Last updated on September 27th, 2017 at 05:45 pm
This Chipotle Shredded Beef Barbacoa is incredibly flavorful and delicious! Beef is cooked low and slow in a bold and spiced chipotle braising mixture until fork tender!
This Spicy Chipotle Shredded Beef Barbacoa is amazing! Enjoy this restaurant favorite dish at home any time! Great served with rice and tortillas. Great filling for burritos, tacos, enchiladas or served on top of salads!
It’s no secret that everyone loves Chipotle’s Beef Barbacoa. My oldest son loves it so much we found ourselves at the popular restaurant twice a week. He is a teenager and can eat like 4 grown men, so after a quick look at my monthly “eating out” budget, I realized I should figure out how to cook this dish at home.
That task was actually not too hard; the restaurant is very transparent when it comes to their list of ingredients; not to mention you can find as many copycat recipes online as there are beans in a burrito! After some tweaking and practice, we can now enjoy this slow braised, tender, spicy, full-flavored dish at home.
When we moved to the South, my son started telling his friends about the wonderful Mexican cuisine we enjoyed in Southern California and of course he told everyone how his mom could make Spicy Chipotle Shredded Beef Barbacoa just like the restaurant. Even though they have Chipotle in the South, all his friends were all excited to try my version.
We serve this barbacoa either in a bowl with rice and beans or in a burrito – yes! You guessed right ~ with rice and beans!
I also found myself bringing it to potlucks as the flavors improve with time, so cook it today and serve it tomorrow; it’s perfect for easy entertaining!
Let’s start with the spices, cumin, oregano, cloves and bay leaves together with fresh garlic cloves, chipotle chiles, lime juice and apple cider vinegar. All but the bay leaves go into a small food processor or a blender. The result is a spicy and tasty braising concoction that will make the beef so very happy!
And then, there’s the beef….
Oh the beef! Big chunks of chuck roast are seared until golden…… am I the only one super excited about perfectly golden seared beef??
Then you add the spice concoction, some broth and bay leaves and let it cook slowly for a few hours – or you can put everything in a crock pot and cook it on low for about 8 hours.
Kathy’s Notes
- You must sear your meat! The extra minutes spent on this step will add depths of flavor impossible to achieve any other way (browning/searing the meat creates a Maillard reaction that adds extra flavor)
- I remove the seeds from the chipotle peppers because I find that it takes away the harshness (super heat) of the chiles.
- Check out these other wonderful stews:
Chile Colorado Beef Stew
Beef Stew in Red Wine
Southwestern Chicana Chicken
Chicken Cacciatore - I use a Dutch oven to cook my beef. There is one for every budget. Check both here and here and since I am a sucker for Dutch ovens, here’s a third option.
This Chipotle Shredded Beef Barbacoa is incredibly flavorful and delicious! Beef is cooked low and slow in a bold and spiced chipotle braising mixture until fork tender!
- 1/3 cup apple cider vinegar
- 3 tablespoons freshly squeezed lime juice
- 3-4 chipotle peppers in adobo sauce plus 2 teaspoons of the adobo sauce
- 4 garlic cloves, chopped
- 4 teaspoons ground cumin
- 2 teaspoons dried oregano
- 1 teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1 ½ teaspoons salt
- ½ teaspoon ground cloves
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 4 lbs chuck roast
- salt and pepper to taste
- ¾ cup chicken broth
- 3-4 bay leaves
- To a small food processor or blender, add the vinegar, lime juice, chipotle peppers, adobo sauce, garlic, cumin, oregano, black pepper, salt and cloves. Puree on high speed until smooth.
- Trim the extra fat from the meat and cut it into big chunks. Season the meat lightly with salt and pepper.
- In a large heavy bottom pot or a Dutch oven over medium high heat, heat up the oil. Add the meat in batches and sear until golden brown.
- Return all the meat to the pot and add the spicy braising mix over it. Add the broth and the bay leaves. Mix well to combine. Cover the pot and turn the heat to low. Simmer for 4-5 hours or until the meat flakes easily; giving it a stir every 30 minutes during the cooking process.
- Turn off the heat and shred the meat with a couple of forks (it should be tender enough to flake easily).
- Before serving, let the shredded meat simmer over low heat for about 15 extra minutes.
Things You May Need
Mini Prep Plus Food Processor
Chipotle Peppers in Adobo Sauce
Ground Cumin
Bay Leaf
I made this Barbacoa recipe and it’s easy to make, easy to follow recipe and Super DELICIOUS!!!
So glad to hear!! Thank you