What does a carnivore do when she’s had minor oral surgery, under strict orders to eat nothing but soft foods? Why, make shredded beef, of course!

(There’s only so many dishes of scrambled eggs one can eat.)

This recipe is based on one of my favorite dishes in the entire world, Nom Nom Paleo’s Crock Pot Kalua Pig.

Easy Shredded Beef

Ingredients:

• 1 beef roast, preferably over 3 lbs. I’m not sure that the cut matters all too much, but for the record I prefer a cross-rib roast over a chuck roast.
• 1.5 tsp salt (or maybe less). You really don’t want too much.
• NO LIQUID. None. Not even a little bit.

Method:

Plunk your roast into the crock pot. Sprinkle it evenly on all sides with the salt. You seriously want just a sprinkle, since the salt will concentrate during the cook time. Put the lid on the crock pot, and set it to low if it’ll cook all day or high if you’re impatient.

5 – 9 hours later, you’ll have a beautiful roast swimming in its own jus. Grab a pair of tongs and poke your roast; if it falls apart immediately, it’s done. Give the beef a couple of stirs to “shred” it into the jus. I’m sure you could skip this step, but I then turn the crock pot down to warm and let the beef stew in its own juices for a couple minutes. At this point, you can add additional salt to taste, if needed.

Voila: super-easy shredded beef with two ingredients.

I’m convinced that this recipe is as good as it is because of the lack of added liquids, which would dilute the natural juices exuded by the roast as it cooks. Unlike the Kalua Pig recipe, the amount of juice from a beef roast is exactly the amount needed to season and moisten the shredded beef. Such a lovely synergy.