June 7, 2018

Barbacoa Beef

Tender, shredded beef with tons of delicious flavor, made in your Instant Pot or slow cooker. This Barbacoa Beef is great in tacos or over cilantro lime rice.

Blogging

Creating recipes and learning to photograph food has been one of the most fun and most challenging things that I have ever done. I have always put great value on sleep. Meaning, if there has been something in the way of me receiving 8 hours of beauty rest, I am not a happy camper. Until now.

Editing photos and writing posts after the kids go to bed has cut into my sleep time, but it’s so much fun, I don’t even care. I find myself yawning in the shower and thinking about cardamom, or the pros and cons of my camera lenses.

I think about you reading this and making the recipe …I get a little nervous wondering if it turned out okay …. but then someone sends me a photo of them smiling and eating it, and I’m just happy.

This brings me to some thoughts and questions …. when it comes to food, I tend to make main courses on the healthy side, and dessert on the well, dessert side.

Would you like nutrition labels for these recipes? Would like to see them labeled with any particular diet such as ‘vegetarian’, ‘keto’, etc? Divided by things such as ‘under 1 hour’, ‘weeknight’, etc?

And, is there anything in particular you’d like to see? Meaning, “more salads”, “Mediterranean food”, “Nutella mousse in a cake with chocolate ganache”, etc? If you have a thought, I’ve love to hear it so feel free to leave it in the comments or send me an e-mail.

Barbacoa Beef

And finally, that brings me to today’s recipe: Barbacoa Beef. I ate barbacoa beef for the first time a year or so ago. My husband was interested in having it, so we found some recipes on the internet, and he made it.

While the dinner was cooking, it had a divine smell. I could not wait to eat it. Then, I ate, and was a little disappointed …. the smell was better than the flavor. I wanted the flavor to match that smell so badly.

After some experimentation and adjustments, this recipe was born. The smell matches the flavor with this recipe!

This last time I made it, I used four chipotle peppers… it was on the upper end of my spice comfort level. If you don’t love spice, I would certainly them back.

Given it’s made in a slow cooker or Instant Pot, it’s quick and easy to put together, so great for busy weeknights!

Barbacoa Beef (Slow Cooker or Instant Pot)

Tender, shredded beef with tons of delicious flavor, made in your Instant Pot or slow cooker. This Barbacoa Beef is great in tacos or over cilantro lime rice.

5 from 1 vote

Course: Main Course

Prep Time: 15

Cook Time: 1

Servings: servings

Calories: 470

Pin Recipe for Later

Ingredients

2-3 pound beef chuck roast
salt and pepper to taste
2 tbsp olive oil
3 teaspoons garlic cloves
1 sweet onion chopped
2 large carrots peeled and chopped
2-4 tbsp chipotle peppers in adobe sauce chopped (number depending on preferred spice level)
1.5 tbsp cumin
1 tbsp oregano
1/2 teaspoons ground cloves
1 tbsp chili powder
1 cup beef broth
3 tbsp apple cider vinegar

Instructions

Instant Pot Directions:

Salt and pepper all sides of chuck roast to taste. Turn Instant Pot on saute and heat olive oil. Lightly brown beef on all sides, about 1 minute per side. Remove and set aside.
Add onion and saute until softened, about 4-5 minutes.Stir in rest of ingredients.
Add beef back into mixture
Cook on high for 60 minutes and let natural release for 15 minutes.
Remove beef from pot and shred beef with two forks.
Use immersion blender, or put sauce into blender, and blend until smooth.
Mix sauce and shredded beef together.
Serve over cilantro lime rice or in tacos.

Slow Cooker Directions:

Salt and pepper all sides of chuck roast to taste. Heat olive oil in large sauce pan over medium heat. Lightly brown beef on all sides, about 1 minute per side. Remove and set aside.
Add onion and saute until softened, about 4-5 minutes. Stir in rest of ingredients.
Transfer sauce and beef to slow cooker. Cook on high for 5-6 hours, or low 8-9 hours.
Remove beef from slow cooker and shred beef with two forks.
Use immersion blender, or put sauce into blender, and blend until smooth.
Mix sauce and shredded beef together.
Serve over cilantro lime rice or in tacos.