Traditional Barbacoa 🌶️: A Taste of Mexico 🇲🇽

Barbacoa has deep roots in Caribbean and Mexican culinary traditions, and its origins trace back to the indigenous Taíno people of the Caribbean. The term “barbacoa” comes from the Taíno word “barabicu” which means meat cooked on a wooden structure over an open fire. This is also where we get the word barbeque comes from. This cooking method spread and evolved throughout Mexico and Central America.

Traditionally, barbacoa involves slow-cooking meat, usually beef, lamb, or goat, in a pit covered with agave leaves. This method allows the meat to become tender and absorb the flavors from the leaves and the earth. The process is time-consuming, often taking several hours, which results in flavorful, juicy meat.

In Mexico, barbacoa is often associated with celebrations and special occasions like quenceneras or weddings. Different regions have their own variations, too. In central Mexico, it’s common to use sheep or goat, in the northern regions, beef is more commonly used, and in the Yucatan, a similar dish called “cochinita pibil” uses pork marinated in achiote and sour orange wrapped in banana leaves, and cooked in a pit.

I have taken this traditional, time-consuming dish and made it relatively fast and easy to prepare using a pressure cooker. You can use a slow cooker or a pit if you like, but I argue it’s just as good as a pressure cooker.

If you live anywhere in Southern California, the chili peppers used in this dish can be found at almost any grocery store in the ethnic food aisle. If you live somewhere without a strong Hispanic influence, you may need to order your chili peppers online. They come dried, so they are lightweight and will last a long time in your pantry.

Barbacoa goes great in tacos with Mexican rice a, tomato and chicken bullion flavored rice that is fried in oil before cooking or in a bowl with diced onion and cilantro.

You can remove the seeds from the chili peppers if you want it less spicy or straight substitute the arbol chili for chili de California (seeds removed) for an even less spicy option.

You can also substitute the chuck roast for beef stew meat for this recipe, but you will need to reduce the cooking time.

The shredded beef will last in a sealed container in the fridge for up to a week or in a freezer for up to three months. If you freeze it, hold off on frying in the beef tallow until you are ready to eat it.

Traditional Barbacoa Recipe

Difficulty Level:  3 out of 5 Meatballs

Prep Time: 30 Minutes

Cook Time: 1.5 Hours

Servings: 6

• 3-5 pounds of chuck roast
• 1/2 cup of beef broth
• 4 tablespoon beef tallow
• 2 guajillo chili peppers, dried
• 1 arbol chili pepper, dried
• ½ teaspoon of cumin
• 1 teaspoon of oregano
• ½ onion, diced
• 1 bulb garlic, minced
• 2 teaspoons of salt
• 6 whole black peppercorns
• 3 bay leaves
• 1 tablespoon of Worcestershire sauce

Place the beef tallow in a saucepan over medium heat. Add the onion once the tallow has melted and cook for 1 minute. Add the garlic and let cook another minute. Stir the garlic and onion, then add the chili peppers; take care not to burn the peppers as they do toast quickly.

Place all ingredients, except the chuck roast, into a blender and blend until smooth to create the marinade. Let cool for at least 1 hour.

Place the chuck roast into a zip-top bag or other container and pour in the marinade. Seal and let it marinate overnight in the refrigerator.

Place roast and sauce in a pressure cooker and cook on high pressure for 1 hour, then carefully release the pressure.

Remove meat from the pot and continue cooking the juices on soup/stew mode until reduced by half.

Once the roast has cooled, shred it by hand or with some forks.

Heat 1 tablespoon of tallow in a skillet over high heat and pan-fry the shredded beef in smaller batches until crispy.

Place a portion of the shredded beef into a bowl, add some of the sauce, and serve with onion and cilantro.