Best Carnes Desmenuzadas Shredded Beef Recipes

CARNE MECHADA (VENEZUELAN SHREDDED BEEF)

Steps:

• Trim the meat, if necessary, and cut it into 4 pieces. Place the pieces in a medium soup pot and cover them with water. Add 1 quartered onion and simmer for 2 hours, removing any foam that may float to the top.
• Once cooked, remove the beef from the water and let it cool slightly. (Reserve 2 c of the cooking broth.)
• Once cool enough to handle, shred the meat with two forks. Set aside.
• Heat the oil in a large sauté pan with high sides over medium heat. Add the onion, peppers, and garlic. Sauté for 4-5 min until the onions are soft.
• Add the diced tomatoes, Worcestershire sauce, salt, pepper, and cumin. Mix well.
• Add the shredded meat and 2 c of the meat broth. Bring the mixture to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer, uncovered, for 20 min. (If you are serving your carne mechada with rice and beans, classic Venezuelan style, go ahead a leave the meat a little brothy. If you will be using it to fill arepas or empanadas, you will want to cook it until nearly dry, stirring often so it doesn't stick.)

VENEZUELAN SHREDDED BEEF

Steps:

• Cut the meat into 4 pieces.
• Place beef broth in a large pot over medium-high heat. At first boil, add the meat and cook for 15 minutes. Taste the broth and add more salt and pepper, if necessary. Cover and let it cook for about 2 - 3 hours, or until the meat is fully cooked and tender. As the meat cooks, check the broth levels and add more if needed (the broth should always cover meat).
• When the meat is tender and fully cooked, carefully removed it from the pot, place it on a plate, and let it cool. Reserve broth (about 3-4 cups).
• Once the meat is cool enough, sheared using two forks or your hands, remove and discard big pieces of fat, if any.
• Add the oil to a large skillet over medium heat. When hot, add the onion and pepper and sauté for 3-5 minutes, or until the onion is translucent. Then add garlic and let it cook for 1 more minute.
• Stir in shredded beef and mix to combine well.
• In a medium bowl, combine tomato paste, tomato sauce, Worcestershire sauce, cumin, oregano, and reserved beef broth; mix well until everything is well combined. Add this mixture to the meat. Add the bay leaves, cover, and cook for 20 -25 minutes, or until most of the liquid has been consumed. Taste and adjust the seasoning, adding more salt and/or pepper, if necessary.
• Serve hot with white rice, black beans, and fried plantains if desired.
• Cut the meat into 4 pieces. Season the beef with salt and pepper to taste. Add beef to a slow cooker.
• Combine ½ cup beef broth, tomato paste, tomato sauce, Worcestershire sauce, cumin, and dried oregano in a mixing bowl. Add mixture to the slow cooker.
• Add onion, peppers, garlic, and bay leaves. Mix to combine.
• Cook on LOW for 6-8 hours or HIGH for 3-4 hours.
• When the time is over, and the meat is tender, remove meat for the slow cooker. Once the meat is cool enough, sheared using two forks or your hands, remove and discard big pieces of fat, if any. and toss to coat with the juices
• Return shredded meat to the cooker and toss to coat with the sauce. Discard bay leaves.
• Serve hot with white rice, black beans, and fried plantains if desired.
• For pressure cooker instructions, check out my Instant Pot Venezuelan Shredded Beef recipe.

CARNES DESMENUZADAS (SHREDDED BEEF)

Steps:

• Cook the beef in the water with the salt over moderate heat for 1 hour.
• Remove the beef, cool and pull meat into shreds.
• Heat oil in skillet and fry the onions, tomato, and bell pepper for 2 minutes. Add beef shreds and pepper and continue to fry for 3 minutes more.
• Add sour orange juice and mix well.
• Fry for 2 minutes more.
• Serve with tortillas.

CORN MASA POCKETS WITH CLASSIC SHREDDED BEEF: GORDITAS CON CARNE DESHEBRADA

Steps:

• The Shredded beef filling: In a medium saucepan set over medium heat, combine the meat with 2 quarts salted water, about 1/3 of the onions, and half of the garlic and simmer until the meat is very tender, about 1 1/2 hours. Strain, reserving the broth for another use. When the meat is cool enough to handle, shred it into coarse strands with your fingers or 2 forks--don't worry that there are bits of onion and garlic mixed with the meat.
• Wash and dry the saucepan, set it over medium heat and add 1 tablespoon of the oil. When the oil is hot, add half of the remaining onions and cook until golden, about 6 minutes, then stir in the remaining garlic and cook for another minute. Add the tomatoes and chiles and cook until most of the juice has evaporated, about 3 minutes. Stir in the shredded meat and simmer for a few more minutes, then taste and season with about 1/2 teaspoon salt. Remove from the heat and set aside.
• Forming, filling, and griddle-baking the gorditas: Heat a well-seasoned or nonstick griddle or heavy skillet over medium heat. Knead the masa (fresh or reconstituted) to make it pliable, adding a little water if necessary to achieve a soft-cookie-dough consistency. Knead in the flour, baking powder, and 3/4 teaspoon salt. Divide the dough into 10 portions and roll into balls; cover with plastic to keep from drying out. Line a tortilla press with 2 pieces of plastic cut to fit the plates (to be on the safe side, cut them from a food storage bag; the thicker plastic usually works better for beginners). Gently press out a ball of dough between the sheets of plastic to about 4 inches in diameter (it'll be about 1/4 inch thick). You've now made a gordita, which is what you call a fat tortilla. Peel off the top sheet of plastic, flip the gordita, uncovered side down, onto the fingers of 1 hand, and gently peel off the second piece of plastic. In one flowing movement, roll the gordita off your hand and onto the heated griddle or skillet. Bake for about 1 1/2 minutes, then flip and bake for another 1 1/2 minutes on the other side. The gordita will be lightly browned and crusty on the top and bottom, but still a little uncooked on the sides. Remove to a plate. Continue pressing and griddle-baking the remaining gorditas in the same manner.
• Finishing the gorditas: When you're ready to serve, warm the shredded beef. Rinse the remaining onions in a small strainer under cold water and shake to remove the excess moisture. Have the cheese and cilantro at the ready.
• In a deep heavy medium skillet or saucepan, heat 1/2-inch of oil over medium to medium-high until the oil is hot enough to make the edge of a gordita sizzle sharply, about 350 degrees F on a deep-fry thermometer. One by one, fry the gorditas, turning them after they've been in the oil for about 15 seconds, until they're nicely crisp but not hard, about 45 seconds total. When they're ready, most will have puffed up a little, like pita bread. Drain on paper towels.
• Once they all are fried, use a small knife to cut a slit in the thin edge of each one about halfway around its circumference, opening a pocket. As you cut them, fill each gordita with about 1/4-cup shredded meat and a sprinkling of the onions, grated cheese, and cilantro.
• Line up the filled gorditas on a serving platter and pass them around (with plenty of napkins) for your guest to enjoy.

SHREDDED BEEF TACOS CARNE DESHEBRADA RECIPE - (4.2/5)

Steps:

• Position your oven rack to the lower-middle position and heat the oven to 325°F. Meanwhile while the oven heats, combine the beer, vinegar, anchos, tomato paste, garlic, bay leaves, cumin, oregano, 2 teaspoons salt, 1/2 teaspoon pepper, cloves and cinnamon in a Dutch oven. Arrange the onion rounds in a single layer on bottom of the pot. Place the beef on top of onion rounds, in a single layer. Cover and cook until the meat is well browned and tender, 2 1/2 to 3 hours. While your beef mixture is cooking whisk the vinegar, water, sugar and salt in a large mixing bowl until the sugar is dissolved. Add the cabbage, onion, carrot, jalapeño, and oregano and toss to combine. Cover and then refrigerate for at least 1 hour or up to 24 hours. Drain this slaw mixture and stir in the cilantro right before serving. Using a slotted spoon, transfer your beef mixture to a large bowl, cover loosely with aluminum foil, and set aside. Strain the meat mixture's left over liquid through a fine-mesh strainer into a 2-cup liquid measuring cup (mind to not wash the pot). Discard the onion rounds and the bay leaves. Transfer the remaining solids to a blender. Let the strained liquid settle for 5 minutes, then skim any fat off surface. Add the water as needed to equal 1 cup. Pour this liquid in blender with reserved solids and blend until smooth, about 2 minutes. Transfer sauce to the now-empty pot. Using two forks, shed beef into bite-size pieces. Bring the sauce to simmer over medium heat. Add the shredded beef and stir and coat. Season with salt to taste. (Can be refrigerated for up to 2 days; gently reheat before serving.) Spool small amounts of the beef mixture into each warm tortilla and serve, provide plenty of slaw, queso fresco and lime wedges separately.