Slow Cooker Barbacoa

Slow cooker shredded beef barbacoa on a white platter.

This homemade beef barbacoa is made easy to make in the slow cooker. Flavorful, delicious and addictive, this Mexican beef can be used for tacos, burritos, enchiladas or tostadas. Let's take a look.

Course Mexican

Cuisine Mexican

Prep Time 15

Cook Time 8

Total Time 8 15

Servings

Calories 283kcal

Author Lea Ann Brown

Ingredients

3 tablespoons vegetable oil
3 pound chuck roast Cut into 4 - 5 large chunks, and remove any large pieces of fat.
1/2 teaspoon black pepper and kosher salt
1/2 Cup white wine
6 cloves garlic trimmed but unpeeled
1/8 Cup ancho chile powder
1/8 Cup Chimayo chile powder
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon Mexican Oregano
3 Tablespoon cider vinegar
2 Tablespoons Honey
5.5 ounces Tomato Juice 1 small can

Instructions

Cut chuck roast into large chunks. Remove any large pieces of fat.
Heat a large skillet over medium high heat. Once the pan is hot, add the oil. Once the oil is hot and shimmering add the beef. Don't crowd the beef. Leave space between the pieces. Cook in batches if you need to. Brown until a golden crust appears on both sides. About 3 minutes per side.
Deglaze the pan with 1/2 cup wine. Cook for two minutes, scraping bottom of the pan to release the bits of crusty meat.
Place the meat in a 6 - 7 quart slow cooker.
Add the garlic cloves, chile powders, cumin, vinegar, honey and tomato juice to a food processor. Pulse until well blended.
With a spatula, scrape the chile mixture out of the food processor and spread it on the top of the meat. Add the wine mixture from the fry pan.
Cover and cook on low for 8 hours or until meat is tender.
Carefully remove meat with a slotted spoon onto a large cutting board. Shred the meat using two forks.
Pour the drippings from the crockpot into a saucepan. Boil it down to concentrate the flavors. This will take about 10 minutes. Ladle some of it over the meat.
The traditional Mexican way of eating barbacoa is to serve it on a warmed corn tortillas with guacamole, salsa, lime wedges and cilantro.

Notes

Tips for Success:

Don’t skip searing the beef pieces. This is a crucial step in getting the most flavor out of this meal. Searing creates what is technically called Maillard reaction. Maillard reaction is the process where a crust is created, adding flavor and sealing in juices.
Cook Barbacoa beef on the low setting of your crock pot instead of high. The slower and lower cook time is more reliably for tender fall apart texture. Which makes shredding the meat a piece of cake.

Nutrition