Description
This barbacoa recipe is simple to make in your slow cooker, and makes the most tender, flavorful, delicious barbacoa beef.
Ingredients
Scale
- 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.
I see you have been informed that this recipe is not what we call Barbacoa. We use the head, the cheeks and tongue. This recipe that you have is for a roast with Mexican spices. My recipe is very simple and only takes 3 hours in the crock pot. It would be nice if you could find the right recipe. Nonetheless, I’m going to try your recipe since it looks delicious.
Thanks Elvira — we hope you enjoy it! :)
I grew up in Wichita and Pizza Hut, Felipes, and Dog & Shake were always my favorite places to eat. So funny to come across this post when searching for a new twist on tacos. I moved to NY in 2009 and always get a warm fuzzy feeling when Wichita is brought up. Apparently thus recipe was meant to be….in my tummy. Lol.
Haha! We hope you love it Mandi! :)
Really great recipe! I grew up eating Barbacoa made very similar to this , with the same spices. Never had it made with head, though. I’ve definitely had tacos de cabeza, but it was never called barbacoa. My very distant cousins use goat instead of beef, but still, they use same spices used in this recipe. Pretty good.
Thanks for sharing with us Cynthia!
Best thing I’ve eaten in a while. So, so delicious!! Had this with corn tortillas and homemade roasted tomatillo salsa. Thank you!!!
Thanks Luis — we’re happy you enjoyed it! :)
I wanma tey this recipe soon. What brand of Chipotle in adobo sauce do you recommend? Also do you mean 2 cans of the Chipotle or just 2 pieces?
Thanks .
Hi Brandi! Just two peppers, not two cans (there are several that come in each can). :) We tend to use Embasa or Goya brands. WE hope you enjoy! :)
Made this the other night. It was fantastic. The only substitute I did was add 3 heaping tablespoons of Ancho Chile powder in place of the Chipotle in adobo. Worked great. The acid ratios are excellent in this recipe. Sauce was a great combo. Thanks for a great recipe. I used a high quality grass fed chuck roast.
Awesome Kristine, we’re glad to hear that! :D
This was SO delicious!!! I did 3 Chipotle peppers and a few spoonfuls of the sauce because we like spice and it was seriously so good!! I did about 7 hours on low in the crockpot and it was so tender and shredded perfectly! I made it last week for dinner and my husband has requested it again this week!! Thanks for a great recipe!!
Thanks Kelsey! We’re happy you and your husband liked it! :D
For the Barbacoa recipe, you state in the directions to mix all ingredients in the crock pot and when fully cooked add the juices for and extra 10 mins.
Could you be more specific on the directions?
I do not know if you mix all 14 ingredients together that is listed and at the end add the juices again like the beef broth, apple cider vinegar, and lime juice. I’m a little confused.
Hi Mireya! For this recipe, we literally mean combine all of the ingredients in the slow cooker. The direction about the juices just means to shred the beef (after its cooked) and toss it with all of the juices that from everything already int he crockpot. Make sense? We hope you enjoy!
I want to make this today with a chuck roast that is just a little over 2lbs. We like heat but not over bearing where it’s Hot. Do you recommend adding all the same measurements as the recipe calls for the 3lb? Perhaps one Chipotle pepper?
Hi Ruth! If you’re on the fence about the heat, you can just do one chipotle pepper. If you feel like it could use more heat (once you’ve tasted it), you can always mix in a little of the chipotle pepper sauce. :) We hope you enjoy!
this was excellent! made it last night with some homemade adobo sauce, then picked up some chipotles in adobo on the way home and added them for the last hour or two. After 6+ hrs on low the meat was still solid, so turned it up to high for a couple of hours and it melted apart! shredded up and just enjoyed as Easter Sunday lunch! Thanks!
Thanks Marbella — we’re glad you enjoyed this! :D
I love the al pastor recipe and want to try Barbacoa. What type of canned green chilies do you use? My chipotles in adobo are usually la Morena but I don’t think they sell canned green chilies. Is it the same as canned chopped jalapeños? Thanks!
Hi David! The canned green chiles are different from the canned chopped jalapeños. We usually buy Old El Paso. We hope you enjoy! :)
Has anyone ever used Venison
Soooo easy and yummy. Great recipe.
Thanks Jennifer — we’re glad you’re a fan! :)
I’m cooking for a big gathering. Can this be made in an electric roaster oven? If so, at what temp and how long? I plan to triple the recipe.
Thank you!
Hi Mimi! We don’t have an electric roaster oven, so we aren’t familiar with them. We suspect you could try this recipe in one, but since we haven’t tried it ourselves, we can’t vouch for how it would turn out. It looks like electric roaster ovens can get much hotter than slow cookers, but we would think if you set it to 250 for 3-4 hours (or until the beef is tender and falls apart with a fork), that might work. Sorry we don’t know for sure!
I am a Texan but live in another state. This recipe is the closest thing I have had to really wonderful barbecoa, without having to go to Texas. I will be using this as a base for many dishes! Thank you for posting this!
What a wonderful compliment Teresa, thank you! We hope you enjoy this!
Love love LOVE this recipe! (And so does my boyfriend) I’ve made this 3 times already, once to try it, and another for a little get together at my house. After trying it the first time, my boyfriend couldn’t get enough so I decided to do it again the next day but with chicken. And of course, no leftovers after the party! Can’t wait to make it again sometime.
Thanks for sharing Suzann! We’re so happy you and your boyfriend love this! :D
Hey Haley! I just bought some grass fed beef country style ribs tonight, and after researching A Lot of recipes, I found yours and it totally “spoke” to me!! I can’t wait to make these this weekend! Thanks in advance for the recipe!
Hi Julie! This is actually Ali’s blog and recipe — I just help with comments. :) But we’re happy you’re able to give this a try, and we hope you love it as much as we do! :)
Hi! I’ve made this before and it was delicious! I’m making a dish for my nephews party and they already have chicken and beef dishes. Do you think this recipe will still be super delish subbing in pork for the roast?? I know you have the carnita recipe, but I have all of these ingredients and know I like the sauce.
Hi Stephanie! We haven’t tried that ourselves, but we bet it would work! We would recommend trying a pork shoulder. Let us know how it goes if you give it a try! :)
Shout out from Derby, KS! Interested to try this (with adaptations, as I am unfortunately allergic to garlic and onions). I don’t care what you call it as long as it tastes good. ;)
Hi Lisa! We hope you enjoy this! :)
I love how this came out! It was awesome! Next time i’ll add a few more chiptoles to add more spice!
We’re so happy you enjoyed it Kenya! :)
Hi!
Since I don’t have the canned green chilis, should I substitute fresh chopped jalapeno? Any guidance would be great.
Thanks,
Janice
Hi Janice! Hmmm, the chopped jalapeño might be a bit too spicy, but if you don’t use all of the seeds, we think it might work okay.
Great recepie. I made it for dinner tonight and my husband said that he had won the lottery. I searved the tacos with chopped onions, cilantro and avacado-jalapeño salsa. Easy and delish.
Thanks Toni! We’re so happy you and your husband enjoyed this! :)
This sounds so amazing
I think y’all may have just helped me snag a husband! Made this tonight for the guy I like and to say he loved it is an understatement! It was SO delicious! I paired it with chips and guac and a Mexican Street Corn Salad!
Awwww we’re so happy it was a hit, Carrie! And we think that Mexican street corn salad sounds AMAZING — good idea! :D
This made me laugh! I am also originally from the Wichita area, and I worked two summers in a warehouse stuffing Book-it packets! Glad you enjoyed your pizzas growing up. ?. This recipe looks fabulous, and I look forward to giving it a try.
The real Mexican barbacoa is made from beef cheeks. You will never make it from a roast again .i promise you.
Hi I had a question about the serving size. When it says 8-12 servings does that mean one taco per person (8-12) tacos or is it a couple tacos for each serving.
Also the chilli in adobo sauce is very hard to find. Do you have an alternative I can use?
This recipe looks delicious.
Thank you!
That means about one taco per person, depending on how much meat you add to your taco of course. :)
And if you can’t find chiles in adobo, you might try purchasing some chipotle chili powder that you could use instead. (If it’s not available at your local grocery store, you can order it online.) The extra smokiness of the chipotle chilies is delicious!
I made this a few months ago and then froze the leftovers. It was even better as leftovers. I’ve eaten a lot of Texmex barbacoa and this is the best I’ve ever eaten! And I’m a San Antonio native of Texas.
We’re so glad you enjoyed it, Laura! :)
this is not barbacoa it may be good but barbacoa is cheek meat try the real thing you will know the difference
Thank you for sharing this recipe WITHOUT cow head and its parts! So awesome that I already have all the ingredients for this in my pantry, however I’m using grass fed sirloin tip roast (because that’s what I have defrosted). We’ll see how it turns out….
We hope you enjoy it as much as we do, Karen! :)
The real barbacoa meat is ‘cheek meat” and in the crock pot. This is the Mexican type. Try it and you will never make it from chuck again .
O’ when making it from ‘ cheek meat’ drop some garlic into the crock pot! If any body makes it like this, let us know if you liked it
I use cheek meat with this recipe and it is delicious! My family loves it.
Thanks for sharing, Jordan, we’re so glad to hear that!
I made this a few nights ago and it was bomb! I have been eating the left overs the last few days and am sad it’s gone. I will have to make more soon! Thanks for the great recipe.
Thanks, Heather — we’re so glad you enjoyed it! :)
I forgot to buy apple cider vinegar. Will it turn out just as good?
Hi Meghan! Yes, completely — we hope you enjoy! :)
I’m cooking this right now, and it’s coming out really spicy. Is there anything I can add to tame down the hotness?
Oh no, we’re so sorry! This shouldn’t be too spicy, but you could try adding a little sugar, vinegar, or lime/lemon juice to try and tone it down some. We hope this helps!
This was absolutely delicious! I used stew meat that I had in the freezer and cooked on high for 4 hours. My whole family loved it! Thanks.
We’re so happy you and your family enjoyed it, Kerry! :D
Can i use an arm roast in place of the chuck roast?
We’ve never tried that Casey, so we can’t say for sure, however we think it should probably work!
Can I use pork instead?
We haven’t tried this particular recipe with pork, so we can’t say for sure how it would turn out (we think it should work), but we do have a carnitas recipe you might wanna check out! We hope you enjoy!
Thank you for the great recipe! We made it today and it was delicious. I put extra chilis and it was SPICY!!!
We’re happy you enjoyed it, Julie!
I made this several months ago and it was absolutely delicious… It’s one of the few “experiment” meals my husband has asked me to make again ! I made it yesterday with a shoulder roast from the deer my husband killed a couple weeks ago and it was even better!! Note for anyone wishing to use venison instead of beef: The cooking time is much quicker with venison and can vary due to age of the animal, but mine was ready in 5 hours cooked on low.
We’re so glad you and your husband enjoy the recipe, Molly! :)
Hi,
Can I use whole cloves instead of ground? Or will the taste be overpowering?
Hi Ella! We definitely recommend mincing the garlic for this. We hope you enjoy the recipe!
Hi i want to make this insted off cidar vinager can i use white vinager?
Hi Ariana! We haven’t tried this with white vinegar, but we think that should work okay. We hope you enjoy!
I was looking for a LC dish to make for a Spanish class potluck and this fits! I will be making in a few weeks. Thank you so much!
P.S. I thought I was the only one that remembered Book-it!
That’s awesome, Rita — we wish you luck! :)
Do you know how many calories per serving this would be?
Hi Shelley! We’re sorry but we are unsure of the nutrition facts/amount of calories in this recipe. We currently are not publishing nutrition facts on the site, as the nutrition calculators available are not 100% accurate, and we never want to publish anything that might be misleading. However, a lot of our readers love the My Fitness Pal nutrition calculator, so feel free to try that for an estimate. We hope that helps!
I made this this evening, exactly as it is written. It was AMAZING!!!! My husband and I both loved it. We will be keeping this recipe and telling others about it. Thank you so much for sharing it. :)
Thank you, Jessica — we’re so happy you and your husband enjoyed it!
Delicious!
Thanks for the recepie. Today I’ m in the kitchen , this si muy thirth ….
We’re glad you enjoyed it!
I love this recipe! I’ve made it about 5 times. It’s delicious every time!
We’re so happy to hear that, Jen!
This is the worst recipe I’ve had in decades. Do not make. Followed the recipe exactly. Dry. Tasteless. Overcooked.
We’re sorry this didn’t work for you, Lindsay.
Hello! I have a question before I make an attempt at making this. I’ve read that if you use the two chipotle chilis vs just using the sauce they come in, that it’ll be way too spicy. Did you use both chilis and the sauce or just the sauce/chilis? :)
Hi Jacky! We used 2 chipotles (not 2 cans of chipotles). We didn’t use any of the sauce in the can they come in, but if you wanted this to be spicier, you definitely could! :)
I love it well great coking