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    Home > Mexican Southwest Recipes > Mexican Beef Machaca Recipe

    Mexican Beef Machaca Recipe

    Published: Apr 24, 2016 · Modified: Aug 11, 2020 by Lea Ann Brown · This post may contain affiliate links

    Jump to Recipe Print Recipe
    Authenti

    Marinating pot roast overnight in Mexican seasonings insures that braised beef is full flavored to make the best tacos, burritos and more. This is a recipe for authentic Mexican shredded beef. This Beef Machaca recipe is a must have recipe for any cook serious about Mexican food.

    Beef Machaca Huevos. Mexican shredded beef is served on a flour tortilla and topped with an egg.

    Beef Machaca Huevos. Simply a warm flour tortilla topped with a helping of Beef Machaca and a fried egg.

    I’ve only recently been introduced to Beef Machaca, thanks to Young Guns Chile out of New Mexico and one of their Facebook postings featuring Machaca.

    Beef Machaca Breakfast. A Mexican Pot roast turns breakfast into a fiesta.

    Authentic Beef Machaca Recipe

    Beef Machaca is that flavorful authentic shredded beef that you find in burritos and tacos. You know the ones…you can’t quite figure out why the meat is so good.

    The recipe originally comes from Sonora and used to make burritas, an everyday type of taco there.

    Machaca in its traditional form is the Mexican equivalent of beef jerkey. Beef that has been marinated, cooked, shredded and dried. The drying process preserved the beef, made it easy to pack on the trail.

    The Tex-Mex version is a braised beef dish that can be served alone with tortillas for tacos and burritos. And that’s just a beginning on how to use this tender Mexican meat.

    Many people still call it Machaca, although it’s often referred to on menus simply as shredded beef. There are many subtle differences in how it is prepared from recipe to recipe.

    I didn’t find any two recipes exactly the same. Some were complicated with flavor, some added wine and some were quite simple, adding just onion, cumin and green chile and boiled in water stove-top.

    The recipe I found over at Texas Cooking sounded perfect to me and made some of the best pulled beef tacos I’ve ever had..

    Beef Machaca breakfast burrito with scrambled eggs and cheese.

    With just the two of us in our house, this wonderful Mexican beef lasted a few days. We enjoyed breakfast burritos filled with Beef Machaca, fresh chopped tomatoes and scrambled eggs.

    Mexican Shredded Beef Breakfast Burritos.

    With some melted cheese on top and rings of fresh sliced sweet onion, a side of hash browns and oranges, it was a wonderful south of the border breakfast.

    Beef machaca burrito. Filled with mexican shredded beef.

    Beef Machaca alone is divine, so just a flour tortilla filled with the hot meat is an easy little street style snack.

    Home made flour tortillas for burritos.

    And if you can believe it, I did make my own flour tortillas, I was pretty pleased for my first try.

    This Beef Machaca recipe is a great example of cooking with one of my favorite techniques, braising. I look forward to making this again to use in beef machaca chiles rellenos and enchiladas.

    It’s so easy to make I’m starting to wonder if I’ll ever use ground beef again for Mexican.  A Mexican version of tender pot roast, it’s simply simmered stove top with some spices…let the fiesta begin!

    Recipe for Mexican Shredded Beef Machaca

    I hope you give this Mexican beef taco recipe a try. And if you do, please come back and let me know how you liked it and give the recipe a star rating.

    Your feedback is valuable to me for developing future recipes. And if you have a favorite pulled beef taco recipe, let me know, I’d love to give it a try.

    And if you’re looking for more South of The Border Mexican Roast Beef ideas, you won’t want to miss my recipe for Mexican Pot Roast. Just right spicy.

    More Mexican Food Recipes with Beef

    • Slow Cooker Chuck Roast Beef Tacos
    • Chile Rubbed Braised Beef Tacos with Red Cabbage Slaw
    • Enchilada Burritos, Beef and Bean Enchiladas
    • Mountain Mex Ground Beef Enchiladas
    • Authentic Mexican Fried Tacos
    • Sriracha Steak Street Tacos
    • Taco Burger with Salsa Aioli
    • Ancho Black Bean and Beef Tacos
    • Taqueria Style Grilled Carne Asada

    And if you’re looking for more Mexican Food Recipes, don’t miss my Mexican Southwest Category. You’ll find lots of great recipe ideas, including the most popular on my site for Hatch Green Chile Colorado.

    Beef Machaca Huevos. Mexican shredded beef is served on a flour tortilla and topped with an egg.

    Beef Machaca Recipe

    Pot roast is slow braised in Mexican spices and then shredded. Great for tacos, burritos and all things Mexican and Tex-Mex.
    4.5 from 6 votes
    Print Pin Rate
    Course: Main Course Beef
    Cuisine: Mexican
    Prep Time: 30 minutes
    Cook Time: 2 hours 30 minutes
    Total Time: 3 hours
    Servings: 12
    Calories: 238kcal
    Author: Lea Ann Brown

    Ingredients

    • For the marinade:
    • ¼ cup Worcestershire sauce
    • Juice of two limes
    • 1 teaspoon garlic powder
    • 1 teaspoon ground cumin
    • 1 teaspoon New Mexico chili powder or Ancho Chile Powder
    • ½ teaspoon salt
    • ½ teaspoon black pepper
    • ½ cup vegetable oil or olive oil
    • To cook the beef:
    • 2-3 pounds Chuck Roast or Skirt Steak trimmed and cut into portions.
    • 1 large sweet onion diced
    • ½ green bell pepper diced
    • 4 cloves of garlic minced or pressed
    • 1 jalapeno pepper minced
    • 1-14 ounce can diced tomatoes or tomatoes with green chilies
    • ¼ cup beef broth
    • 1 tablespoon dried Mexican oregano
    • 1 tablespoon ground cumin
    • 1 teaspoon hot pepper sauce such as Tabasco
    • salt and pepper to taste
    • 1/2 teaspoon cider vinegar
    • Vegetable oil for searing the beef
    Prevent your screen from going dark

    Instructions

    • For the marinade, combine all the ingredients in a bowl then whisk them to form an emulsion. Add the beef making sure every piece is evenly coated. Cover and refrigerate.
    • Marinate the beef overnight in a bowl in the refrigerator. Before preparing, drain thoroughly and allow meat to come up to room temperature for about 30 minutes.
    • In a Dutch oven, heat a few tablespoons of oil over medium-high heat until very hot. Sear the beef a few pieces at a time to develop a rich brown color on all sides as well as on the bottom of the pan. Do this in several batches if the pot is too crowded.
    • When all the beef is browned nicely and removed from the pan, add the onions, peppers, and garlic to the hot pan. Saute for a few minutes then add the remaining ingredients to the pan along with the beef. Bring to a boil, scraping the browned bits off the bottom of the pan. Reduce heat to low, cover and simmer slowly for about 2 hours. The meat should be very tender and should easily fall apart when pricked with a fork.
    • Remove from heat, remove meat to a cutting board and shred with a pair of forks. Return to the pot and bring to a simmer, uncovered. Reduce the liquid until very thick, almost dry. At this point, adjust the seasoning with salt, pepper, and whatever additional heat you want to add if any.
    • Finish by stirring in the vinegar. 

    Notes

    When adding the canned tomatoes with peppers, I like to add plain canned tomatoes and chop 3 Hatch chile peppers that have been roasted and seeded.

    Nutrition

    Calories: 238kcal | Carbohydrates: 5g | Protein: 15g | Fat: 18g | Saturated Fat: 5g | Cholesterol: 52mg | Sodium: 252mg | Potassium: 373mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 2g | Vitamin A: 113IU | Vitamin C: 8mg | Calcium: 39mg | Iron: 3mg
    Tried this Recipe? Pin it for Later!Mention @lannisam or tag #CookingOnTheRanch!

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    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. Candice says

      June 27, 2018 at 4:29 pm

      5 stars
      I was too excited to try this recipe so I didn’t marinate overnight. I marinated the beef for about 30 minutes and wow it was so good. I will definitely be making his again. Thanks for sharing!

      Reply
    2. Will says

      September 02, 2017 at 12:11 pm

      5 stars
      Sitting at home with a cold, watching man v food, looked at something delicious I wanted to find the recipe for, so I have followed yours and the beef is marinading in the fridge now! It looks fab and I can wait for dinner tomorrow!

      Reply
    3. Jill says

      August 31, 2016 at 10:04 am

      Thank you, Lea Ann, for such a beautiful looking recipe. I have my beef marinating right now…. and plan to sear the meat in a couple of hours. I do not see where you cook with the marinade in the cooking process, right?

      Reply
      • Lea Ann Brown says

        September 05, 2016 at 2:29 pm

        That is correct Jill. How did you like it? We just returned from Tucson where I ordered Beef Macahaca at a Mexican Tacqueria. Man was it good. Now I have to make it again this week so I can compare, before I forget how the other tasted.

        Reply
    4. Bam's Kitchen says

      April 30, 2016 at 6:53 pm

      5 stars
      My boys would love this recipe. You made your own flour tortillas…good on you. Impressive. That drippy egg is making this whole dish come together beautifully.

      Reply
      • Lea Ann Brown says

        May 08, 2016 at 6:10 am

        I’m big on those drippy eggs. 🙂

        Reply
    5. Jean | DelightfulRepast.com says

      April 28, 2016 at 8:36 am

      You’re making me hungry! This looks perfect. I make my own flour tortillas, too, but I use butter and mix by hand. Oil would be fine, too. I just don’t want any tortillas made with shortening. Mmm … machaca!

      Reply
      • Lea Ann Brown says

        April 30, 2016 at 11:44 am

        I’d like to try with butter one of these days. Thanks Jean.

        Reply
    6. Abbe@This is How I Cook says

      April 27, 2016 at 6:24 pm

      What a great recipe Lea Ann! I would not turn this down!

      Reply
      • Lea Ann Brown says

        April 30, 2016 at 11:45 am

        I most certainly didn’t turn it down, and ended up eating too much. 🙂

        Reply
    7. Larry says

      April 27, 2016 at 3:02 pm

      This sounds great Lea Ann and similar to the Italian Beef we recently made but with different flavors. And of course my favorite is the one with the egg on it.

      Reply
      • Lea Ann Brown says

        April 30, 2016 at 11:45 am

        I thought of you when I posted those photos. 🙂

        Reply
    8. John/Kitchen Riffs says

      April 27, 2016 at 8:56 am

      We love this stuff! You can make it with pork, too. Great recipe. Love the highlights on the table in the pictures — really nice.

      Reply
      • Lea Ann Brown says

        April 30, 2016 at 11:46 am

        That table has ended up to be so photogenic. Always different light reflections depending upon the time of day.

        Reply
    9. Susan says

      April 26, 2016 at 4:02 pm

      I’ve made and eaten my share of shredded pork in Mexican food but not beef that I can recall. I can’t wait to try this! The beef machaca so tender and deliciously flavored.

      Reply
      • Lea Ann Brown says

        April 26, 2016 at 4:47 pm

        Thank you Susan. I can’t wait to make it again. Once the marinade is done, the rest is a piece of cake.

        Reply
    10. Karen (Back Road Journal) says

      April 25, 2016 at 12:18 pm

      I’m impressed that you made you own flour tortillas. I’d definitely enjoy starting my day with the beef machaca with a fried egg.

      Reply
      • Lea Ann Brown says

        April 26, 2016 at 4:49 pm

        I’m impressed that I made my own flour tortillas. 🙂

        Reply
    11. Ben Prucey says

      April 25, 2016 at 9:54 am

      Lee Ann,
      It seems that ground cumin is listed twice in this recipe. Which is correct?

      Reply
      • Lea Ann Brown says

        April 26, 2016 at 4:49 pm

        It’s listed twice because one is in the marinade and one is in the main dish. I’ll call you.

        Reply
    12. Sam @ My Carolina Kitchen says

      April 25, 2016 at 5:18 am

      This definitely would take care of my Mexican food cravings. A must try.
      Sam

      Reply
      • Lea Ann Brown says

        April 26, 2016 at 4:49 pm

        Me too Sam. Thanks

        Reply
    13. Mark Lewis says

      April 24, 2016 at 7:04 pm

      5 stars
      That sounds good! I need to try it By the way my wife s name is Leann also!

      Reply
      • Lea Ann Brown says

        April 26, 2016 at 4:51 pm

        Thank you Mark! And yay for another Leaann! There’s not that many of us. Thanks for the visit and taking the time to comment.

        Reply
    14. Liz says

      April 24, 2016 at 5:39 pm

      Sounds really nice. Thank you and have a good week.

      Reply
      • Lea Ann Brown says

        April 26, 2016 at 4:51 pm

        Thanks Liz

        Reply

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    I'm Lea Ann, A Culinary School Grad obsessed with South of The Border cuisine. Mexican, Southwestern and Wild West Recipes. If you're an adventurous home cook looking to spice up your meal plans, you'll find plenty of inspiration for reliable, approachable recipes.

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