Cola-Braised Beef With Chile-Lime Onions
Updated Jan. 19, 2024
- Total Time
- 4½ hours
- Prep Time
- 15 minutes
- Cook Time
- 4¼ hours
- Rating
- Notes
- Read community notes
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Ingredients
Yield:6 to 8 servings
- 3½ to 4pounds boneless beef chuck roast, patted dry
- Salt and pepper
- 2tablespoons vegetable oil (such as grapeseed or canola)
- 1tablespoon tomato paste
- 1(12-ounce) can cola
- 2tablespoons low-sodium soy sauce
- 2inches ginger, peeled and thinly sliced into matchsticks
- 4garlic cloves, thinly sliced
- 1teaspoon coriander seeds
- 2limes
- 1large red onion, thinly sliced
- ½teaspoon seeded, finely chopped habanero or other very hot chile
- Salt
- 1cup cilantro leaves and tender stems
- Warmed tortillas, rice or burger buns, for serving
For the Beef
For Serving
Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (8 servings)
569 calories; 40 grams fat; 16 grams saturated fat; 2 grams trans fat; 20 grams monounsaturated fat; 2 grams polyunsaturated fat; 13 grams carbohydrates; 1 gram dietary fiber; 6 grams sugars; 42 grams protein; 729 milligrams sodium
Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
Powered byPreparation
- Step 1
Heat the oven to 300 degrees. Season the beef all over with salt and pepper (about 1 tablespoon Diamond Crystal kosher salt or 2 teaspoons fine sea salt). You can season the meat up to 2 days ahead and refrigerate uncovered.
- Step 2
Heat the oil in a large Dutch oven over medium-high until shimmering. Brown the meat on all sides, 10 to 15 minutes. Turn off the heat.
- Step 3
Prop the meat up on one side of the pot, then add the tomato paste to the empty space and stir until a shade darker, about 1 minute. Add the cola, soy sauce, ginger, garlic and coriander seeds and scrape the browned bits stuck to the bottom of the pot. Return the meat to the center of the pot, cover and bake for 2 hours. Uncover, spoon some of the liquid over the beef, then bake uncovered until the meat shreds with a fork, another 1 to 1 ½ hours.
- Step 4
Meanwhile, zest 1 lime into a medium resealable container. Cut the limes into wedges and squeeze one wedge into the container. Add the onion, habanero and a big pinch of salt. Cover and shake to combine. Refrigerate the onions and lime wedges until ready to serve (up to 1 day).
- Step 5
Let the meat rest for at least 10 minutes, then pull with 2 forks into big shreds. Stir to coat in the sauce and season to taste with salt. Serve with the onions, cilantro, lime wedges and tortillas, rice or burger buns.
Private Notes
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Cooking Notes
mk
Made this in a crockpot and it was delicious! Cooked 4 hours on high, sliced thinly and returned it to the pot to let it soak up the juice. Family devoured it.
Andres
I think it is totally fine to remove the bigger portions of fat if you wish, but please, for your sake, keep the nice, intramuscular fat for your slow cook. It adds to the flavor
Bob
My recommendations, based solely on opinion, would be to not trim the meat unless there is just an egregiously fatty area. Especially since you are browning the meat first. I have made variations of this in the past and have not trimmed, then browned, then loosened the pan fond after browning. Skimming the fat from the top once you remove it from the oven will reduce the amount of fat you ingest.
William Wroblicka
It depends on what artificial sweetener is in the diet cola. Aspartame is not recommended for cooking or baking. It breaks down when exposed to heat, losing its sweetness and can make food taste bitter, metallic, or just "off." Sucralose, on the other hand, can be used in cooking and baking according to its manufacturer, but it will not promote browning or caramelization the way regular sugar and high-fructose corn syrup do.
Julia
After browning the meat and deglazing with the cola mixture, I followed mk's advice and dumped the whole thing in a slow cooker. Low heat for 6 or so hours and it was perfect! Ate it with fresh tortillas, the delicious pickled onions (worth your while to make those), crumbled queso fresco and cilantro. YUM. Next time I will bump up the spices in the crockpot, because we are a spicy food house here. But overall, a super delicious and easy meal!
Wendie
If you don’t want the sugar in cola or the artificial sweeteners in other sodas, use about 2/3-3/4 bottle of beer. Divine.
Andrew Smith
This was a sublime treat! I have always struggled to make a roast that isn’t dry. My wife discouraged me about making roast. She said our grandkids wouldn’t like it. I made a double recipe and all three of those kids asked for more. My wife even reversed course and told me how much she liked it. I used root beer to braise with. I served it with rice. It was all great definitely a keeper recipe!
DJD
Excellent recipe. Loved the beef and especially liked the lime and chile pepper onions. My only issue was that with regular soy sauce, 2T was too much. I will halve that next time. I added a couple of crushed dundicot peppers to the meat, and one to the onions instead of a habanero, as i did not have habaneros handy. Really good.
bbq brisket
Cut beef into cubes for faster cooking. Braised w lid 2 hrs, without for 30 mins. Absolutely delicious paired w smashed potatos.
i dont like to cook
I marinated in coke overnight with 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper. browned beef and then pressure cooked for 45 min. I doubled garlic cloves but did not slice so they could easily be removed. It was probably tender enough to eat at that point but I put into oven for another 2 hours uncovered, following second half of directions. I put liquid through strainer before serving.
Augsmom
I used a smaller cut of meat and added extra cooking liquid and still somehow came out a little dry. Next time, I’ll add more liquid. The sauce itself tasted great.
nancy
I followed the directions exactly. It was good. Family enjoyed it but nothing special, would not make it again.
Debra J
Move over pulled pork, this is a keeper! I followed the recipe and kept it in the fridge overnight (whole, covered). Warmed it up and then shredded it right before serving. It was a big hit with friends who were over for lunch to watch afternoon football. Served it with King’s Hawaiian sweet rolls. Will def make it again.
Anne B
I made this with root beer (which I assume is equivalent to cola for purposes here). The meat turned out beautifully. I tossed most of the fat-laden sauce. I served it on rice, but I bet it would be great on tacos or polenta.
Roberto
Don't toss the fat laden sauce! Put it into the fridge. The fat floats to the top and the next day the hard layer of fat pops right off the top as if it were made of plastic. The flavorful liquid underneath is now fat free and can be poured back onto the leftover beef if any remains or used for something else.
SJ
What do you mean by "cola"?
HMW
This would be Coca-Cola or Pepsi, or another brown soda. Or look at the header notes and follow the link to make your own syrup.
lia p
This was so good! We served the beef over mashed potatoes and it was a hit.
CTCajun
I added smoked paprika and served over creamy polenta. Delicious!
dorinf
Has anyone made this in an instapot?
M
Can diet cola be used?
SusanW
I think that diet cola would work fine.
William Wroblicka
It depends on what artificial sweetener is in the diet cola. Aspartame is not recommended for cooking or baking. It breaks down when exposed to heat, losing its sweetness and can make food taste bitter, metallic, or just "off." Sucralose, on the other hand, can be used in cooking and baking according to its manufacturer, but it will not promote browning or caramelization the way regular sugar and high-fructose corn syrup do.
JoniW
I have used diet coke in previous recipes, but you have to add 2-3 tbsp a brown sugar to replicate the caramelization that you will get with regular coke.
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