# Barbacoa



## jcam222 (Jul 29, 2020)

I had quite a bit of pulled chuck left from smoking 3 this past weekend. There was a fair amount of it that was still a bit tighter than I would have like too. I got an urge for Mexican tonight so decided to repurpose a lot of it into barbacoa. After a quick check of the pantry it was a go.

*Barbacoa sauce:*

4 cups chicken stock
4-6 guajillo peppers (I play this by ear based on the size of the peppers)
2 arbol if you want to kick up the heat (both these and the guajillo are stemmed and seeded)
1 small onion diced fairly fine
4 cloves of minced garlic
1 tsp Mexican oregano
1 tsp cumin
1/4 tsp ground clove
1/4 tsp cinnamon
2 bay leaves
1/3 cup apple cider vinegar
1/4 cup lime juice
3 tbsp finely chopped chipotle and 1 tbsp of adobo

First up seed and toast the peppers until nice and fragrant.







After toasting add 2 cups chicken stock and simmer until the peppers are nice and soft. Set these aside.







Next up add a little oil to the pan and saute the onions and garlic until nice and soft.






Add the spices and toast for about 30 seconds and then add the chipotle and simmer another minute or so giving it a good stir or two.






Add the balance of the chicken stock and  the ACV  then simmer cooking down by about 1/2.






After it is reduced remove the bay leaves and combine this with the peppers and liquid set aside earlier. Into the Vitamix it goes to get blended nice and smooth. It is a very rich red sauce. This picture does not do it justice.






Into the Instant Pot it goes along with I am guessing about 4 lbs. of leftover beef chunks and shred. I set the Instant Pot to 30 minutes and did a quick release when finished. This is a great short cut to simmering for hours to infuse the beef with the flavor.  Here it is out of the IP.






I wanted to do this burrito style and since we do keto I will use a 100% cheddar shell. Its pretty easy making taco shells this way but when doing burrito or enchilada style dishes it takes a pretty deft hand and quick work to roll without tearing it. Big circle of cheese on parchment paper covered pan. Bake at 400F until the edges begin to brown. Pull and move quick :)   Here is the shell fresh out of the oven and getting loaded up with meat.






Quickly rolling using a nice long spatula that is usually out on the Blackstone for griddle action.







Here is the money shot. The burrito is dressed pretty simply with minced pickled jalapeno , some cotija cheese and a chipotle cream sauce. Simple salad to accompany it with shredded lettuce, tomato, avocado and some Mexican crema.








Thats a wrap. This was absolutely bursting with flavor. The homemade sauce starting with the dry peppers is very much worth the work. I used a very similar sauce for a  brisket chili I posted here this past winter and it was money as well.  As always thanks for looking!!


----------



## TNJAKE (Jul 29, 2020)

Damn. Yes sir count me in on that! Delicious


----------



## Sowsage (Jul 29, 2020)

That looks amazing! Love the plated shot. Great use of leftover chuckies! Id tear into that in a heartbeat!


----------



## indaswamp (Jul 29, 2020)

Awesome cook my friend! Big Like!


----------



## Brokenhandle (Jul 29, 2020)

Looks awesome! I'll take a plate or three 

Ryan


----------



## chef jimmyj (Jul 30, 2020)

You are just TOO COOL with that Cheese Wrapper! I have a house guest with a Birthday coming up. The kids told him he gets to pick his Birthday Supper. He requested Mexican and this Barbacoa sounds good. Thanks for posting the recipe. Congrats on taking a Ride...JJ


----------



## sawhorseray (Jul 30, 2020)

Wow, that cook is absolutely off the charts Jeff, fantastic piece of work! Congrats on the well deserved carousel ride too, Like! RAY


----------



## chopsaw (Jul 30, 2020)

Awesome !


----------



## ronf (Jul 30, 2020)

Great!


----------



## BrianGSDTexoma (Jul 30, 2020)

Awesome dude.  That ones going on the menu.  I took out some mystery meat from freezer that I think should work.  I was bad about no labeling but have since corrected.


----------



## xray (Jul 30, 2020)

What a great looking meal Jeff and the spices are very much on point. Using dried chiles and toasting the spices is very much worth the extra step. It’s small stuff like that elevates the dish.

Nice job on the burrito shell too! I don’t have that finesse and dexterity, I’d end up smashing it into pieces and making a barbacoa taco salad out of it.

Very nicely done!


----------



## one eyed jack (Jul 30, 2020)

I'll bet that your sauce would make a dog biscuit edible, probably even good.

Great post.


----------



## JLeonard (Jul 30, 2020)

Mercy! That makes my mouth water.


----------



## Smokin' in AZ (Jul 30, 2020)

Wow Jeff that looks fantastic brother!

Nice job, on the step by step and presentation.

BIG LIKE!

And congrats on the ride.

John


----------



## SmokinVOLfan (Jul 30, 2020)

Damn Jeff that looks so good! Thanks for posting the recipe as well. Did you make your own creamy chipotle? Congrats on the ride!


----------



## Bearcarver (Jul 30, 2020)

Boy, I'll bet that's Freaking Awesome!!
Nice Job Jcam!!
Like.

Bear


----------



## SmokinAl (Jul 30, 2020)

About all I can say Is AWESOME!!!!!
Al


----------



## kit s (Jul 30, 2020)

Dang I would belly up to that plate.


----------



## tx smoker (Jul 30, 2020)

The King of Keto strikes again!! Awesome looking meal Jeff and congrats on a well deserved ride. The whole meal is a thing of beauty but as already stated, those cheese wraps are just insane!! I gotta try those on...something.

Just WOW!! That's all...
Robert


----------



## jcam222 (Jul 30, 2020)

TNJAKE said:


> Damn. Yes sir count me in on that! Delicious





Sowsage said:


> That looks amazing! Love the plated shot. Great use of leftover chuckies! Id tear into that in a heartbeat!





indaswamp said:


> Awesome cook my friend! Big Like!





Brokenhandle said:


> Looks awesome! I'll take a plate or three
> 
> Ryan





sawhorseray said:


> Wow, that cook is absolutely off the charts Jeff, fantastic piece of work! Congrats on the well deserved carousel ride too, Like! RAY





chopsaw said:


> Awesome !





ronf said:


> Great!





Brian Trommater said:


> Awesome dude.  That ones going on the menu.  I took out some mystery meat from freezer that I think should work.  I was bad about no labeling but have since corrected.





xray said:


> What a great looking meal Jeff and the spices are very much on point. Using dried chiles and toasting the spices is very much worth the extra step. It’s small stuff like that elevates the dish.
> 
> Nice job on the burrito shell too! I don’t have that finesse and dexterity, I’d end up smashing it into pieces and making a barbacoa taco salad out of it.
> 
> Very nicely done!





one eyed jack said:


> I'll bet that your sauce would make a dog biscuit edible, probably even good.
> 
> Great post.





JLeonard said:


> Mercy! That makes my mouth water.





Smokin' in AZ said:


> Wow Jeff that looks fantastic brother!
> 
> Nice job, on the step by step and presentation.
> 
> ...





SmokinVOLfan said:


> Damn Jeff that looks so good! Thanks for posting the recipe as well. Did you make your own creamy chipotle? Congrats on the ride!





Bearcarver said:


> Boy, I'll bet that's Freaking Awesome!!
> Nice Job Jcam!!
> Like.
> 
> Bear





SmokinAl said:


> About all I can say Is AWESOME!!!!!
> Al





kit s said:


> Dang I would belly up to that plate.





tx smoker said:


> The King of Keto strikes again!! Awesome looking meal Jeff and congrats on a well deserved ride. The whole meal is a thing of beauty but as already stated, those cheese wraps are just insane!! I gotta try those on...something.
> 
> Just WOW!! That's all...
> Robert


Thanks al for the compliments! This meal was awesome and I’d highly recommend the sauce.


----------



## jcam222 (Jul 30, 2020)

SmokinVOLfan said:


> Damn Jeff that looks so good! Thanks for posting the recipe as well. Did you make your own creamy chipotle? Congrats on the ride!


The chipotle creme was my shortcut. It’s a newer sauce from Herdez and it’s delicious.


----------



## TNJAKE (Jul 30, 2020)

jcam222 said:


> The chipotle creme was my shortcut. It’s a newer sauce from Herdez and it’s delicious.


I've had that. It's delicious. Love their avacado salsa also


----------



## jcam222 (Jul 30, 2020)

TNJAKE said:


> I've had that. It's delicious. Love their avacado salsa also


Jake we love that also. Honestly overall the Herdez products are damn good.


----------



## smokin peachey (Jul 30, 2020)

Looks good jcam!


----------



## chilerelleno (Jul 30, 2020)

Wow! Now that is unique and looks damned tasty, nice job.
Worthy of a spin on the Carousel.

I love you transformation of the leftover Chuck with the homemade sauce.
That sauce is money, very nice work.
And other than the cheese it is a low fat Barbacoa.

I love Herdez products!


----------



## Ishi (Jul 31, 2020)

That looks awesome and I know it tasted even better!! Great job and congrats!


----------

