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Cook a tasty, flavorful barbacoa tacos recipe for your next party or family meal. This Mexican-inspired recipe is easy to prepare and so delicious. Try it today!
When I’m cooking in my kitchen, I want my meals to be super flavorful. Whether I’m making quesadillas, tacos, burritos, I want the flavor to be there. This Easy Barbacoa Tacos Recipe may be simple, but ALL of the ingredients mix together to make something wonderful!
This is a great recipe to have on hand because sometimes you are busy, but you still want a home-cooked meal. I love that I can cook this meal in a slow cooker or an Instant Pot and then finish preparing the tacos later!
When your meat is cooked in an Instant Pot, you literally have no work to do! You can use two forks to literally shred the meat and watch this taco recipe come to life.
What is Barbacoa?
The word may sound fancy but Barbocoa simply means “barbecue” in Spanish. This is the traditional way of cooking lamb or goat meat, but pork or beef can also be made this way. It’s slowly roasted with seasonings. When the barbacoa is served, you can use corn tortillas, cut up cilantro, finely chopped onion, and a squeeze of lime.
Ingredients
Cooking this meal doesn’t require a lot, but it does need a few ingredients. You may find that some of these ingredients you already have on hand!
- Chuck roast - You can find this at almost any grocery store! I like to buy this meat when it’s on sale and then I create yummy tacos with it!
- Olive Oil - You don’t need a ton of olive oil, but it is an important part of this recipe. Olive oil is an essential ingredient in a lot of my recipes.
- Beef broth - The beef broth is going to help ensure the meat is tender and tasty!
- Green chiles - A can of green chiles can go a long way in this dish.
- Tomato paste - Grab a can of tomato paste because it’s going to work magic in this recipe.
- Bay leaves - Want flavor? Bay leaves will bring delicious flavor to the tacos.
- Salt & pepper - You can use as much or as little as you’d like. You can also add other seasonings if you want to such as adobo.
In order to make the sauce, you will need different ingredients, those are as follows:
- beef broth
- chipotle peppers
- adobo sauce
- yellow onion
- garlic
- apple cider vinegar
- teaspoon ground cumin
- tablespoon oregano
- teaspoon salt
- black pepper
- lime juice
- allspice
The sauce is what makes this recipe so good! You’ll want to put this sauce on your assembled tacos too!
How to Make Barbacoa Tacos
- Take all of the ingredients for the sauce, place them in a blender, and do that until the sauce is smooth.
- Prepare your roast by cutting it into 3 - 4 large chunks. Season as needed.
- Press saute on the Instant Pot. When the IP gets hot, go ahead and add the beef and oil. You are going to brown the meat on both sides for around 3-4 minutes.
- Take the roast out of the pot when it’s done being cooked on both sides. Take out any broth and cooked bits. From there, add in green chiles and tomato paste, and give it a stir.
- Put everything back in the Instant Pot. Set it to sealing and then cook for 60 minutes.
- When the barbacoa beef is done cooking, take it out of the crock pot.
- Get rid of the bay leaves, shred the beef, add salt to taste.
- You can serve with warm tortillas, shredded or crumbled Mexican cheese, diced tomatoes, onions, or your favorite taco toppings.
Frequently Asked Questions
You can place the barbacoa tacos meat in an airtight container and place it in the freezer for up to 4 months. Make sure you label the meat so that you know what it is!
Store the barbacoa meat in a sealed container and place it in the fridge. You can put the leftovers in the fridge for up to 4 days! Wait to put the meat on the tacos when you are ready to serve them.
Feel free to serve rice with these barbacoa tacos. You can also serve these tacos with a side of your favorite vegetables. Corn, green beans, or cabbage would all go well with these barbacoa tacos.
Once you make this beef chuck roast, you may be wondering what will go well on these tacos.
Drizzle of crema
Pico de gallo
Chipotle chiles
Fresh lime juice
Avocados
Cilantro
Cheese
Salsa
Recipe Tips and Notes
- Warm the tortillas prior to serving - Before you serve these tacos, you’ll want to warm up the tortillas in a comal. There is just something delicious about serving the barbacoa tacos on a tortilla with a bit of char on them.
- Understanding the flavor of the meat - When you cook this meat, it’s super flavorful. You’ll see that the meat is soft and juicy! Not only can you make tacos out of this meat, but you’ll be amazed at what you can do with the leftovers!
More Tasty Ideas For Taco Night
More Latin-inspired Recipes You’ll Love
- Easy Shrimp Tacos with Pineapple Chipotle Sauce
- Pulled Pork Taco Recipe
- Slow Cooker Pork Carnitas
- Easy Chipotle Barbacoa
INGREDIENTS
For the meat:
- 3 pounds chuck roast
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- ½ cup beef broth
- 4 ounces green chiles
- 2 tablespoon tomato paste
- 2 bay leaves
- Salt & pepper
For the sauce:
- ½ cup beef broth
- 2 chipotle peppers
- 1 tablespoon adobo sauce
- ½ yellow onion
- 5 cloves garlic
- ¼ cup apple cider vinegar
- 2 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1 tablespoon oregano
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- 2 tablespoons lime juice
- ½ teaspoon allspice
INSTRUCTIONS
- Place all of the ingredients for the sauce in a blender and blend them until they are smooth.
- Cut the roast into 3 or 4 large chunks. Season with salt and pepper.
- Turn Instant Pot to Saute. When hot, add oil and the beef. Brown on both sides for about 3 to 4 minutes each side. Then remove meat and set aside. You may have to work in batches if your roast is large.
- Turn Instant Pot Off. Deglaze the pot with beef broth, scraping up any cooked-on bits. Add in green chiles and tomato paste, and give it a stir.
- Place beef back into the pot. Pour sauce from the blender over the beef and top with the bay leaves.
- Secure Instant Pot lid. Make sure it is set to Sealing. Set pot to Manual mode for 60 minutes.
- When finished cooking, allow for a Natural release for 15 minutes. Then quickly release any remaining pressure and open the lid.
- Discard the bay leaves. Shred the beef and return it to Instant Pot. Taste and add salt if needed.
- Serve with warm tortillas, shredded or crumbled Mexican cheese, diced tomatoes, onions, or your favorite taco toppings.
NOTES
- Warm the tortillas prior to serving - Before you serve these tacos, you’ll want to warm up the tortillas in a comal. There is just something delicious about serving the barbacoa tacos on a tortilla with a bit of char on them.
- Understanding the flavor of the meat - When you cook this meat, it’s super flavorful. You’ll see that the meat is soft and juicy! Not only can you make tacos out of this meat, but you’ll be amazed at what you can do with the leftovers!
Nutrition
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