Barbacoa II

I've been making barbacoa for quite some time in my crockpot until my husband made Rick Bayless' braised short ribs~then everything changed. I have taken that process & ingredients, merged it with mine & refined my Barbacoa II. I'm excited to share this recipe with you because we've never looked back. Not joking, this will be your favorite shredded beef filling for LIFE! 

INGREDIENTS:

4-6 lbs Chuck Roast, all sides seasoned with salt

Pork lard (bacon fat or oil)

1 medium onion in 1/2 slices

6 cloves garlic

1/2 bottle of beer

28 oz can whole tomatoes

1 lb roasted green chiles, sliced

Chili powder

Cumin

Salt

DIRECTIONS:

Start with the lard in your dutch oven or deep pot...good for the stove top & oven.

Season your roast & sear it on all sides.

Set aside. Hello...They already look gorgeous. See, sear them well - until nice and golden brown. 

Add your onion & sauté until also golden brown & delicious. I have also been known to sneak more pork lard in at this step. When the onion is golden brown, add the 6 garlic cloves (chopped - or through your garlic press). Give the garlic 30 sec in the hot pot til you can smell it, but not too long or it will burn & become bitter. 

Ah, next add 1/2 of a beer & the can of tomatoes. You'll bring this to a simmer..

Chop your green chiles..If you're not familiar with roasting a pound of green chiles, you could use a canned. We stock up in the fall & freeze 1 lb bags. This year we froze 9 bushels which is roughly 72 lbs. That's another story for another day.

As the roasts are resting, I rub them down with chili powder & cumin. There's no measurement here. Just go for it & coat them on all sides. 

Then tuck those darlings back into your pot. 

Place in a 300 degree oven for 6 hrs. Check it at 4 hours & turn the roasts at some mid point. 

If you don't have 6 hrs, kick it up to 325 for 4. No sweat. But, the longer the better! 

In the last hour, shred the meat & lower the oven temp to 170 to hold until your ready to eat. 

OMG. No, for real. This will be your favorite barbacoa ever. Not even kidding. 

Prepare a bowl of chopped white onion (rinsed in cold water) & cilantro...along with lime wedges. This fresh topping brightens the taco & takes it to the next level.

Serve with whatever else you can pull together! 

Check out my other recipes to accompany: 

Fresh brothy beans

Auntie's Mexican tomato Rice

Fresh tortillas

Roasted salsa

ENJOY and share your pics with me when you make it!

xo Momma xo

Queso Fundido Burger

By, Rick Bayless

For an amazing variation of the traditional grilled burger, you've got to try this. 

Seriously...Holy moly...talk about flavor EXPLOSION.

Queso Fundido Burger

Serves 4

INGREDIENTS

2 fresh medium poblano chiles
1 medium onion, sliced into 1/4-inch slices
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 teaspoons oil
1 1/2 pounds ground chuck
8 ounces chorizo, cooked
1 to 2 canned chipotle chiles den adobo, finely minced, seeded if you wish
8 thick slices Monterey Jack cheese
4 hamburger buns, lightly toasted

DIRECTIONS

Roast the poblanos over an open flame or 4 inches below a broiler, turning regularly until blistered and blackened all over, about 5 minutes for an open flame, 10 minutes for the broiler.  Place in a bowl, cover with a kitchen towel and let cool.  Rub off the blackened skin and pull out the stems and seed pods.  Cut into 1/4-inch strips.

Heat the oil in a medium skillet over medium.  Once the oil is hot, add the onions, stirring frequently until it begins to brown, 7 to 8 minutes.  Stir in the garlic and poblano and cook for 2 minutes.  Season with salt, usually about 1/2 teaspoon.  Scrape the rajas into a bowl and cover to keep warm.

In a large bowl, combine the ground beef, cooked chorizo, chipotles and 1 1/2  teaspoon salt.  Mix until well combined.  Divide the meat into 4 equal portions and form the patties.

Heat a gas grill to medium-high, or light a charcoal fire and let it burn until the charcoal is covered with white ash (and about medium hot); bank the coals to one side. 

Place the hamburger patties on the grill and cook for a total of 4 to 5 minutes for medium rare.  Lay one piece of cheese on top of each burger, top with the warm rajas and then another piece of cheese.  Close the lid and continue cooking until the cheese has melted about 1 minute.  Remove from the grill and place on a toasted bun.  Serve immediately.

Voila! ...or better yet, QUE RICO!!! 

Beef & Potato Tacos

The first time I had beef & potato in many dishes was in northern Mexico on a work project trip with our church. An amazing piece of this trip....the ladies from the church we were working with cooked all of our meals. There's a flavor that was burned into my brain & this is a flavor I LOVE. They put potatoes in everything. Fast forward 8 years, still savoring & remembering the flavor, I fell in love with a little family owned mexican restaurant right by campus in college who made the same filling. It was a small, hole in the way place that was immaculate, serving everyone on mismatched dishes & the family got to know me. We would talk & I would listen to them singing worship music in spanish as they cooked. It wasn't just the flavors. I liked being there & something about it brought back memories of that trip to Mexico. I loved all of those things, but I think it also just came down to that Beef & Potato taco....

Ingredients: 

1 lb ground beef

1/2 onion, finely chopped

3-4 small potatoes. Idaho or Yukon Gold or 1-2 large. In 1/2 inch dices

10 shakes of cumin

5 shakes of chili powder

salt & pepper to taste

12 fresh, white corn tortillas

Brown the beef & onion until fully cooked

Meanwhile, add the diced potato to cool, salted water & bring to a boil

After the potatoes have cooked for a few minutes, add them directly to the beef

The potatoes should not be fully cooked. They'll finish with the beef

Gently fold the potatoes into the beef, so that they don't break apart

Add about 4 serving-spoon-fulls of water to the beef & potato 

(Somewhere between a 1/3-1/2 C) 

Cover & turn heat way down low to just let the water simmer & steam the potatoes

Now, moving on to the taco shells...

Heat canola or vegetable oil to 350º in a shallow pan

Using tongs, start frying the first side of the corn tortilla

Use the tongs to begin shaping the tortilla into the shape of a crispy taco shell

Carefully turn to fly the other side, while maintaining the shape with the tongs

Use the end of a wooden spoon to gently help continue shaping the shell. You can also use it to hold as it fries in the oil

Remove to a paper towel lined sheet pan

Before you plate your food....take the lid off of the filling & mash the beef/potato mixture a bit. Check the seasoning in case it needs more salt & pepper....


...and...

PLATE your dinner!

Gently, fill your taco shell with the filling

If it breaks, don't worry, just stand it on some beans. A nice, wonderful glue...

Beef Barbacoa I (crockpot)

3 lb chuck roast – seasoned w/ kosher salt and pepper

2 14 oz cans fire roasted tomatoes

½ of a beer 

2-3 T chili powder (new mexico)

2 T cumin 

Half onion, half slices

3 garlic cloves minced

a couple good shakes of soy sauce (1/4 C)

Season the beef & place in slow cooker. Top with onion & garlic. Mix all other ingredients in a bowl and pour over beef. Cook on low for 8 – 10 hours.

Serve with your favorite sides & toppings. However you want it!