Ancho Shredded Beef and Guacamole Sliders
Now that the weather is getting cooler outside, I am more comfortable turning the oven on in the house. The oven opens up so many different cooking possibilities and recipe ideas. Last week Pita Break sent me a bunch of their product to develop some recipes.
The kids got so excited when the delivery guy came to the door with a big box full of pita bread, lavash, one buns and more.
Looking at their product, I got my ideas flowing and this is the first recipe I want to share with you.
The shredded beef in this slider is similar to pulled pork and packed with flavour with a little heat from the ancho chilies. The fresh cilantro and guacamole add a light fresh counterbalance to the deep rich flavour of the shredded beef.
For these sliders, I used Pita Break’s Just Minis. These are just like their One Bun but smaller and worked just great and tasted delicious!
I used chuck steak as the slow cooking process tenderizes the meat and they shred so easily. This shredded beef could be used in many other things, other than slider buns. Large buns, pita brea and soft tortilla would all work great.
If desired, have a bowlful of the ancho chili sauce that the chuck steak cooked in on the table with the sliders. That way, if people wish, they could spoon a little extra of this sauce with deep flavour on their slider. I know I did that!!
Ancho Shredded Beef and Guacamole Sliders
Ingredients
- 2 pound chuck steak or roast
- 3 tbsp oil
- 2 cups crushed tomatoes
- 2 dried ancho chilies
- 1/3 cup brown sugar
- 1 onion
- 3 cloves garlic
- 1 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp black pepper
- 2 avocado
- 1 small tomato
- 1/2 lime
- 1/2 cup fresh cilantro
- 12 Pita Break just minis or any other slider buns
Instructions
- Soak the ancho chilies in warm water for 15 minutes or until they are soft and pliable. Remove and discard the stem and seeds. Place the ancho chilies in a food processor. Add the crushed tomatoes, onion and garlic cloves. Pulse until everything is smooth and pureed. Stir in the brown sugar, salt and pepper.
- Heat oil in a skillet on high heat. Pat the chuck steak dry with a paper towel to remove moisture and lay in the skillet. Sear the steak on each side, cooking about 1-2 minutes per side.
- Place the chuck steak in a small baking dish. Pour the tomato and ancho chili puree over the steak. Cover the baking dish and cook in a 325F oven for 2 1/2 hours.
- Remove the steak from the baking dish, place on a plate, and let cool slightly.
- Shred the beef with two forks and place the beef in a bowl. Take 1/2 cup (or more, if desired) of the cooked tomato sauce from the baking dish and stir in with the beef.
- Make the guacamole by removing the flesh of the avocados and put it in a bowl. Mash the avocado with a potato masher or fork until fairly creamy. It is ok if it is a little bit clumpy.Squeeze the lime juice and stir it into the mashed avocado.
- Dice the tomato and stir it into the avocado.
- Assemble the sliders by adding some shredded beef, guacamole and fresh cilantro to each bun.
