Melt-In-Your-Mouth Barbacoa Tacos Recipe

You no longer need to visit authentic Mexican restaurants or food trucks just to enjoy authentic tacos! 

These homemade barbacoa tacos feature chuck roast that’s been slow-cooked to perfection for 7 hours in a rich sauce made with diverse spices. 

They’ll be the guaranteed highlights of your weeknight dinners and family get-togethers!! 

🥩 What is Barbacoa? 

A little trivia before we jump straight to cooking: the term barbacoa can actually mean two different things.

Originally, barbacoa referred to the process of slow-cooking meat. Traditional barbacoa cooking methods involved steaming the meat underground. But now, easier slow-cooking methods like using the slow cooker or cooking on an open fire are becoming more popular. 

Apart from the cooking method, the term barbacoa has evolved to also refer to the dish made using the barbacoa technique. 

Barbacoa tacos, for example, refer to tacos filled with beef cooked in “barbacoa style,” and barbacoa burrito bowls feature the same tender meat served over rice or with other ingredients.

🧑‍🍳 Important Barbacoa Tacos Components

Barbacoa tacos are essentially just made using 4 crucial components: meat, sauce, toppings, and tortillas. Let’s cover how we’ll prepare each of these elements.

Meat: We’ll use a budget-friendly chuck roast for this recipe. This cut excels when slow-cooked, as the fats melt and infuse the meat with flavor, resulting in a tender dish that truly represents authentic barbacoa.

Sauce: For the best flavors, our barbacoa sauce features over 10 ingredients, including tomato sauce, chipotle peppers in adobo sauce, beef broth, apple cider vinegar, and lemon, accompanied by seasoning and spices.

Toppings: I love switching up the taco toppings to keep things interesting from time to time. But for this recipe, I made a simple topping combo using red onion, feta cheese, cilantro, and lemon juice.

Tortillas: We often use 6 to 8 small corn tortillas to serve this dish, but you can also use flour tortillas, or any other type of your choice.

No-Fuss Slow Cooked Barbacoa Tacos

Yield: 6 to 8 servings

Prep Time: 30 minutes

Cook Time: 7 hours

Total Time: 7 hours 30 minutes

Satisfy your taco cravings with these flavorful barbacoa tacos that deliver melt-in-your-mouth beef. Just spend half an hour prepping and assembling this dish, and your slow cooker will handle the rest!

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Ingredients

For the Meat:

• 2 pounds of beef chuck roast
• Salt and pepper (to taste)
• 1 tablespoon of vegetable oil (for browning)

For the Barbacoa Sauce:

• 1 to 2 chipotle peppers in adobo sauce (adjust to taste)
• 1/3 cup of tomato sauce
• 3/4 cup of low-sodium beef broth
• 1.5 tablespoons of apple cider vinegar
• 1.5 tablespoons of lime juice (freshly squeezed)
• 2 cloves of garlic (minced)
• 2 teaspoons of cumin powder
• 3/4 teaspoon of dried oregano
• 1/8 teaspoon of ground cloves
• 1/8 teaspoon of cinnamon
• 1/3 teaspoon of dried thyme
• Salt and black pepper (to taste)

• 1 bay leaf

For the Taco Toppings (Adjust As Preferred):

• 1/2 of a small red onion (thinly sliced)
• 1/4 cup of crumbled feta cheese
• Fresh cilantro
• Lime wedges (for serving)

To Serve:

• 6 to 8 small corn tortillas

Instructions

1. Pat the 2 pounds of chuck roast dry and season its sides lightly using salt and pepper.
2. In a large skillet that’s over medium-high heat, heat about 1 tablespoon of vegetable oil. Once it’s hot, add the chuck roast to the skillet and sear both of its sides until browned, for about 3 minutes each. This step gives the chuck roast a caramelized layer that enhances the flavor of the barbacoa. 
3. Now, it's time to prepare the barbacoa sauce. In a food processor or blender, combine all the sauce’s ingredients except for the bay leaf. Continue blending (by pulsing) until you achieve a uniform-looking, rich sauce. 
4. Transfer the seared chuck roast to your slow cooker. Then, pour the barbacoa sauce you’ve prepared over the roast, covering most of the meat.
5. Add 1 bay leaf to the slow cooker to give the dish extra depth.
6. Cover the slow cooker and cook the chuck roast on low for 7 to 8 hours or on high for 5 to 6 hours. 
7. During the last few minutes of the meat cooking, prepare your taco toppings. Arrange them in a way that makes them easily accessible during assembly.
8. Once the meat has cooked fully, carefully shred the roast using two forks in the slow cooker itself. Remove any large pieces of fat or gristle. 
9. In a skillet over medium heat, heat the tortillas for about half a minute on each side. You want them to be slightly charred but still pliable. 
10. Assemble the tacos! Spoon the barbacoa meat into the taco shells, then top each tortilla off with your prepared taco toppings. Squeeze some lime juice on each taco for added acidity, and serve while the tacos are still warm! 

Notes

Image credit to ©cochinitaco.

Featured image credit to ©mnfireandslice.