braised beef taco with salsa on mexican plate
braised beef up close

Chile Ancho Beef In The Slow Cooker

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Course: Main Course
Cuisine: Mexican
Prep Time: 30 minutes minutes
Cook Time: 4 hours hours 45 minutes minutes
Total Time: 5 hours hours 15 minutes minutes
Servings: 6 Servings

Ingredients

  • 2 pounds beef skirt or flank steak sliced into 2 inch pieces
  • Salt, to taste
  • 1 1/2 tsps Pepper
  • 1 1/2 tsps Garlic powder
  • 1/2 tsp Mexican oregano
  • 1/2 tsp Cumin seeds or ground
  • 3-4 tbsps Avocado or Olive oil
  • 3 roma tomato, 212 grams
  • 1/2 white onion, 100 grams
  • 3 cloves garlic. 22 grams
  • 2 serrano peppers, 26 grams
  • 5 chile ancho, 85-90 grams stems and seeds removed
  • 1 1/2 cups water or beef broth
  • 8 oz dry red wine, Mexican beer or beef broth

Instructions

  • Season the beef evenly with 1 teaspoon each of salt, pepper and garlic powder all over. Set aside. Roughly chop the tomatoes, onion, garlic and chile peppers. Transfer them to the bottom of the slow cooker, season lightly with salt and pepper.
  • In a large skillet, preheat 4 tablespoons of avocado or olive oil to medium heat for 3 minutes. Sear and brown the pieces of beef for a few minutes per side. Add the the slow cooker as you cook them.
  • Add the chile ancho to some simmering water. Reduce heat and cook for 10 minutes. Drain all the water from chile ancho and transfer to the blender. Add 1 cup water or broth(if available), 1/2 teaspoon of salt, 1/2 teaspoon pepper, 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder, 1/2 teaspoon oregano and 1/2 teaspoon cumin. Blend on high until smooth. Taste for salt. Pour ancho sauce into slow cooker and stir to combine.
  • In that same pan that you browned the beef, add the red wine(or beer) to de-glaze the pan. Season lightly with salt and pepper, cook for a few minutes. Pour into slow cooker. Stir to combine. Cover and cook on for high for 4 hours on high or on low for 6 hours. Beef should be easy to shred with two forks. Before serving, remove beef from slow cooker and shred coarsely. Transfer beef back to slow cooker. Stir well to combine. Set to warm setting.
  • Before serving, remove beef from slow cooker and shred coarsely. Transfer beef back to slow cooker. Stir well to combine. Set to warm setting. Serve with warm tortillas and your favorite salsas, fresh or cooked.

Notes

A quick Pico de Gallo, 2 roma’s diced, 1/3 cup diced white onion, 1 minced serrano, 1/4 cup chopped cilantro, juice of 1 small lime, salt and pepper to taste. The Chile Infused Tortillas recipe and Charro Beans can be found here on my blog. Oh, you could add a little garlic to the salsa. Mom never added garlic, but I do love it now!
If you are adventurous and experienced with the pressure cooker, this meal cooks in 40 minutes using the pressure cooker. It’s great served as is over rice or noodles, but makes for some super tasty tacos and burritos!!
The sauce is good for up to 3 lbs of meat if you wanted to add more beef!
Tried this recipe?Mention @pinaenlacocina or tag #pinaenlacocina!

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Filed Under: Beef~Res, Slow Cooker, Tacos Tagged With: Beef Recipes, Braising, Chile Ancho, Dried Chiles, Salsa, Slow Cooker, Tacos

Previous Post: « Spicy Charro Beans~ Beans with Attitude!
Next Post: Grilled Corn, Green Chile and Cheese Tamal »

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Chantal Costello

    July 27, 2018 at 5:41 pm

    Where can I find the seasonings for all your recipies?
    Also if my market doesn’t carry a certain pepper can I substitute it with another?

    Reply
    • Sonia

      July 27, 2018 at 5:56 pm

      Chantal, specifically which seasonings are you asking about? If you live near a Mexican market, most spices and chiles can be found there. But sometimes you may have to go online for certain products. The peppers can be substituted with others. You just have to be aware that they vary in heat level.

      Reply

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Welcome!

Hi, my name is Sonia Mendez Garcia. My parents Ramiro and Blanca Mendez moved to the United States from Monterrey, Mexico in 1963. I am first generation Mexican American born in Los Angeles, California. Cooking has always been one of my passions in life. This is my journey and I can't wait to see what the future holds. Read More…

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