I got a slow cooker and a Dutch oven for Christmas, and both are going to be doing so much for me foodwise. As soon as I saw this recipe for barbacoa, I knew it was the first thing I was making in my slow cooker.
I am obsessed with Chipotle. I only recently decided to give barbacoa a try and I got hooked on it. Now I have problems deciding if it’s a chicken or barbacoa burrito bowl kind of day.
I got a 5 quart Hamilton Beach slow cooker for Christmas, and as of now I would totally not recommend it. I’m going to work with it, especially since I had to rip open the box to get it out, but the lid does not fit like it should. Hamilton Beach tries to claim that the lid should be loose, but if you go look up the FAQs on some other manufacturers, you won’t see anything about a lid being loose. I think they used it to cheap out. Granted I don’t think I’m experiencing much heat loss but I still don’t like that there’s clearly a bit of a gap between my cooker and the lid.
Anyway. This smells sooooo good while it’s cooking, although doesn’t most stuff in a slow cooker?
Barbacoa Beef, adapted from Skinny Taste
3 lbs bottom round roast, fat trimmed – this tends to have a good bit so maybe aim for buying 3.5 lbs
5 cloves garlic
1/2 onion
juice of half a lime
4 chipotles in adobo sauce (I am a spice fiend, so use 2 if you’re not)
1 tbsp ground cumin
1 tbsp ground oregano
1/2 tsp ground cloves
3 bay leaves
salt and pepper to taste
vegetable oil for searing
2 cups water
Place garlic, onion, lime juice, chipotles, cumin, oregano, and cloves in a blender and liquify.
Cut meat into 4″ chunks. Season with salt and pepper and sear in a frying pan.
Place meat in slow cooker, cover with liquified chilis and spices. Add water and bay leaves.
Cook on low for 7-8 hours, add more water if necessary. Remove the bay leaves and meat. Shred the meat, and add it back in. Add salt and cumin if necessary, and let cook again on low for 15-30 more minutes.
We ate the barbacoa as tacos, both with hard shells and flour tortillas. It’s good either way, just depends on what you like. We grated up some Monterey jack and cheddar to put on the tacos, and we also had fresh salsa, guacamole, and queso dip for chips that ended up on tacos of course.
And this makes A LOT so you can have tons of tacos, or burritos, or burrito bowls, or tortas. I’m considering getting corn tortillas and making some taquitos!
Also it really didn’t taste like Chipotle barbacoa to me, but it’s still awesome. I had a barbacoa burrito the day before so I could really taste test it, and it didn’t seem all that similar. Don’t let it stop you though.
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Tags: barbacoa, cooking, slow cooker, tacos
