Barbacoa Success w/ pictures!

the_alchemist83 · August 2012

Have been wanting barbacoa for quite some time. I like (not love) chipotle's and have been wanting a way to make a version at home. Well, I am happy to report I think I found a way.

Cut of meat:

I decided to try short ribs with the bone in. I went with short ribs because my wife & I have had such great experience with braising these. So I picked up 3 bone in short ribs from my local butcher shop with them separated. I didn't take a picture pre because I didn't season them with anything. I decided that I was going to braise them on the egg with a barbacoa recipe that I found.

Recipe:

I used this recipe that I found here:http://restaurantrecipesbook.com/chipotle-mexican-grill-barbacoa-burritos/print/ the only thing I did differently was use beef broth (50 % less sodium, since I'm trying to be reasonably healthy) instead of chicken broth.

I made the paste as directed, covered the ribs with them & then added the beef broth & bay leaves. Making sure the ribs were thoroughly covered with the paste. I had my egg pre-heated to right around 310 F, with ps (legs up) & the grate on top. Covered the roasting pan (containing ribs) with foil and on they went. 4 hours right at about 310 F, fast forward to 6:40 pm, took the roasting pan & short ribs off, and raised the temp on the grill to 400 F, finished the ribs with 10 min/side. Although this was pretty tough to keep the ribs in one piece. Already falling off the bone at this point.

I removed the ribs from the braising liquid, poured into a soup pot & reduced the braising liquid to more of a sauce (see pictures) while the ribs were finishing on the egg. After 20 minutes, I pulled the ribs, started pulling the meat & poured the reduced braising liquid over the meat. The result is below. Was definitely spicier than I was expecting but all around delicious. Honestly, I liked it better than Chipotle's barbacoa. I'm hoping to get some actual beef cheeks this fall and going to try that. Here are the pictures, enjoy & thanks for the look!

After 4 hour braise:

After grilling 10 min/side

Pulled meat in sauce:

On my flour tortilla:

chuff · August 2012

I thought barbacoa was a whole cow's head?

the_alchemist83 · August 2012

I thought barbacoa was a whole cow's head?

As far as I know traditional barbacoa is beef cheeks, I could certainly be wrong though. I've also heard that it is goat meat.

scaryangel · August 2012

I recently had barbacoa in Mexico. The day i had it they had cooked sheep and i was told that sometimes they cooked goat. They cook barbacoa in Mexico in a big pit in the ground.

FlyingTivo · August 2012

Barbacoa:

Is composed of 3 things and you can mix them acording to your preference.

Tongue

Cheek

Lip

Some butchers in Mexico add Neck(probably Brisket) but makes it more dry.

We dont usually season before the cook, just plain salt, and whatever Salsa rocks

your boat! We do use Maguey leaves to wrap it and cook it in the pit.

Since its so widely available down here, it never crossed my mind to cook it on the egg.

Will add it to my list, with the lowes priority! =))

Most of the Restaurants over season Barbacoa, please try it plain(by plain i mean seasoning, use salsa) and dont drain the fat!

Felipe

Howdy, Stranger!

Forums

Barbacoa Success w/ pictures!

Comments