Who doesn’t love a great shredded beef? Tender beef tossed in a flavorful sauce that can be used for everything from sandwiches to salads and nachos to tacos. It’s a versatile must have recipe for any home cook to have on hand!
Today, we are making shredded beef dressed in a honey balsamic sauce that is just bursting with flavorful. Similar to a sweet, tangy barbecue sauce it comes together in just a few minutes using just a few basic pantry ingredients.
The beef can be made on your stovetop, in the oven, crock pot or in a pressure cooker, so this recipe is super flexible in more ways than one.
Let’s get started…
Typically, a chuck roast is used to make shredded beef. It is reasonably priced and when cooked properly, it can be super tender! When you are picking up the beef for this recipe, check the price on chuck tender. Sometimes you can find it priced real close to chuck roast, but it is far more tender in my opinion. Either chuck roast or tender will work great for this recipe.
Begin by cutting your beef into 2 inch cubes and generously season all sides with salt and black pepper.
The honey balsamic sauce that we will be adding to the beef later is super flavorful, so a simple salt and pepper seasoning is all you need at this stage.
Place your dutch oven or braiser over medium to medium high heat and working in batches, brown the beef cubes on all sides.
Note: If you are making this shredded beef in a crock pot or pressure cooker, preheat the sauté setting and brown the beef that way.
Once all of the beef has been browned on all sides, add them all into the pot along with 2 cups of beef broth.
Cooking Times:
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- Braising – if you are braising the beef in a dutch oven or braiser in the oven, cover the pot and place it into a 325 degree oven. Cook for 3 – 3 1/2 hours or until super tender.
- Stovetop – if you are cooking over a stovetop, cover the pot and once the broth is simmering, reduce the heat to medium or medium low and simmer for about 2 hours or until tender.
- Slow Cooker – if using a slow cooker, turn the setting from sauté to low and cook covered for 8 hours.
- Pressure Cooker – if pressure cooking, cover the pot and turn the pressure cooker to high. Once the pot has pressurized, cook for 60 minutes.
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Once the beef is super tender, let it cool for a few minutes while you make the honey balsamic sauce.
In a small saucepan, combine 2/3 cup of balsamic vinegar, 1/2 cup of honey, 1/2 cup of Worcestershire sauce, 1/3 cup of ketchup, 1/4 cup of soy sauce, 6 cloves of finely minced garlic and a teaspoon of onion powder. Bring the sauce to a simmer and cook for about 10 minutes or until slightly reduced.
Shred the beef and add the honey balsamic sauce.
Note: I highly recommend transferring the cooking liquid into an airtight container and refrigerating it until you need some broth. It is a flavor charged beef broth that you’ll definitely want to have on hand!
This beef is fantastic! So tender and flavorful and although the honey balsamic sauce is bold, it is still quite versatile, which makes this beef something that can be used in a variety of meal preps and dinner plans.
Making sandwiches… it works!
Craving nachos… works for that too.
Love shredded beef over a bed of greens… yep, this will work perfectly.
If you are looking for an easy, flavorful and versatile shredded beef recipe that can be made in a wide variety of ways (all easy!) then you should definitely give this honey balsamic shredded beef a try.
You are going to love this one!
Honey Balsamic Shredded Beef
Ingredients
- 3-4 pounds of beef chuck roast or chuck tender
- 2 cups of beef broth
- salt and black pepper
Honey Balsamic Sauce
- 2/3 cup of balsamic vinegar
- 1/2 cup of honey
- 1/2 cup of worcestershire sauce
- 1/3 cup of ketchup
- 1/4 cup of soy sauce
- 6 cloves of garlic, finely minced
- 1 teaspoon of onion powder
- salt and black pepper (optional)
Instructions
- Cut the chuck roast into 2 inch cubes, pat dry with paper towels and generously season with salt and black pepper
Cook the beef...
- If braising in the dutch oven, place over medium heat, add a few tablespoons of a neutral oil and sear the beef on all sides. Add 2 cups of beef stock and braise in a 325° oven for 3 - 3 1/2 hours.
- If simmering on stovetop, place over medium heat, add a few tablespoons of a neutral oil and sear the beef on all sides. Add 2 cups of beef stock and bring to a simmer. Cover the pot, reduce the heat to medium low and simmer for 2 hours.
- If cooking in a slow cooker, add the seasoned beef and 2 cups of beef stock and cook on low for 8 hours.
- If cooking in the pressure cooker, preheat the sauté function and working in batches sear the beef on all sides. Add all of the seared beef into the pressure cooker along with 2 cups of beef stock and pressure cook for 1 hour.
Make the sauce...
- When the beef is done cooking and ready to shred, combine 2/3 cup of balsamic vinegar, 1/2 cup of honey, 1/2 cup of Worcestershire sauce, 1/3 cup of ketchup, 1/4 cup of soy sauce, 6 cloves of finely minced garlic, 1 teaspoon of onion powder and a pinch of black pepper in a saucepan over medium heat and bring to a simmer
- Simmer for about 10 minutes or until slightly thickened
- Taste the sauce and add additional salt or black pepper if necessary
Assemble...
- Shred the beef, reserve the cooking liquid and add the honey balsamic sauce
- Mix until all of the beef is generously coated with the sauce and enjoy!
