Slow Cooker Beef Barbacoa

Name: Slow Cooker Beef Barbacoa
Yield: 4 servings
Ingredients: 800g (1.75 lb) beef chuck or pork shoulder, in large chunks; 240g (1.25 cups) white rice, dry; 150g (1 medium) onion, quartered; 40g (2.5 tbsp) tomato paste; 45ml (3 tbsp) lime juice; 15g (5 cloves) garlic; 1 tbsp (12ml) olive oil; 2 chipotles in adobo, 1 tbsp cumin, 2 tsp oregano, 2 bay leaves; 1.5 tsp salt, 1 tsp black pepper, 2 whole cloves; 240ml / 1 cup beef stock

SERVES 4 · 8 HR SLOW · SLOW COOKER

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760
CALORIES: 40g
PROTEIN: 55g
CARBS: 42g
FAT

Macros are for one serving as written. Make gives you more servings of the same size; Portion resizes one serving and moves the macros with it.

Ingredients

800g (1.75 lb) beef chuck or pork shoulder, in large chunks
240g (1.25 cups) white rice, dry
150g (1 medium) onion, quartered
40g (2.5 tbsp) tomato paste
45ml (3 tbsp) lime juice
15g (5 cloves) garlic
1 tbsp (12ml) olive oil
2 chipotles in adobo, 1 tbsp cumin, 2 tsp oregano, 2 bay leaves
1.5 tsp salt, 1 tsp black pepper, 2 whole cloves; 240ml / 1 cup beef stock

Method

Pat the meat dry and salt it. Sear in the oil over high heat, 3-4 min a side, until every face has real colour.
Searing first is not optional here. A slow cooker cannot brown anything, and unbrowned beef in a wet pot comes out grey and flat.
Blend the onion, garlic, chipotles, tomato paste, cumin, oregano and stock into a smooth sauce.
Put the beef in the cooker, pour the sauce over, add the bay and cloves. Lid on.
Low for 8 hours. The meat is ready when a fork twists in it with no resistance at all.
Cook the rice near the end: 240g to 480ml / 2 cups water, covered, 12 min, then 10 min off the heat.
Shred the beef in the pot, fish out the bay and cloves, and stir the lime juice through.
Serve over the rice with coriander, radish and more lime.

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Tip: sear the beef before it goes in. Ten minutes at the start is the whole difference between barbacoa and boiled beef.

EquipmentSlow cooker, skillet

KitSkillet

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KeepsFridge 4 days, freezer 3 months. Freezes better than almost anything else here.

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Macros are computed from the raw ingredient weights above using USDA FoodData Central reference values. Brands vary, so treat them as close estimates rather than lab figures. Nothing here is medical or dietary advice.