Make this Costa Rican shredded beef recipe in a pressure or slow cooker. Perfect for tacos, empanadas, carne en salsa, and more.
This Costa Rican shredded beef recipe is an essential recipe for all kinds of traditional Costa Rican dishes- beef empanadas, taco tico, beef in red sauce, and more. Of course, this shredded beef is always served with white rice.
Flank steak cooked with red pepper, white onion, garlic, and of course, Salsa Lizano to create a delicious and tender shredded beef recipe that leaves a good amount of beef stock for soups as well.
About This Costa Rican Shredded Beef
Beef is a very popular food in Costa Rica. It doesn’t hurt at all that the locally produced meat comes straight from Brahman cows who eat grass on the plains of Guanacaste and in the mountains of the San Carlos/La Fortuna area.
And we use the whole cow in Costa Rica- from the short ribs for our olla de carne soup (arguably the most popular national dish among Costa Ricans) to the tail used in estofado.
This is a base recipe- you can find Costa Rican shredded beef in freezers and refrigerators in almost every Costa Rican home. I almost always have some on hand because it’s easier to make some Costa Rican recipes on a weeknight.
Related post: Easy and Delicious Costa Rican Shredded Pork Recipe
This Costa Rican shredded beef (carne mechada) is generally prepared in a pressure cooker, although I will include slow cooker instructions here, too. This recipe is a staple in Costa Rica because it is a base for so many other recipes, especially appetizers.
This recipe is also a great way to feed a crowd on a budget- with just a few simple ingredients, we can turn shredded beef into nachos, tacos, empanadas, meat sandwiches, and more. This Costa Rican shredded beef also becomes carne in salsa– a shredded beef in red sauce, often served as part of a casado lunch plate. Here are just a few of the traditional Costa Rican foods that use shredded beef:
- Picadillo de papa
- Estofado
- Meat Sandwich
- Costa Rican nachos
- Shredded Beef Empanadas
- Costa Rican Style Taco -Taco Tico
- Costa Rican-Style Carne en Salsa
- Arroz Cantonés
Another huge advantage to this recipe is that it leaves behind a gorgeous beef stock that can be used in soups. Here’s the recipe, with pressure cooker and slow cooker instructions.
Related post: What Is Salsa Lizano From Costa Rica?
Recipe – Costa Rican Shredded Beef
Ingredients:
- 3 pounds flank steak
- 1-2 Tbsp salt
- 1-2 Tbsp chicken bouillon
- 1-2 Tbsp soy sauce
- 1/2 red pepper, roughly chopped
- 1/2 white onion, roughly chopped
- 1/2 bunch cilantro, with stems, roughly chopped
- 2 cloves of garlic
- 2-3 Tbsp Salsa Lizano
- 6-8 cups water
Instructions:
Place all the ingredients into the pressure cooker. (I use an electric pressure cooker like the Instant Pot.) Cook on high pressure for 25 minutes. You can use the quick release or the natural release- I don’t think it matters, but I usually just let the pressure release on its own unless I’m in a hurry.
Remove the meat from the pressure cooker and set aside to cool slightly.
Strain the beef broth through a fine-mesh strainer and place it in an airtight container for up to 2 weeks. I usually put the broth in Ball jars or freeze it in plastic gallon bags for later.
Shred the beef using two forks or your hands. True Costa Rican shredded beef is shredded very finely, so I use my hands for this. Store for up to a week in an airtight container, or freeze.
Notes:
- One of my favorite things (apart from the flavor) about this recipe is that it is a great way to use up produce that might no longer be crisp, but still has flavor. I add them in BIG pieces to the slow cooker, just cutting them up enough that the flavor will release during the cooking process.
- There is a large variation in the amount of salt in the recipe. I have found that the meat is best when I add the perfect amount of salt, which is hard to do. Because this style of meat is usually cooked again in many popular Costa Rican recipes, the meat must have an inherently salty flavor that’s cooked in. I usually do a tablespoon of salt per 3 cups of water, and generally cover the meat with 3-4 inches of water before cooking.
Substitutions
You can use a chuck roast, a rump roast, or a round roast for this recipe if you want. However, none of these cuts of meat will taste like traditional Costa Rican shredded beef. I don’t know enough about the cuts of meat to know why, but I do know about taste, and it’s different.
Variations
This Costa Rican shredded beef is also delicious when slow-cooked. You can make this recipe easily in the crockpot or slow cooker as well. Just place all the ingredients in the slow cooker and cook on low for 8-10 hours or high for 6-8 hours.
When I make this in the slow cooker, I generally just cook it overnight and shred it in the morning. You won’t have quite as much broth with the slow-cooked shredded beef unless you add quite a bit more water and salt.
Related post: Costa Rican Style Slow Cooker Black Beans Recipe
Serving Suggestions
We use this shredded beef for so many things once we have it!
- Picadillo de papa
- Costa Rican nachos
- Shredded Beef Empanadas
- Costa Rican Style Taco -Taco Tico
- Costa Rican-Style Carne en Salsa
However, a lot of times I will shred the beef and then put it back into the broth. We add some white rice to the bottom of the bowl and serve it as a very simple soup- or a sustancia de carne.
Sometimes we add freshly chopped onion and cilantro and a squeeze of lime to this meat, put it on top of a tortilla, and have shredded beef tacos. It’s almost like a barbacoa taco- except with Salsa Lizano! I love to eat with my two favorite salsas, too- creamy green salsa and chile del árbol salsa. Of course, this is always delicious with a Costa Rican chimichurri sauce too.
Printable Recipe
Costa Rican Shredded Beef Recipe
This Costa Rican shredded beef recipe uses flank steak, red pepper, white onion, garlic, and of course Salsa Lizano. It's delicious too!
Ingredients
- 3 pounds flank steak
- 1-2 Tbsp salt
- 1-2 Tbsp chicken bouillon
- 1-2 Tbsp soy sauce
- 1/2 red pepper, roughly chopped
- 1/2 white onion, roughly chopped
- 1/2 bunch cilantro, with stems, roughly chopped
- 2 cloves garlic
- 2-3 Tbsp Salsa Lizano
- 6-8 cups water
Instructions
- Place all the ingredients into the pressure cooker. (I use an electric pressure cooker like the Instant Pot.)
- Cook on high pressure for 25 minutes.
- You can use the quick release or the natural release- I don't think it matters, but I usually just let the pressure release on its own unless I'm in a hurry.
- Remove the meat from the pressure cooker and set aside to cool slightly.
- Strain the beef broth through a fine-mesh strainer and place in an airtight container for up to 2 weeks. I usually put the broth in Ball jars, or freeze it in plastic gallon bags for later.
- Shred the beef using two forks or your hands.
- True Costa Rican shredded beef is shredded very finely, so I use my hands for this.
- Store for up to a week in an airtight container, or freeze.
Notes
- One of my favorite things (apart from the flavor) about this recipe is that it is a great way to use up produce that might no longer be crisp, but still has flavor. I add them in BIG pieces to the slow cooker, just cutting them up enough that the flavor will release during the cooking process.
- There is a large variation in the amount of salt in the recipe. I have found that the meat is best when I add the perfect amount of salt, which is hard to do. Because this style of meat is usually cooked again in many popular Costa Rican recipes, the meat must have an inherently salty flavor that's cooked in. I usually do a tablespoon of salt per 3 cups of water, and generally cover the meat with 3-4 inches of water before cooking.
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