I'm trying to be a glass-half-full sort of person, so instead of apologizing that this Slow Cooker Ancho Coffee Shredded Beef recipe wasn't out in time for you to pile it into your Cinco de Mayo tacos, I'm going to say that I'm doing a public service by sharing it with you SO FAR AHEAD OF TIME for next Cinco de Mayo. That works, right?
No need to thank me.
But in all seriousness, there really is never a "too early" or "too late" for a taco recipe, you know? Especially when the filling is as deeply flavorful and surprisingly easy to make as this one. And if you're still thinking that you've had enough tacos in the past week, I can think of about a hundred other ways to eat Slow Cooker Ancho Coffee Shredded Beef. Examples include making sandwiches of it, serving it over mashed potatoes, piling it on top of polenta, spooning it over rice, tucking it into enchiladas, layering it onto loaded fries, and so on. They're all great options... in fact, I think I'm going to have to do all of the above.
And then make tacos with it again.
At the very least it will give me an excuse to make this beef a bunch of times. When you run a food blog, you feel the need to justify repeating recipes to yourself, but this one is worth the (small amount of) effort even if it's not checking anything new off of my blogging to-do list in the process.
But let me slow down for a second because I still haven't even touched on why I love this Slow Cooker Ancho Coffee Shredded Beef so much.
I'll tell you right up front, the ingredients might sound somewhat strange, seeing as they include everything from chile powder to coffee granules, beer to balsamic vinegar, and maple syrup to garlic. Your grocery shopping list might be a liiiittle all over the place. However, it's actually this huge range of flavors that makes this shredded beef unforgettable. Sweet, spicy, smoky, tangy, rich, and juicy. More than the sum of its parts.
Dare I say that it's the best shredded beef I can ever remember eating?
You don't have to take my word for it, but you should trust the taste buds of the 43 others who ate this Slow Cooker Ancho Shredded Beef at my (belated) birthday party this past weekend. Of the 8 types of taco fillings I made, this one disappeared the fastest and was raved about the most.
(And I don't want to sound too conceited here, but they were all pretty fantastic).
If that's not proof that you should make this recipe ASAP, I don't know what is.
Slow Cooker Ancho Coffee Shredded Beef
- Total Time: 8 hours 20 minutes
- Yield: 6-8 servings 1x
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons finely ground coffee beans
- 2 tablespoons ancho chile powder
- 2 tablespoons dark brown sugar, tightly packed
- 1 tablespoon smoked paprika
- 1 tablespoon kosher salt
- 2 teaspoons ground cumin
- 2 teaspoons black pepper
- 3-4 pounds boneless chuck roast
- 1 Spanish onion
- 4 cloves garlic
- 2 tablespoons chipotles in adobo, minced
- ¼ cup maple syrup
- 1 cup beer
- 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
- 2 tablespoons cornstarch, or as needed
Instructions
- In a large baking dish, whisk together the coffee beans, chile powder, brown sugar, smoked paprika, kosher salt, cumin, and black pepper. Press the beef into the spices and pat the spice mixture all over.
- Place the onion in the bottom of a slow cooker. Place the spice-covered beef over top. Top with the garlic, chipotles in adobo, maple syrup, beer, and balsamic vinegar.
- Cover and cook until easily shredded, on low for 6-8 hours, or on high for 4 hours.
- Remove the beef from the slow cooker and shred using two forks. Make a slurry by whisking together 2 tablespoons of cornstarch with 2 tablespoons of cold water. Whisk the slurry into the slow cooker liquids and set the slow cooker to high. Add the beef back to the slow cooker, cover and cook for an additional 30 minutes.
- Serve warm in tacos, on sandwiches, over mashed potatoes, or as desired.
- Prep Time: 20 mins
- Cook Time: 8 hours
Shannon says
Just wanted to leave a comment and say that I made this yesterday. It was delicious! I didn't have any beer on hand, so I used beef broth instead. It probably changed the flavor slightly, but I'll still be making it again (and again). And I do agree that it's never too early or too late for a taco recipe. 😉
Brook says
HI I just have a question for you! Love these tacos so delicious and I would love to have a giant taco party....how did you prepare your corn tortillas a head of time? I usually char the over a gas flame and eat immediately but how did you do it for your party?
Morgan says
Corn tortillas don't stay warm as well without going chewy, so they can't be warmed too far in advance. Slightly before serving I toast 'em up and then wrap a big stack of 'em in foil to keep the heat in, and then I try to make sure that people cover them back up as they grab one. I also serve flour tortillas, and I find that at parties, people tend to go for flour more often for whatever reason.
Shelly says
This was delicious! I love the chipotle flavor, so I added an additional tablespoon of those and tossed some oregano in as well. This is amazing with rice and avocado and super simple to pull together.
Ryan says
I have made this recipe time and time again I love it soooo much! Want I meant was... We love it so much (meaning my wife and I) can't get enough of it. I came across it one day I was really tired of having good old mac and cheese... no offense. And through it together after having to grab a few ingredients I didn't have on hand. No big deal. It goes together very easy and as long as you make it with love this can't go wrong wether it's cooked at 4-8 hours this one always comes out tender and tasty! Been a fan ever since and love to try new recipes from your blog and cooking page thanks for all the time you spend putting these amazing recipes up for us so we can all have a tastier dish. WE are very grateful!
Bęth Simonsen says
Sounds absolutely delicious. I don’t have a slow cooker though, so how would this translate to stove top or very low oven? (And after last week’s ‘This Is Us’ i won’t be getting one!!)
Brittany says
I tried to make this tonight, followed your recipe and cooked it for 4 hours in high. The beef would not shred at all at this time. I let it cook for another hour and that didn’t help. I have no idea what I did wrong. Any suggestions?
Morgan says
Hi Brittany! I'm so sorry to hear that. Assuming you got the same cut and size of beef, what kind of slow cooker did you use? Sometimes the temperatures can vary a bit and change cooking times, especially when going with the high heat option. Was the beef cooked through after the 5 hours and just tough or was it not fully cooked still?
Tanya Bader says
What is the white stuff on top of the tacos? I don't see anything in the recipe for this.
Morgan says
Hi Tanya! The white stuff is crumbled queso fresco 🙂
Diane says
Could this recipe be done in an instant pot/pressure cooker.
Keith says
Do the ground coffee beans stay crunchy or do they evaporate in the slow cooker...just trying to figure out how it won't be gritty?
Morgan says
The finely ground coffee beans + spices form the bark on the outside of the beef. While not really crunchy after the cooking process, it's not fully dissolved either. More of just a crust, if that makes sense 🙂
Keith says
Wonderful, thanks Morgan! I just didn't want it to be super gritty 🙂 I'm going to make it this week.
Jeffrey says
Wow! What a great idea. I saw something like this on DDD on Food Network and wanted to try it myself but I could not remember the episode. Made it and my friends loved it! Now I am making it for a big get together. I am sure it will be a hit with them as well. Thanks for sharing.