This homemade beef barbacoa recipe is easy to make in the slow cooker, and it’s SO flavorful and delicious! Perfect for burritos, tacos, salads, quesadillas and more.
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Homemade Barbacoa Recipe | 1-Minute Video
Barbacoa
This barbacoa recipe is simple to make in your slow cooker, and makes the most tender, flavorful, delicious barbacoa beef.
Ingredients
- 3 pounds beef chuck roast (fat trimmed), cut into 2-inch chunks
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 chipotles in adobo sauce, chopped
- 1 (4-ounce) can diced green chiles
- 1 small white onion, finely chopped
- 1/4 cup fresh lime juice
- 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
- 3 bay leaves
- 1 tablespoon ground cumin
- 1 tablespoon dried Mexican oregano (or standard dried oregano)
- 2 teaspoons fine sea salt
- 1 teaspoon freshly-ground black pepper
- 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
- 1/2 cup beef stock or water
Instructions
- Slow cook. Combine all ingredients in the bowl of a slow cooker. Toss gently to combine. Cover and cook on low for 6-8 hours, or on high for 3-4 hours, or until the beef is tender and falls apart easily when shredded with a fork.
- Shred and toss. Using two forks, shred the beef into bite-sized pieces inside of the slow cooker. Toss the beef with the juices, then cover and let the barbacoa beef soak up the juices for an extra 10 minutes. Remove the bay leaves.
- Serve. Use a pair of tongs or a slotted spoon to serve the barbacoa beef and enjoy!
Notes
Storage instructions: Any leftovers can be stored (with their juices) in a food storage container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days, or frozen for up to 3 months.
Did you make this?Let me know how it turned out in the comments below!
Where do you get chipotle peppers in adobo?
You can find them in the International aisle of most grocery stores (in the Hispanic section). We hope this helps!
Hey! I’m so happy I found this recipe, my hubby liked Barbacoa tostadas but when he found out we were eating goat meat he FREAKED! yesterday I told him I found this recipe and he’s excited! I’m currently making it (it’s in the crock pot) and my home smells soooooooo good! Thanks again can’t wait for dinner ?
Thanks Jaimie, we’re glad to hear that, and we hope you guys enjoyed it! :)
I unfortunately had the same experience as Jane. I followed the recipe exactly. Not sure what wrong but I am truly bummed. I was thinking maybe the grocer mislabeled the meat as chuck roast and it was possibly another cut? I was also hoping the sauce would be thicker, maybe even sweeter? Any suggestions would be great so that I can try it again.
Oh no, I’m sorry to hear that! The sauce definitely thickens up a bit more as it cools a little bit, and once the meat is shredded, I found that the sauce soaked into the meat pretty quickly. Hope that it works out better if you try it again! I definitely recommend cooking low and slow if you have the time.
This recipe sounds very yummy, it just shouldn’t be called Barbacoa though. Barbacoa is a Cow’s head (pit dug in the ground) or the much easier and more used Cow’s Cheek Meat. The cheek meat goes into the slow cooker just as easy as this recipe and voila…………..REAL BARBACOA! Your recipe though yummy sounding is just shredded beef.
What a let down! I don’t know what went wrong, I cooked it as directed, but when it came time to shred, it was as tough as nails and I couldn’t shred it properly, the forks kept getting stuck and I kept getting hot liquid splashed up on me struggling to get the meat apart. The taste was awful, just tasted like cheap cuts of meat with watery chili broth. As some Australians who loved Chipotle this was a very disappointing meal. $20’worth of meat is now in the bin.
Hi Jane, we didn’t remove your review, we only just now got around to seeing it. Please know that we appreciate all feedback (both positive and negative, as long as it’s respectful and constructive). We are very sorry to hear that this did not turn out right for you. This meat should never ever be tough — it should be tender and should shred apart easily, once it’s been cooked properly. We haven’t had any feedback like this before on this recipe. What type of meat did you use? Did you follow the recipe exactly? Any information you could provide would be helpful for us to determine what might have gone awry.
Oh no! I wonder what happened. The meat definitely should not toughen up, and while the broth might be a little watery, it soaks into the meat more once it has shredded. Darn, I wonder if the cuts of meat or slow cookers are somehow different in Australia. Sorry that it didn’t turn out well. :(
Have you ever tried this in a pressure cooker? I wonder if the flavors would meld together well enough…
Hi Chris! We haven’t, but if you give it a try, let us know how it goes!
Made this yesterday for lunch after church and it turned out so great!! Followed recipe with minimal changes: 1) forgot to buy green chiles, 2) didn’t have oregano on hand, and 3) added a few shakes of low-sodium soy sauce. Since this was for a noon meal, I got up at 6am to throw in pre-prepped ingredients (then went back to bed!), cooked on high for 3 hours, then reduced to low to cook for 3 more hours until we got home. The meat shredded so easily and was perfectly seasoned. Served with large flour tortillas for my husband while mom and I dished it up over rice, corn and black beans, plus all the usual taco fixins. Thanks SO much for posting such a tasty recipe that doesn’t require pre-cooking and serves a crowd or freezes well for smaller portions.
Hi Carrie! Wow, you’re a trooper for getting up at 6am to put everything in the slow cooker! We’re so happy the barbecue worked out, and that you guys enjoyed it! :)
I made this today for a nacho party tonight. The sauce is just terrific!
The one change I made was to strain the sauce before adding it back in to the shredded beef. I think this just makes it more visually appealing. Thanks for the great recipe!
Thanks Shannon, we’re so glad you enjoyed it! And straining the sauce is a good idea!
This was THE BOMB! I got it stuck in my head and finally made it not too long ago. I used half of it to make corn, yellow squash, and beef enchiladas that I just published on my food blog and the other half for beef, potato, and cabbage stuffed biscuits. It was so good! Thanks for this awesome recipe!
Awesome!!! So glad you enjoyed it!
Thank you, this makes us so happy, so glad you liked it!
Very good recipe! Meat came out tender will serve tonight for hubby. :)
Wonderful, we’re so glad you two enjoyed it!