I grew up in Arizona and love Tex-Mex food. And there is this salsa chicken I make frequently that might be the easiest thing ever (recipe coming soon). So the plan for my birthday party was to make chicken tacos. But I figured people would also want some beef.

I was trying to figure out what kind of recipe would work well for tacos and would involve a slow-cooker… and then I realized: The southwestern pulled beef I made for our Super Bowl party this year. Duh!

Unlike some other slow-cooker recipes, this does require a bit of work (and annoyingly, more dirty dishes) before you put everything in the Crockpot and turn it on. But it is really good, and all the work occurs 8-10 hours beforehand so it is good for a party.

This time, we just fished out the Bay leaves and some other large pieces of non-beef, shredded the beef with two forks and let people serve themselves out of the Crockpot. But you can also take the beef out, strain the fat and other solids out of the sauce and serve that separately.

You also can serve/eat this a couple different ways. For the Super Bowl party, I served it with hard rolls and mango slaw (try the slaw part of this recipe from Food & Wine magazine). This time, we served it with tortillas, shredded cheese, lettuce, tomatoes, guacamole, salsa, etc. Super yummy.

I have only made this in conjunction with other items, so I am not sure exactly how many it serves. I would guess about 8-10. Also, you need a pretty large slow cooker for all of this. The SK version (link higher in the post) might be better if you have a smaller one.

Southwestern pulled beef (adapted from Smitten Kitchen)
5 pounds beef brisket
Kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
9 cloves garlic, peeled and smashed
1 yellow onion, halved and thinly sliced
1 1/2 tablespoons chili powder
3 teaspoons ground coriander
3 teaspoons ground cumin
1/2 cup apple cider vinegar
1 1/2 cups water
1 (28-ounce) can whole peeled tomatoes, with their juices
2 to 4 whole canned chipotle chiles en adobo (there are multiple peppers in the can, don’t put the whole thing in or it will be way too spicy. I also caution against licking the spoon or whatever you use to transfer the peppers into the slow cooker — my husband did that and immediately regretted it)
3 bay leaves
1/4 cup molasses

Also: Whatever you want to serve this with — be it tortillas or sandwich rolls — and toppings.

Season the beef with salt and pepper, to taste. Heat a large heavy skillet over medium-high heat. Add the oil and heat just until beginning to smoke. Add the meat (beware of the oil spatter) and cook, turning once, until browned on both sides, about 10 minutes total. Carefully transfer the meat to the slow cooker, the return the skillet on the heat.

Add garlic, onion, chili powder, coriander, and cumin to drippings in the skillet and stir until fragrant, about one minute. Add vinegar and boil until it’s almost gone (inhaling this is a bad idea, so turn on the fan and don’t put your face directly over the pan) scraping the bottom of the pan with a wooden spoon. Stir in water and pour the mixture over the brisket.

Crush the tomatoes in your fingers (tomato juice is highly likely to squirt all over the place if you aren’t careful) into the slow cooker, then add the rest of the tomato juice, chipotles, bay leaves and molasses. Put the lid on the cooker, set it on LOW and cook the brisket 8 to 10 hours. When it’s done, it should pull apart easily with a fork.

Serve as desired.