Authentic Mexican Barbacoa Food

MEXICAN BARBACOA RECIPE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350°F.
• Rinse the beef cheek in cold water and pat dry with a paper towel.
• Place the cheeks on a large piece of heavy duty aluminum foil.
• Add the cloves of garlic and season with salt and pepper.
• Arrange the pieces with the fat side facing up.
• Fold up the edges of the foil creating an airtight packet. There should be no leaks. Double wrap if necessary.
• Place the foil packet in an oven safe baking dish and bake at 350°F for 3 hours.
• Test for doneness by shredding with a fork. Most of the fat should be melted and the meat should fall apart and shred easily. If not, close up the foil and continue cooking longer, about 15 minutes per pound.
• After meat is cooked, remove and discard any large chunks of fat. You may discard the garlic or mash it in if you love garlic.
• Transfer the meat along with its juice from the foil packet to the baking dish. If there is an excessive amount of fat, this can be skimmed from the broth, but fat equals flavor.
• Taste and add additional salt and pepper if necessary. Finely shred the beef and serve with hot tortillas.

BEEF BARBACOA TACOS

Steps:

• Heat a large cast-iron skillet or Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add the chiles and cook, pressing them down with a spatula, 10 seconds per side; transfer to a plate. Add the tomatoes, onion and garlic to the skillet and cook, stirring once or twice, until the vegetables are charred in spots, about 10 minutes.
• Peel the garlic and transfer to a blender along with the tomatoes and onion (reserve the skillet). Tear the chiles into pieces and add to the blender along with 1/2 cup water and 1 teaspoon salt; pulse until smooth. Strain the mixture through a fine-mesh sieve into the skillet, pressing it through with the back of a spoon.
• Add the beef to the skillet and turn to coat in the chile sauce using tongs. Cook over medium-high heat, turning occasionally, until a crust starts to form on the meat, about 10 minutes. Sprinkle in the cumin, cinnamon and cayenne pepper and cook 1 more minute. Meanwhile, puree 2 1/2 cups water, the cilantro and thyme in the blender; add to the skillet along with the bay leaves.
• Reduce the heat to low. Cover and gently simmer until the meat is very tender, about 2 hours, adding up to 1 1/2 cups water if the sauce gets too thick. Remove the bay leaves and season with salt and black pepper. Serve in tortillas with assorted toppings.

BARBACOA

Steps:

• Heat a heavy skillet over medium heat. Place the dried guajillo chiles into the skillet and cook, turning occasionally, until the color changes and the chiles have puffed, about 5 minutes. Set the chiles aside to cool for a moment. Meanwhile, toast the cumin and cloves in the hot skillet until the cumin seeds begin to pop; remove from the pan and set aside. Remove and discard the stems, seeds, and veins of the chiles, and place into a small bowl. Pour the boiling water over top, and cover. Let the chiles soak for 1 hour.
• Grind the toasted cumin and cloves into a powder, and place into a blender. Add the ancho chile powder, onion, garlic, oregano, thyme, vinegar, and lime juice. Remove the chiles from the soaking water, and place into the blender along with 1/3 cup of the soaking liquid. Cover, and blend until a smooth paste forms.
• Place the beef roast into a mixing bowl, and pour the guajillo chile past over top. Coat the roast on all sides with the paste, then cover the bowl with plastic wrap. Marinate in the refrigerator overnight.
• Preheat an oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C).
• Transfer the roast and marinade to a roasting pan, and arrange the bay leaves over top. Cover tightly with aluminum foil. Bake in the preheated oven until the meat is very tender and is easily pulled apart with a fork, about 6 hours. Let stand, covered, at room temperature for 1 hour before discarding the bay leaves and shredding with two forks.

SLOW-COOKER BARBACOA

Steps:

• Cut a slit in the side of each garlic clove. Place them in a microwaveable bowl, cover with plastic wrap, poke holes in the top and microwave for 30 seconds on high. Cool until handleable, then slip off the papery husks.
• One by one, drop the garlic cloves into a running food processor, letting each get thoroughly chopped before adding the next. Add the chile powder, cumin, black pepper, vinegar, salt and water and pulse to blend.
• Place the meat in a large crock pot. Scrape the marinade onto the meat, then spread it sloppily over the top and sides. Pour enough water into the slow-cooker to cover the lower 1/2 inch of roast. Cover and slow cook on high for 6 hours or until meat is tender. Carefully remove meat with a slotted spoon onto a large plate, pulling away the bones.
• Degrease the cooking broth and boil it down in a saucepan to concentrate the flavors. Ladle it over the meat and garnish with the onions and cilantro.

MEXICAN BEEF BARBACOA

Steps:

• Place dried peppers into a bowl or jar and fill with water until covered. Soak 1 to 4 hours until softened.
• Season chuck roast with salt and pepper. Heat a large cast iron pot over high heat. Add in 2 tablespoons olive oil. Sear chuck roast on all sides. Once seared, remove pot from heat and set aside.
• In a blender, add in guajillo peppers, ancho peppers, chipotle, garlic, cider vinegar, brown sugar, salt, oregano, cinnamon, remaining 2 tablespoons olive oil, and water. Blend until smooth, adding more water if necessary to thin it out enough to blend.
• Pour sauce over chuck roast in the pan. Place the lid on and braise in a 300 degree oven for 3 hours, until meat is tender and easily shreds with a fork.
• Shred and serve. Serving Suggestion: serve on a warmed corn tortilla with some red onion, cilantro, and jalapeno.

MEXICAN BARBACOA IN A CROCK-POT -

Steps:

• Rinse the cheeks and place them in a good size crock pot, discarding any chunks that are just fat.
• Add garlic cloves, onion, bay leaves, oregano, black pepper, salt, and squeeze the orange juice from the two oranges over the meat.
• Set the crock pot on high and cook for two hours, then stir the contents with a big spoon.
• Stir every hour after that. In six hours it should be starting to fall apart.
• Cook for an extra hour if needed and then remove from the crock pot to a large bowl with a slotted spoon, draining the meat from juices and removing the bay leaves and all the fat. (It retains too much fat.)
• Shred the meat with two forks and serve on tacos with the tortillas and the extras.
• The best is to place some meat on a warm tortilla, top with cilantro, squirt on some lime juice and hot salsa, sauce or chopped jalapeño, roll up and enjoy with some Charro Beans as a side. Mmmmmm -- it is so good.

LAMB BARBACOA

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 325F.
• Score the fat on the lamb (see photos) Generously season all sides of the lamb shoulder with salt. Set on counter while you make the marinade.
• To make the marinade, de-stem the dried chilies, break them in half and discard the seeds ( you don't need to remove every single one, a few strays are OK). Break the chilies apart into smaller pieces and add to the blender ( dry) with the remaining ingredients. Blend until very smooth, for a full minute.
• Heat a skillet or dutch oven to medium-high heat and add oil. Sear the salted lamb shoulder, patiently browning each side to create a deep colored crust. DO NOT SKIP THIS STEP! ( It is the secret to sealing in the juices and creating flavor!)
• Once all sides are seared, place lamb shoulder in the dutch oven. Nestle the onion and orange slices all around it along with bay leaves. Pour the marinade over top and shake the pan to get the marinade to the bottom.
• Cover tightly and bake in a 325F oven for 3½-4 ½ hours. See notes on timing!
• Roast is done when meat pulls apart easily. Pull the meat off the bones and discard any fat. Tear into smaller pieces and place into an oven proof serving dish. Strain 1-2 cups of the marinade and pour over the meat keeping it moist. Taste the lamb and adjust salt and heat. If it tastes bland add salt.
• Keep warm in oven until ready to serve. I like to leave this uncovered so the meat gets a little crispy on the top. Garnish with onions and cilantro if you like.