Head to paradise with these tasty Hawaiian Beef Tacos! So amazingly good with the tender and crispy sweet meat (that has a touch of heat), topped with yummy grilled pineapple (my fav!) salsa, all bundled up in a soft yet crisp tortilla that has melted cheese on it. Oh yeah babe!
Plus it’s sure fast to put together. Well, there is waiting time since it’s a crock-pot meal but really it only requires 30 minutes of your time in the kitchen. Yay! Definitely a great week night meal.
So if you follow me on Instagram you’ll know that I’m recovering from participating in a mini triathlon. I emphasize ‘mini’ because there is no way I could do a real full triathlon. Pretty sure I would drown during the mile swim. See, the mini triathlon I did was just a 100 meter swim and that was even tough. The last time I swam a lap was maybe back in 2012 so I’m grateful the swim wasn’t any longer. Oh yeah, and it was in a lake! Talk about gross. Walking into it was terrible because I could feel the slimy mud beneath my feet. Eww! Next time (did I just say that!?) I might wear water shoes. And while I’m sure no one smells good after doing a triathlon, the lake water sure didn’t help in that area.
Next was the bike ride. Oh and of course I forgot my helmet. I didn’t realize this until after I got there and saw everyone else holding or wearing their helmet. Luckily they had some extra. I was just so concerned the night before about stuffing my honkin bike into the back of our little sedan.
I have ridden a bike recently but just once, well maybe you could say one and a half. When we visited my parents at the beginning of the summer Nick and I took their bikes out for maybe a 4 mile leisurely ride. We had a good time and decided to take the bikes out the next day and were planning to go even further to get more of a workout but right as we both sat down on our bikes we looked at each other and knew… that one block was all our sore rears could take. That’s kind of what I’m feeling right now. Who designed those hard little seats anyway?!
K, so for the triathlon I could choose to bike 2, 4, or 6 miles. After about the first mile (that consisted of one too many hills) I was really thinking that I was going to stop but one of my friends ahead of me was going around the loop again so I grit my teeth went a second time and then surprisingly a third. My legs felt like jello. Definitely should have trained for the biking. Oh but cool part was I saw a mama deer with her two babies! The scenery during the race was really beautiful so I was grateful for that.
The only thing I did train for was the run. I’ve always liked running and it’s pretty cheap and easy to do with a child so I take Carly out go for a 2-3 mile run 3-4 times a week. For the run I could also choose the distance (.5, 1, or 1.5 miles) so I chose the 1.5. What I didn’t know was that the 1.5 route had a huge steep hill. Not cool! Oh, and by the time I started the run I was super thirsty so I grabbed a cup of water from a volunteer and tried to drink it while running. Yeah, that doesn’t work. Just about died during the run from drowning in a cup of water! But hey, I made it to the end and was oh so happy to see the finish line… and bagels.
The race was put on just for women participants (including young girls) and was just for fun so it wasn’t timed but I set the stopwatch on my phone right before getting in that nasty lake and I got the whole race done in 53 minutes. Not really sure how that compares but I was pretty happy with that considering I didn’t train. Ya know what’s crazy? Despite the jello legs, lake water, bruised bum, and fatigued muscles, on my drive home I was already getting excited to find another race to sign up for. Must have been the endorphins talkin. We’ll see.
Anyway, go make these tacos! This is seriously my favorite meal right now. Hope you enjoy it too!
Hawaiian Beef Tacos
Ingredients
For the Meat:
- 2 pounds boneless beef roast, mine was bottom round
- 1 cup pineapple juice*
- 1/2 cup bell peppers, diced
- 1/4 cup red onion, diced
- 1 jalapeno, minced
- 1/3 cup soy sauce
- 1/4 cup brown sugar
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 1 tablespoon fresh ginger, grated
For the Salsa:
- 2 cups pineapple, cut into chunks*
- 1 teaspoon canola oil
- 1/2 cup green bell pepper, chopped
- 1/4 cup red onion, thinly sliced
- 2 tablespoons cilantro
- 1 tablespoon lime juice
For the tacos:
- 8 fajita size flour tortillas
- 1-1 1/2 cups shredded cheese, I used colby jack
Instructions
- Place meat in slow cooker and add the pineapple juice. Pile the peppers, onion, and jalapeno on top of the meat. Mix soy sauce, sugar, garlic, and ginger together and pour over the veggies & meat. Place the lid on and cook on high for 4-5 hours or low for 7-8.
- When the meat is almost done, place all salsa ingredients except pineapple and oil in a bowl and set aside. Heat up a non-stick skillet with oil over medium-high heat and throw in the pineapple. Stir around every couple of minutes, cooking until evenly golden/browned. Add the pineapple to the salsa along with 1/4 cup of the broth from the meat, toss, and serve.
- When the meat is done, take the meat out along with the veggies (don't toss the broth yet!). Scrape the veggies into a bowl and set aside. Trim any fat off the meat and then shred on a cutting board and throw it in with the veggies. Heat a non-stick skillet over medium-high heat (you can just use the same one as you did for cooking the pineapple) and throw in the shredded beef/veggies with 1/2 cup of the broth. Let it sit for a few minutes to get crispy and then toss every couple minutes until it reaches desired crispness level (about 5 minutes). Add more broth (about 1/4 cup) to moisten the meat again and then place on a platter and serve.
- Heat up a griddle or pan over medium heat and spray one side of tortillas with cooking oil. Place oiled side down on the grill and then top with about 2 tablespoons cheese. Cook until cheese is melted and bottom of tortilla is lightly toasted. Remove from heat and assemble tacos by filling the tortilla with the meat and then topping with pineapple salsa.
Notes
Recipe Source: Garnish & Glaze original recipe
Made these for dinner last Sunday but not as tacos, served over Hawaiian style rice topped with the salsa… it was so good!!
Oh yum! What a great idea, Aimee! I’ll have to try it like that.
I made this recipe today with a pork roast instead of beef. It turned out delicious! I will note that the sauce was very thin right out of the crock pot, which is common for cooking in a crock pot, so I reduced it on the stove for about 10-15 minutes. It thickened perfectly and intensified the flavor.
We loved the fresh pinapple salsa as well.
Deborah- Pork Hawaiian Beef Tacos sounds awesome! And good idea to thicken it on the stove. I’ll have to try that next time.
So, I made this tonight and whoa, man, that beef is fantastic. the cut of beef I used didn’t really take to shredding, so I ended up dicing it and having everything over some leftover rice. It was very good! Thank you!
Deanna- I’m so glad you liked it!!! I hate when that happens with a random cut of beef but I’m glad you were able to make it work. Thanks for following! 🙂