Clenbuterol residue analysis of liver, kidney and muscle samples was performed using immunoaffinity chromatography for sample clean‐up and an enzyme‐linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) as the means of measurement. The method was developed to enable rapid, specific, sensitive, reliable and cost‐effective detection of clenbuterol residues in tissue samples. After comprehensive validation, the method was employed routinely in testing 1005 tissue samples from which performance data have been collated. Positive samples from the ELISA method were confirmed by gas chromatography‐mass spectrometry.