How to Make Barbacoa - Chipotle Shredded Beef (2024)

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Barbacoa is Mexican Shredded Beef braised in a chipotle pepper broth. It’s perfection over taco salads, in rice bowls, or for street tacos. Mexican Barbacoa is easier than you think to make at home!

If you adore stewed Mexican meat dishes, you’ll also love Birria de Res and Pork Carnitas.

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The Perfect Chipotle Pepper Shredded Beef

Barbacoa is the Spanish word for barbecue. Traditionally, Barbacoa was made by roasting meat slowly in the ground covered by agave leaves, similarly to how pigs are roasted in Hawaii. Slowly roasting the meat breaks down the connective tissue, making it fall-apart tender. The burning coals infuse the meat with a smokey flavor.

While delicious, this traditional method of cooking beef takes a full day to prepare. If you don’t have a BBQ pit in your backyard, this modern style is for you!

Mexican cooks now make Barbacoa similar to a pot roast. The meat is browned in oil, then cooked in a flavorful spiced broth. Chipotle peppers (smoked jalapeños) impart a smokey flavor.

In the United States, it’s often made in a slow cooker or pressure cooker for ease. This recipe shows how to sear the beef in a dutch oven, then bake it in the oven until it’s falling apart, which is my favorite method.

Barbacoa is popular in North America, thanks to Mexican chain restaurant Chipotle. If you love the Chipotle Barbacoa bowls, try my Healthy Chipotle Burrito bowl with this tasty shredded beef!

Oven Baked Barbacoa

I adore my Sharp European Convection Oven for perfectly cooking meats, like this Barbacoa recipe.

The beef is seared quickly on my Induction Cooktop, then I pop the dutch oven into the oven for 4 hours, setting the built-in timer so I know it will turn off when my beef is done.

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What kind of meat is Barbacoa made out of?

The term barbacoa is more of a cooking style than a particular dish. In Mexico, it can be made with beef, goat, pork, lamb or mutton.

Beef barbacoa is best made from cuts of beef that have tough connective tissues that need to be cooked for a long time to break down. It’s best made with cuts that have fat marbled throughout the beef so that it does not dry out while cooking.

• Beef Chuck Roast (find an option with nice marbling. I recommend grass-fed beef.)
• Beef Brisket (this is my favorite option as it seems less greasy than a chuck roast.)
• Beef Cheeks
• Try adding short ribs or oxtail in (along with chuck roast or brisket) to add more flavor

What You’ll Need

• Beef Roast
• Avocado Oil
• Kosher Salt
• Black Pepper

Barbacoa Seasoning

• White Onion
• Fresh Garlic Cloves
• Chipotle Peppers in Adobo Sauce (dried chipotle peppers also work, but they will need to be rehydrated and blended prior to adding to the sauce)
• Mexican Oregano
• Bay Leaves
• Cloves or Ground Cloves
• Cumin
• Lime Juice (some recipes call for Apple Cider Vinegar, but I prefer fresh lime juice).

*To get the most authentic flavor, buy spices from the Latin section at your grocery store. Mexican oregano has a much different flavor than the standard oregano sold in spice bottles. Most grocery stores have dried chiles and spices together next to the salsa and Mexican sauce section.

How to Make Barbacoa

Step 1: Add avocado oil to a dutch oven or braiser, and heat it over medium-high heat. Add large chunks of beef, and season well with salt and pepper. Brown all sides, and then remove from the pot. Do not overcrowd the pan. The beef will brown better and not steam if there is space around it.

Step 2: Repeat with the rest of the beef, and remove all from the pan and set aside.

Step 3: Add more avocado oil into the pan, and saute the onions and garlic for about 5 minutes to soften. Add all the seasonings, including the chopped up chipotle peppers, bay leaves, cumin, and Mexican oregano.

Step 4: Add in the beef broth, and stir to combine.

Step 5: Return the beef to the pot. Bake the beef at 300º F for 3-4 hours, until the beef falls apart when pressed with a fork.

Step 6: Shred each chunk of beef with two forks. It should come apart easily. Mix the beef with the remaining broth and add the lime juice to season.

Step 7: Serve the beef garnished with lime wedges and fresh cilantro, if desired.

FAQ & How to Store Leftovers

How to Store Leftover Barbacoa

Once the beef has cooled, store it in an airtight container, and refrigerate it for up to 4 days.

Freeze leftover barbacoa in an air tight container for up to 3 months. Allow to thaw, then bake it at 325º F for 30 minutes to reheat it and to serve.

Is Barbacoa Spicy?

Chipotle peppers in adobo sauce are very spicy. If you use too many chiles, the meat will be very spicy.

2 chiles per 4 pounds of meat makes a moderately spicy dish. If you love spice, use 3-4 chiles.

If you don’t like spice, use 1 chipotle pepper. To make up for the chile flavor, you can also use a more mild chile. I love dried guajillo chiles. Soak the dried chile in water, and then blend it with a little beef broth before adding it to the mix.

What is the difference between Birria and Barbacoa?

Both Birria and Barbacoa are popular Mexican shredded beef recipes.

Birria de Res is made with a combination of guajillo chiles, ancho chiles, and chiles de arbol, in addition to having cinnamon as a stand-out flavor.

Barbacoa is traditionally smoked, and modernly made with smoked jalapeño (chipotles) to give the dish a smokey flavor.

Can I slow cook this recipe?

Barbacoa can be made in a slow cooker or crock pot instead of baked in an oven in a dutch oven.

Follow steps 1-4, then add the beef and the onion and spice mixture to a slow cooker. Slow cook the meat for 6 hours on low, and then shred the beef and serve as the recipe instructs.

It can also be made in an instant pot, but this is my least favorite method, especially if trying to brown the beef on the saute setting. The Instant pot doesn’t caramelize meat well so the beef won’t have the best flavor or texture.

How to Serve Barbacoa

• Chipotle’s Barbacoa meat is a great example of the ways this meat can be served! At Chipotle, Barbacoa is used to fill tacos and burritos, as well as top taco salads or burrito bowls. Use it in my Healthier Chipotle Burrito Bowls. These feature cilantro lime rice and pinto beans!
• My favorite way to serve it is over rice, quinoa, or millet, served with black beans, and garnished with onions, cilantro, and salsa. This is a perfect meal with my Mexican Caesar Salad.
• Make a low carb meal by serving this tender beef over cauliflower rice or zoodles with guacamole, pico de gallo or salsa, and cheese or sour cream!
• Barbacoa Tacos: warm corn tortillas, and then top them with chopped onion, cilantro and avocado or guac, for the best Barbacoa street tacos!

Other Healthy Mexican Recipes

• Birria Tacos
• Pipian Verde (Green Mole with Pumpkin Seeds)
• Mexican Cabbage Salsa
• Avocado Salsa Verde

If you make this recipe, be sure to share it with me! Find me on Facebook or Instagram and be sure to tag #SunkissedKitchen @SunkissedKitch