Shredded beef tacos with horseradish sauce recipe
I can say one thing about this recipe with complete certainty — shredded beef tacos with horseradish are the best British/Tex-Mex fusion dish I’ve ever eaten. I know that’s all-to-easy to claim when Brit-Mex(?) isn’t exactly the hottest new food trend (or even an actual term), but I promise you’ll be too busy double-fisting amazing tacos to wonder why they’re not offered at your neighborhood Chili’s.
Over the centuries, the British have made no small secret of their love for roast beef served with horseradish and I’m convinced these shredded beef tacos would have been a popular Mexican street food among the British colonists (if Mexico had been colonized by the British and not the Spanish*). Initially, I thought that trying to combine a stuffy, proper British dish with any Tex-Mex dish — itself a fusion of two separate food cultures — seemed like a disaster just waiting for a flour tortilla but I’m happy to say that I was wrong. Very, very wrong. The British clearly know their roast beef and the sour cream-horseradish sauce couldn’t be a better compliment to the tender, well-seasoned beef. Wrapping all this up in a tortilla might seemed a little strange at first, but it won’t be long before you forget about the tortilla altogether and are suddenly grateful that you’ve found the fastest way possible to get these tacos in your mouth.
If you need something quick and easy for dinner, your leftover pot roast will be just as delicious in these shredded beef tacos too. Plus you can finally use the rest of that bottle of prepared horseradish you didn’t want to throw away. It’s on the bottom shelf of the refrigerator door. Behind that bottle of old teriyaki sauce, right next to the pickles — that’s where mine was anyways.
* I can’t help but wonder what the food would have been like if the reverse where somehow true — if the Aztecs had conquered the United Kingdom. I know Aztecs were largely vegetarian with a penchant for noshing on insects and worms, so there would probably be a lot more squash and bean dishes, perhaps some sort of grasshopper and ant pudding and bubble and squeak would almost certainly have meant something else entirely more gruesome.
Image: ForkingSpoon
Slow cooker shredded beef tacos with horseradish sauce recipe
One bite from these shredded beef tacos with horseradish sauce and you'll fall in love with this succulent British and Tex-Mex fusion.
Ingredients
Instructions
Cut the onions
Cut a medium to large onion into 1/4-inch slices and discard the onion ends. Stack the onion slices and cut them in half vertically, creating two half onion stacks. Cut each of those stacks in half and place at the bottom of the slow cooker.
Brown the beef
Trim the roast using a sharp knife and discard any excess fat. In a small bowl, combine the salt, pepper and paprika. Rub the entire chuck roast with 1 tablespoon of vegetable oil and coat with the salt mixture. In a heavy-bottomed pan over medium-high heat, add the remaining oil and brown the roast on all sides. Resist the temptation to turn the meat prematurely; a proper sear is needed to develop full flavor. When the meat is completely seared on all sides, reduce the heat to medium and transfer the roast to the slow cooker (place on top of the onions). You may notice that the roast will have a tendency to stick to the pan. This is normal. Let the meat continue to cook and when the meat is properly seared it will naturally release from the pan. Keep turning the meat until all of the sides have released and the roast is completely browned.
Slow cook the beef
In the same heavy-bottomed pan used to sear the roast (now over medium heat), add the 2 tablespoons of apple cider vinegar to the pan and mix together the vinegar and oil with a spatula, scraping up and incorporating as much of the browned glaze and bits (or "fond") as possible. After 2 to 3 minutes, pour the deglazed vinegar and oil into the slow cooker and over the roast. In the cup of beef broth, whisk in the chili powder and cumin until well combined and pour into the slow cooker. Add the garlic and bay leaves, cover the slow cooker and set to the low temperature setting. Cook for 6 to 8 hours or until the beef can be easily shredded with a fork.
Shred the beef using two forks, discarding the garlic cloves and bay leaves as well as any gristle or fat you may find. Optional (but awesome): In the last hour of cooking, remove and shred the beef and return the beef to the slow cooker and let it cook for the remaining time without the lid. The beef will soak up more of the rich broth and the extra sauce will thicken and become much more flavorful.
In a small bowl, combine the sour cream, prepared horseradish, lemon juice, salt and Worcestershire sauce until the ingredients are completely incorporated. Cover and refrigerate until you are ready to serve (refrigerate the sauce for at least 30 minutes for best results).
Assemble the tacos
In batches of four, warm the tortillas in the microwave by covering them with a damp paper towel and cooking 30 seconds at a time until the tortillas are completely warmed through. On each tortilla, place about 3 to 4 ounces of shredded beef with a small spoonful of the beef juices from the slow cooker. Add the shredded cheese, and sour cream sauce. Garnish with the green onions.
Notes
While the shelf life of prepared horseradish is impressive, once the jar has been opened it will start to lose its potency after 3-4 months and may even become bitter. Over time, the color and the texture of the horseradish will change but in most cases, if the horseradish has been refrigerated and stored in tightly sealed jar, it should be safe to eat. Traces of pink mean that the horseradish is spoiled and you should discard the whole jar. Pink and fuzzy means the horseradish has declared itself a sovereign nation and any further communication with the jar should only be through a duly-appointed ambassador.
Ingredients
Directions
Cut the onions
Cut a medium to large onion into 1/4-inch slices and discard the onion ends. Stack the onion slices and cut them in half vertically, creating two half onion stacks. Cut each of those stacks in half and place at the bottom of the slow cooker.
Brown the beef
Trim the roast using a sharp knife and discard any excess fat. In a small bowl, combine the salt, pepper and paprika. Rub the entire chuck roast with 1 tablespoon of vegetable oil and coat with the salt mixture. In a heavy-bottomed pan over medium-high heat, add the remaining oil and brown the roast on all sides. Resist the temptation to turn the meat prematurely; a proper sear is needed to develop full flavor. When the meat is completely seared on all sides, reduce the heat to medium and transfer the roast to the slow cooker (place on top of the onions). You may notice that the roast will have a tendency to stick to the pan. This is normal. Let the meat continue to cook and when the meat is properly seared it will naturally release from the pan. Keep turning the meat until all of the sides have released and the roast is completely browned.
Slow cook the beef
In the same heavy-bottomed pan used to sear the roast (now over medium heat), add the 2 tablespoons of apple cider vinegar to the pan and mix together the vinegar and oil with a spatula, scraping up and incorporating as much of the browned glaze and bits (or "fond") as possible. After 2 to 3 minutes, pour the deglazed vinegar and oil into the slow cooker and over the roast. In the cup of beef broth, whisk in the chili powder and cumin until well combined and pour into the slow cooker. Add the garlic and bay leaves, cover the slow cooker and set to the low temperature setting. Cook for 6 to 8 hours or until the beef can be easily shredded with a fork.
Shred the beef using two forks, discarding the garlic cloves and bay leaves as well as any gristle or fat you may find. Optional (but awesome): In the last hour of cooking, remove and shred the beef and return the beef to the slow cooker and let it cook for the remaining time without the lid. The beef will soak up more of the rich broth and the extra sauce will thicken and become much more flavorful.
In a small bowl, combine the sour cream, prepared horseradish, lemon juice, salt and Worcestershire sauce until the ingredients are completely incorporated. Cover and refrigerate until you are ready to serve (refrigerate the sauce for at least 30 minutes for best results).
Assemble the tacos
In batches of four, warm the tortillas in the microwave by covering them with a damp paper towel and cooking 30 seconds at a time until the tortillas are completely warmed through. On each tortilla, place about 3 to 4 ounces of shredded beef with a small spoonful of the beef juices from the slow cooker. Add the shredded cheese, and sour cream sauce. Garnish with the green onions.
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