I love Barbacoa! So much so that this was one of the first recipes that I worked on. Let’s not pretend that this is an authentic iteration of barbacoa. Rather, I went in trying to recreate something similar to what you might get at Chipotle. I hit my goal with this flavorful and quick to prepare dish that mostly cooks itself!
This recipe is pretty straight forward and uses easy to find ingredients. The key items are the right cut of beef, chipotle peppers in adobo, smoked paprika, and ground cloves. Add in some liquid ingredients and other spices and you are set to make some fantastic shredded beef.
Braising Sauce
Begin by blending all of the liquid and dry ingredients together to make a braising sauce that the roast will be cooked in.
Prepare to Braise
Next, heat a crock pot or dutch oven on high and add olive oil. Sear the cubed roast on all sides to develop a good crust and some delicious fond in the pan to help develop richer flavor.
Once browned, pour the braising sauce over the beef and move the pieces around to ensure all sides of the roast are coated.
Toss a couple of bay leaves in the crock pot and let it roast on slow for 7 hours. Next shred the meat, place it back in the crock pot and cook it again on low for 1 hour. At this point your Barbacoa is ready to go and you can eat it at as you see fit.
Time to Eat!
If you are making this for tacos you can top them with any of your favorite toppings. I personally recommend a fairly basic taco with a grilled corn tortilla, arugula, and queso fresco. The arugula adds a fresh peppery bite to the taco and the queso fresco is perfectly creamy to pair with the tender beef.
Equipment
- Dutch Oven
- Blender
Ingredients
- 2 tsp Sea Salt, Fine divided
- 3-4 pound Chuckeye Roast trimmed
- 2 tbsp Olive Oil extra virgin
- 2 Bay Leaves
- 1/4 cup Apple Cider Vinegar
- 6 cloves Garlic
- 4 tsps Cumin ground
- 1 tbsp Oregano dried
- 1 tsp Black Pepper ground
- 1 tsp Smoked Paprika
- 1/8 tsp Cloves ground
- 4 Chipotle Peppers packed in adobo
- 1 tbsp Adobo Sauce
- 1 cup Chicken or Beef Broth
- 1/4 cup Lime Juice fresh
Serve
- 12 Tortillas
- Arugula
- 1 tbsp Queso Fresco
Instructions
Preparing the Barbacoa
- Start by preparing your roast. Trim all of the visible fat from the roast. Pat the exterior of the roast dry. Cut your roast into about 8 equal sized chunks. Sprinkle half of the salt on the top of the chunks of roast and set aside.
- In a blender combine apple cider vinegar, garlic, cumin, oregano, black pepper, smoked paprika, cloves, chipotle peppers, adobo sauce, broth, and lime juice. Blend well until smooth and set aside.
- Warm a cast iron dutch oven over medium high heat. Add olive oil to the pan and place the chunks of roast, salt side down in. Sprinkle the exposed side with the remaining salt and sear each side of the roast well to develop a good crust.
- Either turn your crock pot to low or transfer the beef from the searing pan to a crock pot that is warmed to low. Pour the sauce you made over the top of the roast and move the pieces of roast around. Cook on low for 7 hours.
- After 7 hours, shred your roast and place it back in the crock pot. Cook for another hour on low.
Serving as Tacos:
- Grill double stacked corn tortillas. Place a generous portion of the barbacoa in the center of the shell. Top with arugula and queso fresco.
