Mexican · Main · Easy
Barbacoa Tacos
Slow cooked beef steeped in smoky chile and lime, shredded into juicy strands. Rich, deep, and dangerously easy.
The whole recipe in 60 seconds
Barbacoa Tacos, in 5 ideas
- The cloves sound strange but they give barbacoa its warm, complex background note.
- Do not trim all the fat. It melts into the sauce and keeps everything luscious.
- Shred in the juices, not on a cutting board. The meat reabsorbs the flavor.
- This freezes perfectly for 3 months. Portion it in bags with some juice.
- Leftover barbacoa makes incredible quesadillas and burrito bowls.
What you need
Ingredients
- 3 1/2 lbs beef chuck roast, cut into large chunks
- 3 chipotle peppers in adobo
- 1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
- 4 garlic cloves
- 2 tsp cumin
- 1 tsp dried oregano
- 1 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp black pepper
- 1/4 tsp ground cloves
- 1 cup beef broth
- 2 bay leaves
- Corn tortillas, diced onion, cilantro, and lime, for serving
How to make it
Directions
- Blend the chipotles, vinegar, garlic, cumin, oregano, salt, pepper, and cloves with a splash of the broth until smooth.
- Place the beef in a slow cooker or Dutch oven. Pour the chile mixture over and add the remaining broth and bay leaves.
- Cook on low 8 hours (slow cooker) or at 300 F for 4 hours (oven), until the beef shreds easily.
- Shred the beef with two forks and stir it back into the cooking juices.
- Let it sit 10 minutes so the meat soaks up the sauce.
- Serve in warm corn tortillas with onion, cilantro, and lime.
Chuck roast goes on sale often. Buy two when it does and freeze one for your next barbacoa night.