- 3 lbs of chuck roast or round steak
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 2 Tbsp vegetable oil
- 1 1/4 cups beef broth, divided
- 3 - 4 chipotle chilies in adobo (see note on spice levels below)
- 6 garlic cloves
- 1 1/2 Tbsp ground cumin
- 1 Tbsp dried oregano
- 1/4 tsp ground cloves
- 3 bay leaves
- 1/4 cup fresh lime juice
- Cut roast into 6 portions while removing any large pieces of fat. Heat 1 Tbsp vegetable oil in a skillet.
- Dab roast dry with paper towels, season with salt and pepper (about 1 tsp salt 3/4 tsp pepper). Add 3 pieces to skillet and sear until browned on all sides. Transfer to a slow cooker.
- Add the remaining 1 Tbsp vegetable oil to the skillet and repeat the process with the remaining 3 roast pieces. Nestle beef portions side by side in an even layer in the slow cooker.
- In a food processor, pulse together chipotle chilies, garlic, and 1/4 cup beef broth until well pureed, occasionally stopping and scraping down the sides of the processor.
- In a 2-cup liquid measuring cup or in a bowl, whisk together the remaining beef broth with chipotle mixture, cumin, oregano, and cloves. Pour mixture over beef in slow cooker, then nestle bay leaves between beef portions.
- Cover and cook on low heat for 8 - 9 hours.
- Remove beef from slow cooker (leave broth) and shred. Stir lime juice into broth in slow cooker then return beef to slow cooker and cook on low or warm 20 - 30 minutes longer.
- Strain liquid from beef and serve in tortillas with desired toppings.
- Using round steak may require additional cooking time and/or beef broth
- Skip the chipotle chiles if you don't like spicy. You can add 4 tsp of chili powder or toss in a few mild, dried peppers to the food processor mix.
- Check the meat after about 6 hours and add more beef broth if necessary.
- In place of a slow cooker you can use a Dutch oven and bake at 250 degrees F. In my experience, this produced better results.