Easy Slow Cooker Barbacoa: A Beginner’s Guide to Mexican-Style Shredded Beef
Barbacoa is a savory Mexican meat dish that is slow-cooked with spices in the pit. Traditional barbacoa was once cooked in underground pits, but home cooks can achieve this delicious dish with a slow cooker. Here’s a guide to preparing perfect barbacoa at home, with advice on serving, storing, and recycling leftovers.
Why Is Crockpot Barbacoa Such A Big Deal?
Place the barbacoa in your crockpot for an easy and delicious meal. When done right, it should be boiled down over many hours, leaving you with fork-tender, juicy beef that you can quite literally fall apart with a fork. Over the long cooking time, the meat takes on a fragrant combination of chiles, spices, and citrus.
I love that making barbacoa in a crockpot is so simple. You add your ingredients to the pot, set the timer, and let the machine do it. Eight to ten hours later, you’ll have delicious, tender meat ready to serve in tacos, burritos, or bowls.
This cooking method is ideal for busy families, meal preppers, and anyone throwing a gathering. You can start it in the morning and return home to a meal ready to eat or prep it overnight for the following day. The no-fuss cooking process is liberating while producing restaurant-quality results.
Choose The Right Meat For Barbacoa
It all starts with the proper cut of beef to make barbacoa well. Though traditional barbacoa can be made with different meats — including goat or lamb — beef is the most prevalent option for home cooks in the United States.
Chuck roast is your best bet for slow cooker barbacoa. This inexpensive cut comes from the shoulder region and has enough fat to cook the meat gently without drying it out. The connective tissue starts to break apart as you cook it slow and low for a tasty, tender meat.
Another fantastic choice is beef brisket, which has a strong flavor and a good proportion of meat to fat. Some cooks use beef cheeks (cachete) to get a more authentic experience because they break down so well with slow cooking. Whatever cut you choose, aim for well-marbled meat (streaks of fat throughout the meat) for the best results.
A 3-4 pound roast is suitable for a family meal. If you’re cooking for a crowd or want leftovers, consider using 5-7 pounds of meat, which may require two smaller roasts in your slow cooker.
The Secret Barbacoa Marinade
The marinade is what makes barbacoa unique. A good marinade hinges on smoky heat, citrus tang, warm spices, and flavor compounds that seep into the meat during cooking.
Dry chiles form the backbone of many barbacoa recipes. Pasilla chiles, which give an earthy flavor with mild to medium heat, are used in everyday Mexican recipes for mole. Many home cooks use canned chipotle peppers in adobo sauce for convenience; they bring heat and smokiness.
The acid is key to tenderizing the meat and cutting through flavor. Vinegar (often apple cider vinegar) and citrus juice (usually lime or lemon) are included in most recipes. Fresh garlic is key (some recipes use a whole head of garlic for complex, aromatic flavor).
The spices usually include cumin for earthiness, Mexican oregano for herbal notes, and sometimes cloves for warmth. The bay leaves introduce undercurrent complexity, and fresh cilantro helps brighten the concentrated flavors. Salt is essential to bring out all the other flavors and allow the meat to retain moisture.
How to Cook Barbacoa: Step-by-Step
Making barbacoa is simple; it’s done in a slow cooker, but details matter, and these steps will ensure optimal results. Here’s how to do it:
First, make your marinade by puréeing chipotle peppers (or dried chiles you’ve rehydrated), garlic, onion, lime juice, vinegar, and spices until smooth. Others season and salt the meat separately before the marinade goes on, allowing the meat to be more thoroughly seasoned.
Add your beef to the slow cooker next. For extra flavor, you could also sear the meat on all sides first in a hot pan, but that step is optional. Add the marinade over the meat to coat it well. Add the bay leaves and enough beef broth to almost cover the meat.
Cook in a slow cooker on low for 8-10 hours or on high for 5-6 hours. A low and slow process usually produces more tender results. It’s done when it pulls apart quickly with a fork and has reached that fall-apart tenderness for which barbacoa is known.
When the meat is cooked, please remove it from the slow cooker and shred it with two forks. Then, shred the meat and return it to the cooking liquid to keep it moist and flavorful until serving. The meat will keep soaking up flavors as it marinates in the juices.
How To Create The Perfect Barbacoa Tacos
Tacos de Barbacoa is the traditional way to eat this delicious meat. These straightforward street-style tacos allow the meat’s deep flavor to come through without too many competing ingredients.
For authenticity, begin with warm corn tortillas. You can blister them directly over a gas flame for a light char or warm them in a dry skillet to soften them and make them pliable. You can also use flour tortillas; that works, too.
Season the toppings and use fresh ingredients. Traditional barbacoa tacos are typically garnished simply with chopped onion, fresh cilantro, and a squeeze of lime juice—the rich meat pairs perfectly with the fresh toppings.
And if you like cheese, crumbled queso fresco or cotija will give it a salty, creamy bite that pairs perfectly with the spiced meat. Sliced radishes add a crunchy, peppery bite that balances the richness of the barbacoa.
Salsa is a must for many taco enthusiasts. Barbacoa loves a bright, acidic salsa verde or a fresh pico de gallo. Pickled jalapeños or spicy red salsa ups the ante for heat seekers.
Barbacoa: 3 Creative Ways To Use Leftovers
One of the great things about cooking a large batch of barbacoa is that leftovers are versatile. The meat remains highly seasoned for days and can be transformed into several meals.
Barbacoa burrito bowls are a popular choice. Serve the meat on a bed of rice and then top it with black or pinto beans and whatever you’d like: corn, avocado, cheese, or salsa. It’s one of the most filling meals I can think of.
Barbacoa also makes outstanding enchiladas, and its rich flavor enriches the stuffing. Roll the meat in corn tortillas, slather with red or green enchilada sauce and cheese, and bake until bubbling and golden. The beef is simmered to add depth to this classic dish.
Add barbacoa to scrambled eggs for a hearty breakfast. Serve in tortillas with avocado for breakfast tacos or the protein of choice for a breakfast burrito wrapped with egg, potato, and cheese.
Don’t let flavorful cooking liquid go to waste! Strain it and use it as a base for a wealthy Mexican beef stew, adding vegetables and even more shredded barbacoa to make it a meal. You can also use it to add flavor to rice by replacing some water with it.
How To Store and Freeze Your Barbacoa
Proper measurement retains the quality of your barbacoa for when you want to use it. When properly stored, the flavors intensify with time, making leftovers even more flavorful.
If storing in the refrigerator, transfer the barbacoa to airtight containers with some cooking liquid to keep it moist. It should remain usable for 4-5 days. For reheating, splash in water or broth to keep the meat from drying.
Barbacoa freezes incredibly well. Portion it into meal-type servings and freeze in freezer-safe containers or heavy-duty freezer bags. Always add cooking liquid with the meat—moisture is key to keeping it tender. Well wrapped, it will last up to four months in the freezer.
If thawing frozen barbacoa, transfer it to the refrigerator one day before using it. Reheat it on the stovetop or microwave, gently stirring frequently and adding liquid as needed to keep it from drying out.
Barbacoa is perfect for big gatherings or meal prep. You can prepare it days in advance and chill or freeze it weeks ahead. That make-ahead flexibility makes it ideal for planned festivities or laying in meal supplies to pull from your freezer.
Final Thought
Slow cooker barbacoa takes the deep flavor of Mexican cuisine and simplifies it for your home. Whether you serve it on its own, with potatoes, or even rice, it will always be as delicious as ever. It opens the door to having it as part of your usual dishes, making it worthy of taking a place in any home cook’s recipe book.
But barbacoa is also practical, beyond its delicious flavor. It serves a crowd economically, is suitable for more than one meal, and freezes beautifully. Hands-off cooking fits neatly into busy schedules, allowing you to create impressive meals without paying constant attention.
If you’re hosting a taco night, looking to meal-prep for the week, or want to level up your cooking skills, barbacoa is a fantastic option. Using only a slow cooker, some lovely ingredients, and a little patience, you can prepare a meal that will leave family and friends begging for seconds—and for your recipe.