• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
Mexican Food Journal logo
  • Recipe Index
  • About
  • Contact
  • Nav Social Menu

    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
    • YouTube
menu icon
go to homepage
search icon
Homepage link
  • Recipe Index
  • About The Journal
  • Contact
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
    • YouTube
  • ×
    You are here: Home / Beef / Shredded Beef Tacos

    Shredded Beef Tacos

    Douglas Cullen, This blog generates income via ads and affiliate links which earn us a small commission.

    Tacos de Carne Deshebrada

    Taquería style shredded beef tacos on corn tortillas garnished with finely chopped onion, cilantro, lime juice, and salsa verde or your favorite homemade salsa.

    Shredded Beef Tacos with Salsa Verde

    How to Make

    You will need 1 ¼lb of skirt steak, 1 large white onion, 3 cloves garlic, 1 tbsp. Worcestershire sauce, 12 sprigs cilantro, 12 to 16 small tortillas (taqueria size), and 2 cups of your favorite salsa. We love them with salsa verde.

    Ingredients to Make Shredded Beef Tacos

    Cooking the Beef

    Place the beef, onion, and garlic in a pot. Cover with 1″ of water.

    Cooking Skirt Steak by Boiling

    Bring the water to a boil then reduce the heat and simmer for at least 1 hour. The meat is ready when you can pull the meat apart with your fingers. It may take more than 1 hour. Test the meat after 1 hour if it needs more time to cook for another 15 minutes and check again. Repeat if necessary.

    Boiled Skirt Steak to Make Shredded Beef

    Shredding the Meat

    Cut the beef into 2″ to 3″ inch strips then use your fingers to tear the meat into thin strips. This is a bit tedious but worth the effort.

    Shredded Beef on Plate

    Seasoning the Taco Meat

    Heat 2 tbsp. of cooking oil to medium-hot. Add the shredded meat to the hot oil. Stir and cook for 2 minutes until the meat is just starting to brown.

    Cooking Taco Meat

    Add 1 tbsp. Worcestershire sauce that adds a touch of sweetness and enhances the beef flavor. Don’t add more. You can have too much of a good thing. Too much Worcestershire sauce overpowers the flavor of the meat.

    Seasoning Shredded Beef in Pan

    Add 1 /4 cup of the beef cooking broth and ¼ tsp. salt. Stir. Reduce the heat to low and simmer until the liquid has just evaporated. This makes tender nicely seasoned taco meat.

    Adding Beef Broth to Taco Meat

    Garnish & Salsa

    Remove the stems from the cilantro and discard. Very finely chop the cilantro. Very finely chop the remaining ½ white onion. Cut the limes into quarters.

    Tacos are nothing without salsa. Everyone has their favorites. We recommend any of these: salsa verde, fresh tomatillo salsa verde, or the habanero salsa.

    Serving

    Heat the tortillas on a comma or griddle. Always serve your tacos with hot tortillas. Place 2 tbsp. shredded beef on each tortilla. Top with a sprinkle of chopped onion, cilantro, a squirt of lime and a spoonful of your favorite salsa.

    Take care when you are plating the tacos. Presentation counts. There is an expression in Spanish, “de la vista nace el amor,” which means love starts at first sight. A beautiful taco is a tastier taco.

    Are you hungry yet? Provecho!

    Shredded Beef Tacos with Salsa Verde
    Print Pin
    3.34 from 6 votes

    Shredded Beef Tacos Recipe

    Authentic taquería style shredded beef tacos on corn tortillas garnished with finely chopped onion, cilantro, lime juice, and salsa verde or your favorite homemade salsa.
    Course Lunch
    Cuisine Mexican
    Keyword Beef Tacos, How to Make Shredded Beef Tacos, Shredded Beef Tacos, Shredded Beef Tacos Recipe
    Cook Time 1 hour hour 20 minutes minutes
    Total Time 1 hour hour 20 minutes minutes
    Servings 12 tacos
    Calories 496kcal
    Author Douglas Cullen

    Ingredients

    • 1 ¼ lb. of skirt steak
    • 1 large white onion
    • 3 cloves garlic
    • 1 tbsp. Worcestershire sauce
    • 12 sprigs cilantro
    • 12 to 16 small tortillas taqueria size
    • 2 cups of your favorite salsa We like salsa verde

    Instructions

    Shredded Beef

    • Place the beef, ½ onion, and garlic in a pot. Cover with 1" of water.
    • Bring the water to a boil then reduce the heat and simmer for at least 1 hour. The meat is ready when you can pull the meat apart with your fingers.
    • Cut the meat into 2” to 3 “ strips. Then use your fingers to pull the meat apart into thin strips.
    • Heat 2 tbsp. of cooking oil in a large frying pan then add the shredded beef to the hot oil. Stir the beef and fry for 2 minutes until the beef is just starting to brown.
    • Add 1 tbsp. Worcestershire sauce and 1 /4 cup of the beef cooking broth and stir. Reduce the heat to low and simmer until the liquid has just evaporated.

    Garnish

    • Remove the stem from the cilantro and discard. Very finely chop the cilantro.
    • Very finely chop the remaining ½ white onion.
    • Cut the limes into quarters.

    Serving

    • Heat the tortillas on a comal or griddle.
    • Place 2 tbsp. shredded beef on each tortilla.
    • Top with a sprinkle of chopped onion, cilantro, a squirt of lime and a spoonful of your favorite salsa.

    Notes

    Recommended Salsas
    • Cooked Salsa Verde
    • Fresh Tomatillo Salsa Verde
    • Habanero Salsa
    Substitutions
    • You can substitute Maggi sauce for the Worcestshiresauce sauce.
    • You can use flour tortillas instead of corn.
    Storage
    • The meat will keep for 3 days in the refrigerator and 2 months in the freezer.
    • If you make a double batch, you can freeze half for later use. The shredded beef freezes well.
     

    Nutrition

    Calories: 496kcal | Carbohydrates: 41g | Protein: 40g | Fat: 17g | Sodium: 998mg | Sugar: 5g

    More Authentic Taco Recipes

    • Chorizo Potato Tacos
    • Arrachera Tacos
    • Breakfast Tacos
    • Fish Tacos
    • Shrimp Tacos

    You Might Like

    • Homemade Taco Seasoning
    • Picadillo

    More Beef

    • Beef Birria Wrapped in Tetelas
      Birria with Consomé
    • Mexican Meatballs
      Albondigas Mexicanas
    • Sliced Grilled Sirloin Cap Roast with Baked Potato
      Grilled Sirloin Cap Roast (Picaña)
    • Rib Eye Taco with Red Onion Habanero Salsa on Corn Tortilla
      Ribeye Tacos with Habanero Salsa

    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. Lisa Trevino says

      September 27, 2017 at 9:08 am

      4 stars
      Thank you for this recipe! Previously I have seen people simply quickly grilling skirt meat and it was always too tough for me. I will definitely be slow cooking mine first as you did so I can enjoy this wonderful cut in many dishes.

      Reply
    2. Commendatore says

      July 30, 2022 at 2:51 pm

      Ehhh I would marinate the beef & grill it. Instead of boiling in plain water, that’ just … sad

      Reply

    Leave a Reply Cancel reply

    Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

    Recipe Rating




    This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

    Primary Sidebar

    D. Cullen Profile Picture

    Hola, I am Douglas. Let me share my love of Mexican Cuisine with you that developed over 20+ years of living in Mexico.

    More about me →


    Most Popular Recipes

    • Classic Salsa Verde
    • Bowl of Mexican Restaurant Style Salsa
      Restaurant Style Salsa
    • Bowl of Traditional Mexican Sopa de Fideo
      Traditional Sopa de Fideo
    • Bowl of Authentic Red Pozole
      Red Pork Pozole
    • Bowl of Chicken Tinga
      Chicken Tinga
    • Agua de Jamaica
    • Tres Leches Cake with Berries
      Tres Leches Cake
    • Beet Salad Citrus Balsamic Vinaigrette Recipe
      Beet Salad with Feta Cheese and Citrus Balsamic Viniagrette
    • Cheese Enchiladas with Red Enchilada Sauce
      Red Enchilada Sauce
    • Authentic Mole Poblano
      Mole Poblano

    Footer

    ↑ back to top

    About

    • Privacy Policy
    • Terms & Conditions

    Newsletter

    • Sign Up! for emails and updates

    Contact

    • Contact

    As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases.

    Copyright © 2021 Mexico Publishing LLC