Slow Cooked Beef Barbacoa

My slow cooked Beef Barbacoa is a meat eaters dream and perfect for serving in soft tacos. Get the recipe below.

A carnivores dream

This slow cooked beef recipe is oh so meaty. I chuck in a few black beans to convince myself there's some goodness in there but it really is just meat, spices, meat, some more spices and then some more meat! A carnivores dream!

I joke that it's a rather meaty dish but that's what beef barbacoa is all about. The beef is the star of the show and that's as it should be.

What is beef barbacoa?

So we know its a spicy, meaty Mexican dish, but what is Beef Barbacoa and why is it so good for tacos?

Barbacoa is the term used to describe slow cooked meat (often taken from the cheeks of the animal) and cooked with various spices for extra flavour. Often I cook "Tex-Mex" rather than Mexican food but barbacoa is often served in Mexico on top of corn tortillas with salsa and guacamole.

In Mexico barbacoa is often made with lamb, I think the recipe works equally well with beef. I take shoulder cuts of braising steak (one steak per person) and cook low and slow with diced white onion, cumin, oregano and lime (amongst other things).

Served in the centre of the table, guests can then loads up tacos themselves with the Slow Cooked Beef Barbacoa and all of the trimmings.

The recipe

Slow Cooked Beef Barbacoa

This Slow Cooked Beef Barbacoa is packed full of flavour and perfect for tacos!

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Prep Time 30 minutes mins

Cook Time 8 hours hrs 30 minutes mins

Total Time 9 hours hrs

Course Dinner, Main Course

Cuisine Mexican

Servings 6 people

Calories 619.46 kcal

Ingredients

 

US CustomaryMetric

 

1x2x3x

• 1.5 kg shoulder braising steak
• 2 dried chiptole chillies
• 2 fresh chillies sliced
• 1 white white onion diced
• 2 tablespoons cider vinegar
• 4 cloves garlic minced
• 5 bay leaves
• 5 cloves
• 1 tablespoon ground cumin
• 1 tablespoon oregano dried
• 2 limes juice only
• 400 ml beef stock
• 100 g black beans
• 100 g rosecoco beans
• Salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

 

• Cut the braising steak into cubes roughly 2 inches across and place into the slow cooker.
• Add the onion, garlic and other whole and dried spices before pouring over the cider vinegar, lime juice and stock.
• Add the lid to the slow cooker and turn to LOW.
• Cook for 6 - 8 hours.
• Using two forks, pull the beef apart into shreds.
• Turn the shredded beef out into a shallow oven dish and mix with the beans, season to taste before placing under the grill for 15 minutes until the beans are hot and the shredded beef has caramelised slightly.
• Serve immediately in crisp taco shells with all the trimmings.

Nutrition

Calories: 619.46kcalCarbohydrates: 14.45gProtein: 52.12gFat: 40.08gSaturated Fat: 16.76gTrans Fat: 2.61gCholesterol: 170mgSodium: 311.4mgPotassium: 1177.2mgFiber: 4.37gSugar: 2.64gVitamin A: 243.54IUVitamin C: 28.94mgCalcium: 96.31mgIron: 8.21mg

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Serving suggestions

Why not enjoy your beef barbacoa with some of these other delicious Mexican inspired dishes

Homemade Flour Tortillas

Slow Cooked Black Beans

Fully Loaded Nachos

Mango Margarita

More Mexican inspired recipes

Mexican food isn't all fajitas and nachos. There's so much more to this cuisine. Find my Mexican inspired recipes in the Mexican recipe collection.