Thanks to Pinterest, I've been exposed to more slow cooker recipes than I ever imagined. Oddly, until recently I was never too keen to try them. It's not the recipes so much as the idea of cooking in a Crock Pot. The thought of chopping up onions, whisking together marinades, and handling raw meat at 8 in the morning didn't appeal to me, even though the idea of simplifying week night meal times certainly did. So I continued to peek at recipes now and then, trying to persuade myself. When I pinned
this one for Korean beef tacos I started to
consider buying a Crock Pot (so hard to justify an appliance that size in a kitchen my size. thankfully, I am able to store it in a spare pantry outside of the kitchen when not in use.) Then I saw others raving about the tacos on Instagram and I knew I had to give them and slow cooking a try. Even if just to confirm my preconceptions. Haha! Well, that was several months ago, and I've honestly made this recipe about 2x per month since. I've made some tweaks, mainly that I serve it with a different slaw, and switched up a couple ingredients. The boys love it, Jimmy loves it, and there are always plenty of left overs so I get two nights "off" in the kitchen. Win, win, win, all around. It's worth having my hands smelling of garlic before I finish my first cup of tea for the day. :)
Korean Beef Tacos
(adapted from
Crockpot 365)
3-4 pound chuck roast, trim fat
1/2 cup light brown sugar
1/2 cup soy sauce
whole head of garlic, peeled
1 inch french ginger, diced
1 small onion, diced
1 TBS toasted sesame oil
2 TBS seasoned rice vinegar
Combine all ingredients in slow cooker and cook on low for 8-10 hours. Remove meat and shred with 2 forks, when there is about an hour cooking left, then return to slow cooker to finish cooking.
Spoon into corn or flour soft taco shells alongside the mango, cilantro slaw (my favorite part!).
Mango, Cilantro Slaw
(adapted from
Food & Wine)
1 bag of shredded cabbage/slaw mix (14-16 oz bag)
1 mango, peeled and diced
1 bunch cilantro, minced
1 small shallot, diced
1 jalapeño, seeded, diced
1/2 cup mayo
the juice of half a lime
1 TBS sugar
1 TBS seasoned rice vinegar
salt + pepper
Combine slaw mix through jalapeño in a medium bowl. Whisk together mayo through salt and pepper in a small bowl, then toss with slaw mixture. Can be made ahead of time and stored, covered, in fridge. It's amazing!
