Slow Cooker Chocolate Chipotle Chili Shredded Beef with Chocolate Porter
Speed - 86%
Simplicity - 97%
Tastiness - 94%
92%
Winner!
This unique recipe aims to mimic the spicy chocolate drink drunk thousands of years ago by the Aztecs. Using chocolate powder and chipotle peppers, we get a unique chocolatey and spicy flavor that makes shredded beef perfect for tacos, sandwiches, or sliders.
Ingredients
- 3 Lbs Roast Beef
- 1 Bomber Chocolate Porter
- 1 Tbsp Cocoa Powder
- 4 Cups Beef Broth
- 1 Can Chipotle Peppers in Adobo
- 1 Tbsp Chili Powder
- 3-4 Cloves garlic Chopped, Sautéd
- 1/2 Onion Chopped, Sautéd
Instructions
- Cut and sauté your onions and garlic
- Add the beef broth and beer to the pan and reduce to half
- Season meat with salt and pepper then brown on all sides
- Add meat and reduction to the slow cooker
- Add chipotle peppers, chili pepper powder, and chocolate powder to the slow cooker
- Set to cook on low for 6-8 hours
- Shred beef when full cooked
- Add back to slow cooker and set to warm for 20-30 minutes
- Remove meat and discard juices or use to make a beef broth soup!
Making shredded beef in a slow cooker is pretty simple. Meat has a naturally tasty flavor, so all you really need is to add some beef broth and fresh pepper and let it cook for 6 to 8 eight hours. Boom. Done. Delicious shredded beef. What really make the meal is going to be the cut of meat you get, and if you cook it for an appropriate period of time.
However, because the basic shredded beef recipe is so simple, it opens the door for lots of creative recipes. Personally, I like to borrow from other things to get my ideas – in this case I'm taking the idea of “original chocolate” and turning it into a beef recipe. Did you know that chocolate was originally bitter and spicy? Well, we aren't trying to make our beef taste bitter, but we are going to go for a spicy chocolate flavor.
A lot of shredded beef recipes call for adding wine or a wine reduction, but I prefer to work with beer. Wine is certainly delicious, but let's push the boundaries! So to enhance the chocolatiness of this recipe, I'm going to use a chocolate porter. You could use any dark beer really, but this already has chocolate flavors in it. A stout would also be acceptable, but may end up being too roasty and bitter. A dark ale, like a lager would probably work better if you can't find any porters, but could be too malty.
Next, we're going to create a reduction from the beef broth and porter. First sauté the onions and garlic. Then pour in the beef broth and beer. I always save a bit for myself to drink while cooking, so don't feel like you have to use the whole bottle. Or, if you have a 12 oz bottle you can just use that. We're not getting all of our chocolate flavor from the beer – just enhancing it.
Reduce to about 1/2. While that's reducing, you can take another pan and brown all sides of your meat. Today I chose a chuck roast, so it was round and hard to brown on all sides. Other cuts of meat may lend themselves better to browning on “two” sides. I just did my best to get as many places as possible. Place in the slow cooker when brown on all sides. When your reduction is done, pour over the meat and set to cook for 6-8 hours on low.
Your meat will be done in 6-8 hours. Actually, I looked up what the internal temperature should be. Unlike chicken, which is a clear 160°, the temperature recommendation for red meat varies. It ranges from low 140's for medium-rare up to 180 for “low and slow”. I'm not sure what to recommend here to get the perfect temperature but I think for the type of meat we're making, some extra time won't matter much since we want it as thoroughly cooked as possible. Rare shredded beef? I'm not sure that's a thing. Go for higher temps.
It should fall apart when you pick it up, as it did here when I tried to remove it for shredding and photography.
Initially, the beef was a bit plain and dry, but it's not done yet!
After shredding the beef I put it back in the slow cooker and set it to warm for 30 minutes. That allowed it to soak up more of the juices and get moister. They were perfect for shredded beef tacos the next day. I used only 1/2 a can of chipotle peppers for this recipe and didn't think it was spicy enough so I recommend using a full can. The chocolate was spot on – just enough for flavor if you looked, but not enough to make it taste like chocolate ice cream LOL.
The slow cooker I used for the chocolate chipotle shredded beef was the West Bend 7-quart crock pot [LINK]. I was testing some large crock pots and this was just one brand I wanted to try after testing their Versatility non-stick pots. It wasn't a fantastic or special crock pot, but it got the job done! As far as large slow cookers go, I prefer the Gourmia SlowSmart 8.5 quart (extra large) or the Frigidaire Professional 7-quart [LINK].
Ingredients
- 3 Lbs Roast Beef
- 1 Bomber Chocolate Porter
- 1 Tbsp Cocoa Powder
- 4 Cups Beef Broth
- 1 Can Chipotle Peppers in Adobo
- 1 Tbsp Chili Powder
- 3-4 Cloves garlic Chopped, Sautéd
- 1/2 Onion Chopped, Sautéd
Instructions
- Cut and sauté your onions and garlic
- Add the beef broth and beer to the pan and reduce to half
- Season meat with salt and pepper then brown on all sides
- Add meat and reduction to the slow cooker
- Add chipotle peppers, chili pepper powder, and chocolate powder to the slow cooker
- Set to cook on low for 6-8 hours
- Shred beef when full cooked
- Add back to slow cooker and set to warm for 20-30 minutes
- Remove meat and discard juices or use to make a beef broth soup!
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