Hard to beat. But not hard to make. If you can make pot roast, you can make beef barbacoa.
Beef barbacoa you will be proud of
Better than taqueria beef barbacoa. That’s a tall claim. I know. I haven’t eaten at every taqueria out there. But I have eaten at a lot of them. I love tacos. Texas. San Diego. Arizona. Mexico. And a bunch of places with lesser credentials. I’ve been around. Maybe your taqueria is truly great. I can believe it is. Maybe you’ve been lucky. Got a taco every time they finished making their beef barbacoa. But for those of who get reheated barbacoa. Made yesterday. Or the day before. I think this is better. At least I didn’t say better than Chipotle’s. How is anything cooked at a central factory and shipped country wide is the gold standard? Makes no sense. But look around the internet. Everyone is making beef barbacoa “as good as Chipotle”. Call me crazy but there’s better out there. Way better. I’m not saying I don’t like Chipotle Mexican Grill by the way. As far as fast food goes it is pretty good. Just suggesting it might not be at the pinnacle of Mexican cuisine.
Barbacoa – pot roast but better
This is just a fancy pot roast. Seriously. If you can make a pot roast you can make barbacoa. And if you’ve never made a pot roast? This is a good time to start. It’s easy. Slow food. A lot of flavour. Not a lot of work. And you can feed a crowd. Goes like this. Brown some beef in a dutch oven. Fry up a spice paste. Add some chicken stock. Stick it in a low oven. Braise until tender. Meltingly tender. Shred the beef. The sauce is already made. It’s the braising liquid. Combine the braising liquid with the beef. Simmer that together to get the flavours to really combine. Done. It is really that easy.
There’s magic in the sauce
The sauce is what makes this. Pure chili powder. Chipotle in adobo. Some Mexican spices. Garlic. And a bit of vinegar for tang. Nothing too exotic. Pretty simple really. The magic comes when you cook the beef. All those wonderful beefy juices become the backbone of the sauce. Beefy. There’s no there way to describe it. It’s incredibly savoury. Intense. And the sauce coats every little bit of beef. It’s just one big flavour sledgehammer.
Slow cooker beef barbacoa
Bet you thought I was going to tell you how to use a slow cooker to make this dish. Nope. Sorry to disappoint. Slow cookers take the idea of a braise too far. You get great sauce. Sure. You will always get great sauce. Because all the flavour from the meat is in the sauce. Good sauce. Truly tasteless meat. Not what I’m looking for. Not what I would call better than Chipotle’s even. I don’t do the slow cooker thing. Never will. I’m after balance. I want the best. No compromise for convenience.
Not just for tacos
Barbacoa makes amazing tacos. Up there with birria de res and carnitas for me. Pickled onion. Lime. Corn tortillas. Maybe a little habanero salsa. So good. But barbacoa is not just for tacos. Put some in an quesadilla some time. With a little Mexican cotija cheese if you can get it. That’s a serious quesadilla. Makes a great filling for a burrito. Some charro beans. Lettuce. Onion. Pico. A little guacamole. I’m getting hungry here… Makes a great topping for nachos too. Corn chips. Salsa. Melted jack. Pickled jalapeño. And some little barbacoa flavour bombs on top. That is good living. Serve your barbacoa with Yucatan pickled onions or pico or both. Or think about quick Mexican slaw. That works really well. Beef barbacoa. Incredible tacos. And so much more.
