Barbacoa - The Cook - OT

SciAggie

Well, here goes nothing... Let’s see how this barbacoa experiment turns out. 

For those just tuning in, Taco Chronicles on Netflix has me thinking WAY too much about tacos - or is that possible? I made carnitas a while back and they were delicious. I made them in a copper pot over an open fire in as traditional a manner as I was able.  I want to make barbacoa as close as possible to the traditional pit method as well without having to dig up the yard. I doubt my wife would approve. I have an out though - I think the wood oven is pretty close to a pit environment except I don’t have to bend over so much. Here’s a recipe I am using as a guide: 
https://patijinich.com/lamb_barbacoa_in_adobo/?epik=dj0yJnU9VnRaM2hpcjhvUkdRM3ZOSVhRVEhDai1tN24wSnUtSkgmbj0tQURfXzNoMWxlbmtRV3VUbllHT3R3Jm09MyZ0PUFBQUFBRjNHVmMw

Thursday evening I made the marinade for the meat. It has dried Ancho and Guajillo chilies, tomato, garlic, onion, oregano, cinnamon, allspice, cloves, S&P, vinegar, and olive oil.

On Friday evening about 9:30 PM I started the oven and went to work on the salsas.

My plan is to heat the oven and then let the heat come back down to temps appropriate for a long cook. Here’s a shot of me firing the oven:

While I had a good flame going I roasted all the tomatoes, tomatillos, peppers, garlic, and onions I needed for salsa. 

It was late last night so missed taking a few pics. Here are some from an earlier cook - one charred tomato looks like another, lol.

I made salsa negra and salsa verde.
Here are the recipes:
https://www.theyummylife.com/roasted_salsa_verde
http://https//theviewfromgreatisland.com/fire-roasted-salsa-negra-black-salsa/

Last thing before bed I put 8 pounds of chuck roast into the marinade. I’ll let it get happy overnight. 

Saturday...
So now I have to get all this in the oven. I’m planning on a 9 hour cook. I just sort of pulled that number out of my rear - it’s “overnight” isn’t it?
I started by peeling potatoes and chopping carrots and onions. All this plus garbanzo beans and (lots) of garlic go in the roasting pan. 

I cut a bunch of oregano because I have it. I cut some tarragon also. The recipe suggests avocado leaves as a seasoning and says it lends an anise type flavor to the dish - I think tarragon is similar - so there ya go.

I wrapped the herbs in cheesecloth so I could retrieve it later. All this plus beer and water S&P went in the roasting pan. 

Now for the meat...
I’ve never messed with banana leaves before. Holy sheet - they are big.

Now I’m into, “I don’t know what I’m doing, but I’m going to do it anyway” territory. I gotta wrap the meat and get it on the roasting rack.

Now it all gets wrapped in foil.

The package goes in the oven.

The oven is purring along at a little over 300 degrees. It will cool some throughout the day. I am cautiously optimistic that this cockeyed plan may actually work. 

We’ll know in about eight hours... Stay tuned.

FarmingPhD

Really cool, looking forward to the end result.  

JohnInCarolina

Epic.

kl8ton

It sure looks like you know what you are doing!   

alaskanassasin

Wow looks like fun, lots of components there.

BUFFALOMOOSE

Awesome thread and documentation. 

lkapigian

Heck Ya!!

JohnnyTarheel

You got me hooked.... 

ripperxxvi

Nice

buzd504

tick tock

shtgunal3

I’d like to be your neighbor

20stone

First, that is looking fantastic.

Second, I know that I am late to the dance.  I saw the preparatory post, but was on a plane, and don't do well with multi-paragraph responses using my thumbs, but here goes:

For me, there are three reasons to guide how to do a cook, and for me, I need at least 2 out of 3 to go to try a new method:

1. It gives you the best result (best taste, best texture) - You can make unbelievable barbacoa seasoning some trimmed beef cheeks in the sous vide, and hitting it with a quick sear to finish.  As others noted, a little smoke would be nice, so that adds to the mix, in this case
2. You get to learn something new - Somebody else's recipes or methods, particularly traditional methods (see - noggin/hole/fire) can be great to try, and can often apply to other cooks of unrelated dishes - Lots of value here
3. You get to do something over the top epic - Asado cross comes to mind.  Every now and then, it's fun to say, "Yes, I will take the flamethrower, the camel and the barrel of cumin"

When @caliking and I did our noggins in our "above ground pit", we were really shooting for all three, and did pretty well with it.  That being said, your fire roasted veggies are going to be a huge add.  Chuck vs cheek?  I probably do the cheek because of tradition, but the chuck is awesome (@CT's or otherwise).

As for the tongue, I am a big fan of SV, chop and saute (w additional seasoning).

More pics, please!

NorthPilot06

Looking forward to the result. Thanks for the long post and pictures!

smbishop

Thank you for sharing this cook, inspirational as always.  Waiting for the finish...

lousubcap

Wow, just wow!  Way to take on the challenge and then de  velop the plan complete with well-thought out options.  Standing by for an incredible finish I am sure.  Great documentation and magazine quality photos as well.  Dang!

Botch

I love these adventures!  

SciAggie

@20stone Learning something new was a big motivator here. That’s why I decided not to brown or smoke the meat before starting. I wanted to stay true to the pit methosd and find out what the steamed meat tastes like. Why not dig a pit? I decided to do it this way because the oven is sitting there. If I like how this turns out it won’t be hard to do it again. As for the meat - I went with chuck roast because rural Texas. I do have cheeks in the freezer but they will get smoked and finished in fat at a later date. 

This cook has actually been pretty easy as cooks go - just a lot that’s new to me. I’m anxious as well to see the result. I can tell you it is SMELLING great right now. 

caliking

This is already looking good!!

SciAggie

Fixin’ to make the tortillas...

smokingal

This just looks awesome!  What a way to forge ahead with your barbacoa idea.  Are the chuck roasts completely enclosed by the banana leaves or are they setup to allow the drippings to go into the vegetable pan?

SciAggie

smokingal said:

This just looks awesome!  What a way to forge ahead with your barbacoa idea.  Are the chuck roasts completely enclosed by the banana leaves or are they setup to allow the drippings to go into the vegetable pan?

They are loosely wrapped so the drippings can flavor the vegetables. 

SciAggie

Tortillas are ready. 

SGH

SciAggie said:

Fixin’ to make the tortillas...

How do you make your tortillas?

20stone

SciAggie said:

Why not dig a pit? I decided to do it this way because the oven is sitting there. 

... and that oven is a spectacle by itself.  Good call.

SciAggie said:

I went with chuck roast because rural Texas. I do have cheeks in the freezer but they will get smoked and finished in fat at a later date. 

Great call on both fronts.  It is an interesting flip when the junk cuts that people learned to make something out of (cheeks, oxtails, skirt steak, etc.) become in vogue and more expensive/harder to get than things like chuck.  I am pretty confident that whole noggin will continue to be reasonably priced.

Last, those tortillas look great.

Now, where's the meat?!

dbCooper

That is amazing! Thank you for posting. Very nice!

The Cen-Tex Smoker

Following intently. 

Mattman3969

You sir have my full attention.  Waiting patiently as I know this will turn out awesome.  

the_crease

Nice writeup and looking forward to the finish 

SciAggie

SGH said:

SciAggie said:

Fixin’ to make the tortillas...

How do you make your tortillas?

I use the Maseca corn flour at the local grocer. The only thing I do that’s not in the instructions is add some extra flavor. In these tortillas I added about 1 1/2 tsp of smoked paprika to the water I mixed into the flour. I’ve learned that adding hot water to the flour makes a difference. I cannot explain why - but it works better. 

SciAggie

Ok - time for the big reveal. The meat was tender and flavorful. But to be honest the vegetable broth was the star of the show. It had depth of flavor and everyone went back for seconds. 

SciAggie