Delicious, easy slow cooker beef barbacoa cooks all day while you work or lounge or whatever, and it's ready for you at dinner time with tons of flavor and almost no effort.
I have been on a mission to learn how to use my slow cooker to make delicious food that doesn't have that "slow cooker" taste. My first success at this was my Company-Worthy Slow Cooker Beef Stew, and as much as I love it, beef stew just isn't a "Summer" meal for me.
One of the major benefits of using a Crock Pot ( slow cooker, whatever ), is that it doesn't turn my 1960's Split-Level home into a walk-in oven like my second-floor kitchen does.
Yep, the main kitchen is on the second story of my house. Efficient. So, if it's hot enough to want to avoid heating up my whole house, it's just too hot to be eating stick-to-your-ribs stew!
Cue barbacoa: delicious, juicy shredded meat stewed down in a flavorful, spicy sauce. I know, I know; it doesn't sound particularly light, but barbacoa is not a meal: it's a meat.
Delicious, delicious meat.
Make this on a Monday, and have tacos on Fresh, Homemade Corn Tortillas, with chopped onions and tomatoes, topped with shredded lettuce that night. Tuesday, make burrito bowls with all of your favorite toppings. Wednesday, make crisp taco salads with the leftover burrito bowl ingredients. If there's anything left on Thursday, whip up some quesadillas, with an avocado salad on the side.
BOOM. One crock pot. Five minutes of prep. Almost a week of delicious, easy (oven-free!) meals. You really can't beat it!
📖 Recipe
Slow Cooker Barbacoa
Ingredients
- 2.5 to 3 lb chuck roast cut into 2-inch chunks
- 5 cloves garlic minced
- 2 chipotle peppers in adobo sauce chopped
- 1 4-ounce can chopped green chiles
- 1 small onion finely chopped (about 1 cup)
- ¼ cup fresh lime juice about 3 limes of juice
- 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
- 3 bay leaves
- 1 Tablespoon ground cumin
- 1 Tablespoon dried oregano
- 2 teaspoons salt
- 1 teaspoon black pepper
- ¼ tsp ground cloves
- ½ cup beer
Instructions
- Put all of the ingredients, except for the beer, into the crockpot.
- Toss to coat.
- Pour beer on top of everything.
- Put the lid on the crockpot, set to low, and cook for approximately 7 to 8 hours.
- Shred the meat, and leave in the crockpot for at least 15 minutes, or until ready to serve. I left mine shredded in the pot with the cooker set on "warm" for almost an hour and a half and it was still delicious.
Vivi says
It is so clear to what the real teast is. What a delicious barbacoa. It was super easy to make. The family is please and so do I.
Tania Costigan says
Can I double the recipe and just double all the ingredients? Looks so delicious!!!
Lisa says
I have made this recipe multiple times for dinners with a group of friends. It serves a lot of people and is always a big hit. It's especially tasty topped with some guac. The beer is also a fun edition when cooking, usually it only uses half a beer so that means I get to drink the rest while I wait for the tacos ;).
Jessica says
just made this with cauliflower instead of the chuck roast because i am a vegetarian. it already smells good. i dont know if i can wait 8 hours to try it!
Randi says
I'm making this for the second time tomorrow night. The family loves it! I make it, as directed, and serve it street taco style on corn tortillas with fresh guacamole and crumbled queso fresco on top. Delicious! Thanks!