a straightforward barbacoa that has been slowly cooked and spiced. Serve with salsa, rice, beans, or other toppings on tortillas.
| Prep Time: | 30 mins |
| Cook Time: | 6 hrs 10 mins |
| Additional Time: | 10 hrs |
| Total Time: | 16 hrs 40 mins |
| Servings: | 24 |
| Yield: | 12 cups |
Ingredients
- 4 dried guajillo chilies
- 2 teaspoons cumin seeds
- ⅛ whole cloves
- 1 cup boiling water
- ½ teaspoon ground ancho chile powder
- 1 large onion, quartered
- 6 cloves garlic
- 2 teaspoons dried oregano
- 1 teaspoon ground thyme
- ⅓ cup apple cider vinegar
- 2 teaspoons lime juice
- 1 (6 pound) boneless beef chuck roast
- 2 bay leaves
Instructions
- Heat a heavy skillet over medium heat. Place the dried guajillo chiles into the skillet and cook, turning occasionally, until the color changes and the chiles have puffed, about 5 minutes. Set the chiles aside to cool for a moment. Meanwhile, toast the cumin and cloves in the hot skillet until the cumin seeds begin to pop; remove from the pan and set aside. Remove and discard the stems, seeds, and veins of the chiles, and place into a small bowl. Pour the boiling water over top, and cover. Let the chiles soak for 1 hour.
- Grind the toasted cumin and cloves into a powder, and place into a blender. Add the ancho chile powder, onion, garlic, oregano, thyme, vinegar, and lime juice. Remove the chiles from the soaking water, and place into the blender along with 1/3 cup of the soaking liquid. Cover, and blend until a smooth paste forms.
- Place the beef roast into a mixing bowl, and pour the guajillo chile past over top. Coat the roast on all sides with the paste, then cover the bowl with plastic wrap. Marinate in the refrigerator overnight.
- Preheat an oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C).
- Transfer the roast and marinade to a roasting pan, and arrange the bay leaves over top. Cover tightly with aluminum foil. Bake in the preheated oven until the meat is very tender and is easily pulled apart with a fork, about 6 hours. Let stand, covered, at room temperature for 1 hour before discarding the bay leaves and shredding with two forks.
- Don’t buy guajillo paste, it’s never very good. Just buy the dried chiles and rehydrate them with hot water.
Nutrition Facts
| Calories | 175 kcal |
| Carbohydrate | 1 g |
| Cholesterol | 52 mg |
| Dietary Fiber | 0 g |
| Protein | 14 g |
| Saturated Fat | 5 g |
| Sodium | 34 mg |
| Sugars | 0 g |
| Fat | 13 g |
| Unsaturated Fat | 0 g |
Reviews
It was fine but not our favorite barbacoa.
The overnight marinating is important to do. My husband loved this dish.
This was WONDERFUL. I improvised and cooked it in the slow cooker on high for 6 hours. came out tender and so juicy and flavorful. The only change was that I added 1 small chile de arbol and 1 chile ancho (instead of powder) pepper (roasted just like the guarillo pepper) to the mix and added 6 cloves of garlic and one fresh big Jalapeno pepper to the blender. I seared the meat and then I cooked the onion in the juices before adding it to the blender. I also added about a 2 TBSpn of tomato paste. My Mother always added a little paste to cut the spice for the kids to eat. The Barbacoa is Delicious! My husband loved it and since its a warm day I cooked it in the slow cooker instead of the oven. Thank you for this wonderful recipe 🙂
Simple and delicious !!!
I made this for a pot luck and everyone loved it. I didn’t make any substitutions but you may want to hold back on some of the cayenne if you’re really sensitive to spicy things.
You can make barbacoa to your liking, I’d prefer chuck roast meat. Is a process cooking it but it is definitely worth it. I love Mexican food. And barbacoa is one of my favs on the food list
I used a pork butt roast (it was just what I had in the freezer) and it was delicious. Wasn’t as spicy as I expected so next time I’ll add some jalapeño to the marinade. It’s surprising to me that there is no salt listed in the recipe. A tsp added to the marinade would enhance the flavors and help infuse those flavors more fully during the marinating process. Great recipe
Great recipe for street style tacos, burritos, tamales, pretty much any Mexican main dish. I did use chipotles in adobo instead of the peppers in the recipe, replaced the water with vegetable broth, and added two tablespoons of brown sugar, but other than that I have done this recipe a few times now and it is always a crowd pleaser. It also goes well using pork instead of beef or even 6-8 chicken breasts. Great recipe, highly recommend.
Phenomenal! Didn’t have ancho chili powder so just used a spicy Mexican chili powder instead. I also added 1 tsp of chipotle chile powder. Cooked in Dutch oven at 300 degrees for 4 hours then shut off the oven and left it in there for another 2 hours. Trimmed the fat and shred with forks. Wasn’t too spicy and the kids loved it also. So tender! Definitely a new favorite!
I tried it, and it was pretty good but I made a couple of alterations. I added salt because I was surprised not to see salt in the recipe. I also added a tomato to balance everything out and I also added a head of garlic when I started to cook it. Also, i marinated it for 5 hours, and cooked in a pot instead of the oven, medium heat for 4 hours. I cut up the meat in the medium size chunks so it would cook a bit faster. But it came out pretty good!! I might add more garlic next time. 🙂
I have used this recipe several times, with good results.
I cut this recipe in half, and I used chipotle and ancho chiles because that is what I had on hand. Other than that, made as directed and it was a wonderful, filling Cindo de Mayo dinner.
I have made this recipe a half dozen times and I love it more every time. This is my favorite food now! Thanks for this BA recipe!
My fiance is Mexican and he said it should be just a bit more spice..a bit more garlic and an extra guallijo chili. It turned out fine except for this. I actually used cow cheeks and there was alot of meat on it. Depending on your area you might have to order the cow cheeks ahead of time. I am going to try it again but upping the spices a bit. Overall it was pretty darn good..for your info too, barbacoa was actually made with lamb or goat meat in the past..
Very good recipe. I used the crock pot after a quick sear on the beef instead. Flavorful and tender.
This was really good! Pleasantly surprised on how easy it was to make. this was my first time ever making barbacoa. My picky family enjoyed it.
Tasted good with corn tortillas but by its self it was a disappointment.
Everything is ggreat except you use dry red ancho chiles, not powder….
This recipe is pretty good. I gave it 4 stars instead of 5 because the meat needs to be browned before roasting, and because the final product didn’t have that spiciness I like barbacoa to have. Next time I’ll add more chilies.
Like the other person said, Barbacoa is beef cheek and is very good but has a very different flavor then a roast. Aside from that, this recipe looks really yummy
Just wanted to let you know that barbacoa is not a chuck roast; it is beef cheek meat.