BIG DAVE'S BEEF MACHACA

This is the best thing I have ever made with a chuck roast, hands down.  My kids love it so much, when I tell them we're having machaca for dinner they both say "YESSS!"  And of course, since it's served in tortillas, they love to customize it with favorite cheeses, veggies, salsas, etc.  Make it as spicy as you like, even make it in the crock pot after searing it, up until you have to shred it and put it back in the pot until it's almost dry.   Trust me, you've GOT to taste this!

Marinade:

¼ cup Worcestershire sauce

Juice of two limes

1 tsp garlic powder

1 tsp ground cumin

1 tsp chili powder

½ tsp salt

½ tsp black pepper

½ cup vegetable oil or olive oil

Machaca:

2-3 lb Chuck Roast or Skirt Steak, trimmed and cut into ¼ lb portions.

1 Large Texas Sweet Onion (yellow onion) diced

½ green bell pepper diced

4 cloves of garlic, minced or pressed

1 Fresh Jalapeno Pepper, minced

1 14oz can diced tomatoes or tomatoes with green chilies

¼ cup beef broth

1 Tb dried oregano

1 Tb ground cumin

1 teaspoon hot pepper sauce such as Tabasco

salt and pepper to taste

Vegetable oil for searing the beef



PreparationFor the marinade, combine all the ingredients in a bowl then whisk them to form an emulsion. Add the beef making sure every piece is evenly coated. Cover and refrigerate.

Marinate the beef overnight in a bowl in the refrigerator. Before preparing, drain thoroughly and allow meat to come up to room temperature for about 30 minutes.

In a large soup pot, heat a few tablespoons of oil over medium-high heat until very hot. Sear the beef a few pieces at a time to develop a rich brown color on all sides as well as on the bottom of the pan. Do this in several batches if the pot is too crowded.

When all the beef is browned nicely and removed from the pan, add the onions, peppers, and garlic to the hot pan. Sauté for a few minutes then add the remaining ingredients to the pan along with the beef. Bring to a boil, scraping the browned bits off the bottom of the pan. Reduce heat to low, cover and simmer slowly for about 2 hours. The meat should be very tender and should easily fall apart when pricked with a fork.

Remove from heat, remove meat to a cutting board and shred with a pair of forks. Return to the pot and bring to a simmer, uncovered. Reduce the liquid until very thick, almost dry. At this point, adjust the seasoning with salt, pepper, and whatever additional heat you want to add if any.

Serve with tortillas, cheese, salsa, lettuce and guacamole for a great beef taco. Portion and freeze the remaining machaca in zip lock bags for later use.