I enjoy watching the FB cooking videos, it gives me ideas on what to cook for my family. Last weekend, I have seen a tasty looking Mexican Beef Barbacoa. Our family likes beef and we like Mexican food, so I had to try it out. It came out delish and it is definitely on our dinner rotation list! I have made a few tweaks to suit our family’s taste buds, but the core of the recipe was awesome. My Cowboss is on a roll to decrease the amount of sugar we eat, so I have omitted the sugar in this recipe all together.
Here is the link to the original recipe and below you can find our tweaks and tips!
Ingredients:
- 4 Chile De Ristra (mild) – dry chile peppers – The original recipe calls for a couple of different chile peppers, but I was only able to find Chile De Ristra at our grocery store. It was a great substitution. (soaked, stemmed and seeded)
- 1 (3 lb) beef chuck roast – I have used Eye of the Round Roast – this type of roast is very lean and great for this recipe as it has to cook for some time.
- Salt and Pepper
- 4 tablespoons olive oil, divided
- 1 chipotle in adobo
- 6 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 tablespoon cider vinegar
- 1 tablespoon salt
- 1/2 tablespoon pepper
- 1 tablespoon dried oregano
- 1/2 tablespoon ground cinnamon – I have increased the amount of the spices. You need flavor, don’t be afraid of it!
- 1/2 cup water – I have used the water that was left over from my Chile De Ristra soaking
Directions:
- Place dried peppers into a bowl or jar and fill with water until covered. Soak for 20 minutes until softened.
- Bring the roast to room temperature – about 30 minutes. Season roast with salt and pepper. Heat a large cast iron pot over high heat. Add in 2 tablespoons olive oil. Sear roast on all sides. Once seared, remove pot from heat and set aside.
- In a blender, add in Chile De Ristra peppers, chipotle, garlic, cider vinegar, 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 crock pot or insta pot. See specific directions for the crock pot or insta pot below.
- Shred and serve. If you are using Eye of the Round Roast – thinly slice the meat after you are done cooking the beef and put back into the sauce. The beef will absorb a good amount of the sauce and it will be nice and tender.
INSTANT POT: 3T’s preferred method. Use the sear setting to sear seasoned roast. Make sauce and pour over meat. Cook on the beef/stew setting for about 70 minutes. Take out, thinly slice the meat, put it back into the insta pot and let it cook for another 5-10 minutes on the sear setting. Make sure to stir around and don’t walk away!