Whole30 Beef Barbacoa - Slow Cooker Version
This Whole30 Beef Barbacoa is flavoured with the deep and sophisticated tastes of Mexican cuisine but is simple enough for even a rookie home cook to master
Servings: 6 servings
Ingredients
- 2 cups chicken or beef stock
- 1 dried whole ancho chili pepper
- 1 dried whole guajillo chili pepper
- 1 dried whole chipotle chili pepper
- 1 dried whole cascabel chili pepper
- 4-5 cloves garlic – peeled
- 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
- 2 tablespoons agave syrup optional - omit if doing Whole30
- 1 tablespoon loosely-packed fresh thyme leaves or 1 teaspoon dried thyme or 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon ground coriander
- 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 3 lbs beef chuck roast or stewing meat
- 1 medium yellow onion thinly sliced
- 3 tablespoons avocado oil
- Kosher salt and freshly-cracked black pepper to taste
Instructions
- Add stock to a sauce pan and bring to a rapid simmer over high heat. Add the ancho, guajillo, chipotle and cascabel chilies, cover with a lid, remove from heat and let the chilies steep until completely soft and pliable, around 20 minutes.
- Reserving the stock, carefully remove and discard the seeds and stems from chilies. Add the flesh and skins of chilis to a high-speed blender along with the garlic, vinegar, agave syrup (if using), thyme or oregano, cinnamon, coriander, and smoked paprika. Pour in the reserved stock through a sieve to catch any seeds and blend on high speed until completely smooth. Set mixture aside.
- Preheat a Dutch oven over medium heat for 5 minutes. Pat the beef very dry with paper towel.
- Raise the heat to medium-high heat, add avocado oil and heat the until shimmering. Carefully add the beef and cook, undisturbed, until browned, around 6 minutes. Flip and brown the other side, around 6 minutes. Transfer beef to the slow cooker.
- Add the onions to the pot used to brown the beef and season with a pinch of salt. Cook, stirring and lifting any brown bits on the bottom of the pot, until softened, around 4 minutes. Add the onions to the slow cooker along with the chili mixture and stir to coat. Cover with lid and cook on LOW for 6 to 8 hours or on HIGH for 3 to 4 hours, or until the beef is fork-tender.
- Using two forks, shred the beef and stir to coat in the sauce. Taste for seasoning and adjust with salt and pepper as desired. If necessary, you can reduce the sauce further by simmering it over med-low heat, uncovered, until the desired consistency is reached.
- Serve the Beef Barbacoa over a bowl of cauliflower rice and garnishes of choice.