Beef barbacoa
Barbacoa de res
Beef cheek or chuck coated in a guajillo, ancho and chipotle adobo, wrapped in banana leaves and slow-cooked until it shreds. Tacos with onion, coriander and the cooking juices.
Recipe by I Want Some Food · Reviewed by the editorial kitchen. Native name preserved: Barbacoa de res.
- Prep
- 40 min
- Cook
- 5 hr
- Rest
- 4 hr
- Total
- 9 hr 40 min
- Difficulty
- Medium
- Spice
- Medium heat
- Cost
- Treat yourself$28+ USD · indicative, not a store price
About
This is a home barbacoa: beef cheek or chuck coated in a blended adobo of guajillo and ancho chillies, chipotle, garlic, vinegar and warm spices, wrapped in banana leaves and cooked low and covered for hours until it pulls apart with a spoon. The leaves hold the steam in and add a faint green, tea-like note. Cheek is the best cut, gelatinous and rich; chuck is easier to find and still good. The juices in the bottom of the pot are your consomé, served in small cups on the side. Eat it in corn tortillas with onion, coriander, lime and salsa.
What you'll need
19 ingredients. Tap each one once it's out on the bench.
- Adobo
- Meat
- To serve
Ingredients
Adobo
- Dried chilli, 4 guajillo and 2 ancho, stemmed and seeded6
- Chipotles in adobo, plus 1 tbsp of the sauce2
- Garlic6 clove
- Onion½ medium
- Apple cider vinegar44 ml
- Lime, juiced1
- Cumin, ground4.9 ml
- Oregano, dried4.9 ml
- Black pepper4.9 ml
- Salt15 ml
Meat
- Beef, cheek, or chuck in 8 cm chunks1½ kg
- Banana leaves, or foil3 sheet
- Water, 150 ml for blending, 250 ml for the pot400 ml
To serve
- Corn tortilla, warm20
- Onion, white, finely chopped1 medium
- Coriander, chopped1 bunch
- Lime, in wedges3
Scaling multiplies the written quantities. Baking still prefers a scale.
Steps
Step 1
Toast the dried chillies on a hot, dry comal for 20 to 30 seconds a side, until fragrant and pliable but not blackened. Soak them in hot water for 20 minutes.
25 min
Step 2
Drain the chillies and blend them with the chipotles and their sauce, the garlic, onion, vinegar, lime juice, cumin, cloves, oregano, pepper, salt and 150 ml of fresh water to a thick, smooth paste.
3 min
Step 3
Trim any thick fat or silverskin from the beef, but leave most of the fat on. Coat it thoroughly in the adobo in a large bowl, cover and refrigerate for at least 4 hours, or overnight.
10 min
Step 4
Soften the banana leaves briefly over a flame and line a heavy pot or slow cooker with them, leaving plenty hanging over the sides. Add the beef with all the adobo, the bay leaves and 250 ml of water, then fold the leaves over the top.
10 min
Step 5
Cook with the lid on in a 150°C oven for 4 to 5 hours, or in a slow cooker on low for 8 to 9 hours, until the beef shreds with a spoon.
300 min150°C
Tip: Check at the halfway mark. If the pot looks dry, add a splash of water.
Step 6
Lift out the meat, shred it and discard the bay leaves. Skim the fat from the juices and season them, then spoon some back over the meat. Serve the rest of the juices in small cups as consomé, with the tortillas, onion, coriander, lime and salsa.
10 min
Nutrition
Per serving · estimate
- Calories
- 662 kcal
- Protein
- 54.3 g
- Carbs
- 40.8 g
- Fat
- 30.6 g
- Saturated fat
- 11.7 g
- Fibre
- 7.8 g
- Sugar
- 4.5 g
- Sodium
- 1168 mg
Calculated from canonical ingredient data (USDA FoodData Central averages and equivalent published tables). Estimates only.
Allergens
Informational only. Not a medical guarantee. Cross-contamination happens in real kitchens.
- No major allergens flagged in the structured ingredients.
- Dairy-free
- Nut-free
Adapt this recipe
The original recipe stays as it is. Personal versions are labelled. Serving changes are simple maths.
Adaptations · 0 / 15 used. Resets 12 November.
Substitutions
Beef → Lamb shoulder
Closer to the central Mexican original. It needs 3½ to 4 hours in the oven.
Banana leaves → Foil
Seal the pot tightly. You lose the leaf flavour but not the texture.
Tips
- Beef cheek shrinks by nearly half as it cooks. Buy more than you think.
- Barbacoa reheats well in its juices and freezes for up to three months.
History & culture
Barbacoa is weekend food. In central Mexico it is sold on Saturday and Sunday mornings from market stalls and roadside stands, by the kilo, with consomé and tortillas, and eaten for breakfast. In northern Mexico and Texas, beef barbacoa is the Sunday-morning taco, bought early before it runs out.
Pit cooking predates the Spanish, but barbacoa as it is known now, mutton or goat wrapped in maguey leaves, came with the sheep and goats of the colonial period. The word reached Spanish from the Taíno of the Caribbean and shares its root with barbecue. In the cattle country of the north, cooks used beef heads, and cheek meat became the standard.
Modern adaptation — Traditional barbacoa in Hidalgo, Tlaxcala and the State of Mexico is lamb or mutton wrapped in roasted maguey leaves and cooked overnight in a pit lined with hot stones and sealed with earth. A pot of broth with chickpeas and vegetables sits underneath to catch the drippings and becomes the consomé. It is seasoned mainly with salt, so the flavour is smoke and meat, not chilli. In the north, whole beef heads were cooked the same way. The chilli adobo, banana leaves and pot or slow cooker here are a home method, closer to the beef barbacoa sold by many taquerías outside the barbacoa heartland.
Provenance: Editorial adaptation.
Questions about this recipe
Answers taken from this dish's times, amounts, swaps and tips.
How long does Beef barbacoa take?
9 hr 40 min all in — 40 min prep, 5 hr cook, 4 hr rest. Cook and rest follow the method. Leftover storage and optional extra waits are not included.
How many does it serve?
The recipe is written for 8 people. Scale the ingredient list on the page if you are cooking for a different number.
How hard is it?
Medium.
How spicy is it?
Medium heat.
Does it fit a diet?
The published recipe is labelled Dairy-free, Nut-free.
What does it cost to cook?
Treat yourself — about $28+ USD, as a grocery budget for this recipe, not a restaurant price.
6 more questionsFewer questions
What equipment do I need?
Comal or dry skillet, Blender, Mixing bowl, Dutch oven, Slow cooker, Oven.
How much salt do I put in?
The recipe lists Salt at 1 tbsp.
What can I use instead?
Beef → Lamb shoulder. Closer to the central Mexican original. It needs 3½ to 4 hours in the oven. Banana leaves → Foil. Seal the pot tightly. You lose the leaf flavour but not the texture.
Any tips from this recipe?
Beef cheek shrinks by nearly half as it cooks. Buy more than you think. Barbacoa reheats well in its juices and freezes for up to three months.
Can I prepare this ahead?
Trim any thick fat or silverskin from the beef, but leave most of the fat on. Coat it thoroughly in the adobo in a large bowl, cover and refrigerate for at least 4 hours, or overnight.
Can I use an air fryer?
This method is not written for an air fryer. The core technique on the page still applies.
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