Mexican Meat Mix

Five pounds of beef roast, slow-roasted until fall-apart tender, shredded and simmered with green chilies, cumin, and salsa verde. This batch-cooking recipe gives you about 9 cups of seasoned meat that freezes in portions for months of easy Mexican dinners.

Roasting low and slow at 200°F (93°C) for 12 hours with no added water lets the beef braise in its own juices. The result is incredibly tender meat with concentrated beefy flavor. If you’re short on time, the pressure cooker option gets you there in about 40 minutes.

Saving those pan juices is critical. They get stirred back into the shredded meat with the flour-thickened green chili mixture, and that’s where all the richness and body come from. Don’t pour them down the drain.

The flour cooked briefly with the onions and green chilies thickens everything into a saucy, spoonable consistency that holds together in a tortilla instead of running out the sides.

Kitchen Tips

• A tougher, well-marbled cut like chuck roast works best. Lean cuts dry out during the long roast even at low temperatures.
• You can split the roast between beef and pork for a more complex flavor. Use equal parts or adjust to your preference.
• Cool the meat mix completely before freezing. Warm food in sealed containers creates condensation that leads to freezer burn.
• Leave ½ inch of headspace in freezer containers. The mix expands as it freezes and can crack containers if overfilled.

Variations

• Birria-style: Add dried guajillo and ancho chiles to the roasting pan for a richer, smokier meat with deep red color.
• Carnitas blend: Use half pork shoulder and finish the shredded meat in a hot skillet until the edges get crispy before mixing with the sauce.