How To Shred Beef [4 Easy Methods]

When you prepare food for cooking, you do many different things, which include cutting, mincing, or shredding it.

The reason why you may do one of these actions is that it can help add a certain amount of ingredients to your meal.

Depending on the meal, some might need larger bits and others smaller. Shredding is especially useful to get thin, smaller pieces of food.

One food people might want to shred is beef. In this article, we will tell you about all the different methods of shredding beef and, finally, how you can safely store it in the first place.

By the end, you’ll have all the information you need!

Contents

How Do You Shred?
How To Store Shredded Beef
Final Thoughts

How Do You Shred?

There are four proven methods for shredding your beef, and we’ll go into all of them in this section. One or more of them might end up appealing to you!

The important thing to keep in mind is that beef must be cooked before shredding, so cook it however you usually cook it, let it cool, and then use one of the four methods listed below.

Fork Method

A popular and simple way to shred beef is by using forks! All you need is two forks, and you’ll be able to do this with the best of them.

The first thing to do is place the cooled beef on a cutting board or some other surface. Then grab your forks, making sure that their backs are facing one another.
Now you get to shredding. Make sure to pull the forks in opposite directions as you shred the beef. This will help break it up.
Keep going until all the beef is shredded, and throw away any bits of fat or gristle.
Finally, put the beef away or eat it.

Depending on how thick the beef is, this method might take some time, but it’s the easiest out of all of them because all you need is two forks. It’s more than likely you will since all households have utensils.

Meat Claw Method

The second method of shredding beef is using a kitchen tool called meat claws. Yes, you heard that right! Meat claws are what they are called, and they look like mini claws with an open area for your hand to slip into so you can easily grip it.

Place your beef on a cutting board or another surface. Grab your meat claws in both hands and get ready to shred.
Shred the beef much like you would if you were using two forks. Keep pulling them in opposite directions until the beef is completely shredded.
All you have to do now is put the shredded beef away or eat it. What you do next is up to you!

Not everyone has meat claws on hand, so this method requires you to either have some or to go out and buy a pair.

Luckily, they aren’t too much, so you won’t have to break the bank to purchase some.

Mixer Method

The mixer method is a very quick way to mix your beef. This, of course, requires you to have a mixer on hand, but if you do, take advantage of it and use it!

The way to use your mixer depends on whatever brand you have, but most of them have a general rule.
Place the beef in the bowl and attach everything according to whatever your instructions say.
Turn it on to medium speed and keep it on until the meat is shredded. This shouldn’t take very long. It is only about 30 seconds or a little longer than that.
Once you are done, turn it off and then either put the beef away or eat it!

Out of the methods listed so far, the mixer method is probably the quickest. You can thank technology and a little thing called electricity for that!

Potato Masher Method

This method might be one you haven’t thought of before, but if you have a potato masher on hand, you should consider using it! It can easily shred and mash-up meat, which includes beef!

First, get out your cutting board and place the beef on it. Then you can grab your potato masher.
Start mashing that beef! The amount of time varies, but it ideally shouldn’t take you long to shred/mash the beef.
Once you are done, put the beef away or eat it. What you do next is up to you and your stomach!

Again, this method might not have occurred to you before. However, if you have beef that isn’t bone-in, you’ll be able to mash it with no problem.

If you don’t have a potato masher, it’s easy to get one and cheap to boot!

How To Store Shredded Beef

If you decide not to eat your beef right away, then you are going to want to store it properly until you are ready to eat this. This can be done in two ways:

You can put the beef in the fridge if you don’t want to eat it right away. Put it in an airtight container or something similar. It should keep for a few days in the fridge, but no longer than that. If you are unsure when you take it out, consider using the sniff test.
The other way to store your shredded beef is by putting it in the freezer. Wrap the beef in some freezer paper, foil, or plastic wrap. Then put that in an airtight Ziplock bag. It can keep in the freezer for six months, which gives you plenty of time to figure out how you want to eat it.

Final Thoughts

And there you go, all your beef lovers out there! Now you know exactly how you can shred beef. Either you can use a fork, mixer, meat claw, or potato masher.

All come with varying levels of difficulty, so use whatever works best for you and your lifestyle.

In no time, you’ll be an expert at shredding beef.

You might also be interested in the following:

William Thomas

I have been smoking and grilling meat from an early age and enjoy sharing my knowledge and expertise through the hundreds of articles I have written about BBQ. I hope to make everyone’s BBQ journey that little bit easier.