Barbacoa Recipe - Isabel Eats (2024)

FAQs

How is authentic barbacoa made? ›

Traditionally, barbacoa is a preparation of meat (usually sheep, goat, or beef) that is steam cooked in an underground oven until very tender and succulent. Today the term is also sometimes used for a similar preparation made on a stovetop or in a slow cooker.

In the US, people typically make barbacoa with chuck roast, brisket and beef cheeks. However, any cut of beef that has a lot of connective tissue and takes a long time to cook until tender works well.

What Is Barbacoa Sauce Made Of? For this recipe, barbacoa sauce is made of beef broth, chipotle peppers, adobo sauce, yellow onion, garlic, apple cider vinegar, ground cumin, oregano, salt, pepper, lime juice, and allspice.

Barbacoa is a method of cooking meat (historically lamb or goat, though beef or pork is often used today) that produces tender and juicy results. It's traditionally steam-cooked underground, but modern barbacoa can be prepared over an open fire, on the stove, or in a slow cooker.

While shredded barbacoa is a common way of serving the dish, it is not the only way. Barbacoa can be prepared and served in various forms, depending on regional preferences and personal tastes. Barbacoa can also be served sliced or diced.

Seasonings and spices: Barbacoa is often seasoned with a blend of spices and herbs, such as cumin, oregano, garlic, and chili powder. These seasonings add depth and complexity to the flavor of the meat.

In short, birria is a type of barbacoa, but barbacoa is not birria. Barbacoa is more closely related to barbecue, while birria is braised or steamed. Barbacoa is traditionally slowly steamed in its own juices with a marinade, and most barbacoa is made from beef (although lamb or mutton are also common).

Barbacoa (Spanish: [baɾβaˈkoa]) is a form of cooking meat that originated in the Caribbean with the Taíno people, who called it by the Arawak word barbaca, from which the term "barbacoa" derives, and ultimately, the word 'barbecue".

Serve barbacoa beef with salad and your choice of side (yellow rice, tortillas, black beans, Mexican street corn, etc). Enjoy! If meal prepping, divide beef and rice evenly between six meal prep containers. Store salad separately.

Why is Chipotle barbacoa so good? ›

The barbacoa at Chipotle is made with beef.

Barbacoa is a slow-cooked beef dish that is marinated in a blend of spices and chili peppers and braised for many hours. The end result of the long, slow cooking process is flavorful, juicy meat that is savory and spicy, with a tender texture that is easily shreddable.

Barbacoa at Chipotle is made from tender and moist seared beef that's been braised in an incredible blend of adobo, lime, cumin, garlic, and oregano. This slow-cooked masterpiece can be added to tacos, salads, bowls, and more! To see us make copycat Chipotle barbacoa from start to finish, watch the video in this post!

While carnitas is made with pork meat, barbacoa can be made with a variety of meat such as beef, including beef tongue, lamb and goat. I often see it listed on the menu at local restaurants as beef barbacoa as it is being made with beef.

The Tainos called their preparations “barabicu,” or “sacred firepit,” that over time became “barbecue.” These cooking methods were superb at keeping their foods from prematurely spoiling.

Barbacoa of many types, be it goat, mutton, or beef was already popular in northern Mexico. Meat from the pig's head was reserved for stuffing tamales, but cattle, sheep, and goat heads were used for barbacoa de cabeza. It was beef-head barbacoa that became the barbecue dish of choice in the Rio Grande Valley.

Barbacoa can be found all across Mexico. Authentic Mexican barbacoa features meat— typically lamb but sometimes beef or goat—wrapped in banana or agave leaves and slow-cooked over an open flame or in an underground oven lined with hot coals. The result is tender, shredded meat that melts in your mouth.

The Aztecs and many other indigenous people in Mexico cooked barbacoa in holes in the ground filled with hot stones, wood and charcoal. For this dish, I have taken inspiration from a barbacoa recipe particularly popular in the region of Oaxaca, in southern Mexico.

In the U.S., barbacoa is often prepared with parts from the heads of cattle, such as the cheeks. In northern Mexico, it is also sometimes made from beef head, but more often it is prepared from goat meat (cabrito).

To make barbacoa, Ramirez uses a pit in the ground, which is cleaned before every cook. Once the fire is set in the pit, Ramirez places in the consomé and set a grill over the pit so the meat has something to rest on. The grill is covered in maguey leaves “to enhance the flavors,” says Ramirez.