Spicy Shredded Beef

I just ate this, and the world became a better place.  I’m not exaggerating.  One bite of this moist, tender, and perfectly decadent beef and my entire perspective on life shifted.  I am filled with joy. 

There’s another reason I’m in love with this meal tonight too, and it is that it essentially involves throwing 6 things into a pot, putting a lid on it, sticking it in the oven, and forgetting about it for 5 hours.  And I’m a very forgetful person, so this works out nicely.

Here’s what ya need:

Grab a chuck roast, an onion, beef broth, salt, pepper (not pictured because it was having a bad hair day and refused to be photographed), and chipotle peppers in adobo sauce.  Okay, if you’ve read any of my other blogs, you’ve probably noticed a trend with the chipotle peppers.   And the truth is that I am obsessed with these marvels in the world of chilis.  I’m really not prejudiced against other peppers, it’s just that I love the smoky flavor of the chipotles. 

Now, when I started making this, it was 6:30 in the morning.  In case you’re wondering, here’s what my morning looked like today:

5:01: Alarm goes off and Lady Gaga very suddenly enters my REM sleep.  This continues for a good 3 minutes because I think I’m driving around with Eric from True Blood singing “Alejandro” at the top of  my lungs while he looks on, impressed and preparing to lean in for a kiss.  (Please, God, let this become a recurring dream.)

5:04-5:59: Hit snooze repeatedly.  A battle rages within me, with Motivated Chandra versus Lazy Chandra debating whether or not to get up and work out.  Lazy Chandra easily takes the victory.

6:06: Drag my ass out of bed, running into the door frame on the way out.  This is sad yet common occurrence.

6:09-6:29: Drink coffee while alternating between standing in a stupor in my kitchen and wondering why work has to start so early. 

6:30: Think to myself, “Oh sh*t! I have to get that roast started!” Then, “Double sh*t! I was going to blog about it! I gotta find my camera!”  (My camera is in my purse; if you’ve ever seen my purse, you can understand why a double sh*t applied.

ANYWAY.  I know you really cared about that.  Also for your information, the smell of onions and the act of chopping them up is not enjoyable to me at that hour.  Just saying.

But seriously, you guys, this is the easiest thing in the world to make.  Take the roast and throw it in a large pot, salt and peppering both sides of it.

Look at my poor, sad pot.  It’s clean, I swear.  But something terrible happened one time when I made some black beans in it.  They left bean tracks, and I’ve never been able make them disappear.  Sigh.

Now dump in the beef broth and add the beautiful and delicious chipotle peppers.  Oops, I hope I didn’t hurt the beef broth’s feelings by not complimenting it, too.  But….it’s beef broth.  And those are chipotle peppers.  There’s just no contest in my mind.

Oh, and with the peppers, save about 1/4 to 1/2 of the can so you can mix it with mayo and make a chipotle dressing (thanks Pioneer Woman for that idea!) that can be used on salads, sandwiches, or as a veggie dip.

Mmm.  Now just chop up an onion into largish chunks and toss ’em in. 

And that’s it. That’s all that goes into this sumptuous mess ‘o beef.  It does need to cook for about 5 hours, and since it was still super early in the morning, I stuck mine in the fridge until later.

Fast forward to 1:00….beef goes into the oven.

Fast forward to 6:00….beef comes out of the oven. 

It looks like this:

Magic has happened, my friends.  I meant to take a picture of it in the pot with all it’s aromatic juices, but in my ravenous state I yanked it out so I could start shredding more quickly, and thus, eating it more quickly.

Using two forks, shred the beef before transferring it back to the pot.  It’s really, really tender, so this is pretty easy and won’t take you long, assuming you don’t snatch a little bite every 30 seconds.  That might slow down the process.  Once it’s all shredded, toss it back in the pot and let it soak for a few minutes in the juice.  And seriously, do this.  You’ll be glad you did.

Now do with it what you will.  Tonight I used it to make tacos, and tomorrow I’m going to slap it on a hamburger bun, add some chipotle dressing, and make myself a big ‘ol sandwich.

I have a strong feeling that my happy life perspective will continue into tomorrow with these leftovers.  Amen.

Spicy Shredded Beef
1 chuck roast, 2-5 lbs.
1 onion, roughly chopped
1 can chipotle peppers in adobo sauce
1 box beef broth, or 2 cans
salt and pepper

Salt and pepper the roast; combine roast with other ingredient in a large pot.  Cover with a tight-fitting lid and cook at 275 degrees for approximately 5 hours.

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