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Slow Cooker Barbacoa

BySamantha Skaggs February 9, 2021

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Barbacoa is a delicious addition to tacos, burritos, rice bowls, salads, and more...and this easy, succulent, slow cooker version is bursting with chipotles, garlic, cilantro, & Mexican spices!

I don't know about your house, but tacos are always a welcome dinner 'round these parts. So are burritos, enchiladas, quesadillas, tostadas...the list goes on. Lucky for us, those are exactly a few of the things that can be made with our favorite juicy, succulent Slow Cooker Beef Barbacoa! This Barbacoa is even fabulous sprinkled over salads or rice bowls, à la the ever-popular Chipotle restaurant chain. In fact, I've had numerous comments over the years that this Barbacoa recipe is actually better than Chipotle's...

Regardless of how you choose to enjoy it, this juicy, melt-in-your-mouth beef is just brimming with flavor thanks to fresh garlic, cilantro, and lime, Mexican spices, and spicy chipotles in adobo. And such a tasty Barbacoa would be happy to play a starring role in all of your Tex-Mex favorites!

I've previously shared my effortless slow cooker chicken taco filling with y'all. I've also already posted a recipe for slow cooker pork carnitas. So it's only fitting that today, we're talking crock pot beef, baby. Not just simple, Mexican-inspired Shredded Beef, but Barbacoa!

"Americanized" Barbacoa

Original Barbacoa recipes were often made using beef cheeks and cooked all day in a pit in the ground. Speaking for myself, I can't find beef cheeks at my local grocery store. And my husband might get irritated if I dig up the flowerbeds for a cooking pit. 😉

So I created an admittedly Americanized version of this recipe starting with a big hunk of beef that's easy to find...AKA, a chuck roast. And it's cooked all day in crock pot that I happily do not have to tend.

No, I am not claiming that this recipe is authentic. But I promise that doesn't mean it's not delicious!

Ingredients

Allow me to go over a few notes regarding some of the more notable ingredients in this recipe:

Chuck roast. I've actually made this recipe with various cuts of beef roast over the years (shoulder, rump, top or bottom round, even a brisket), but I always come back to chuck roast. Because of its marbling, I just think chuck roast yields the juiciest, most tender beef when slow cooked in a crockpot. I don't worry too much about the extra marbling because I always remove and discard any fat during the shredding step. I also skim melted fat from the cooking liquid before adding back the meat.
Chipotles in adobo. If you've never bought chipotles in adobo, I'm talking about a little can of dried, smoked jalapeños soaking in a spicy red sauce. You should be able to find them in the Mexican foods section of the ethnic foods aisle in your grocery store. Chipotles in adobe are packed with heat and flavor, and a little bit goes a long way.
However, in a recipe like this where you're seasoning a lot of meat, you shouldn't have to be too conservative. If you're worried about too much spice, use just one pepper plus a spoonful of adobo sauce the first time you make this recipe. At that amount, you should get flavor...but nobody's mouth will catch on fire. If you think you can handle the heat, however, feel free to toss in three or four chipotles plus a couple spoonfuls of sauce.
Cilantro. The flavor of the cilantro doesn't come through too strong after slow cooking with the beef all day. So I highly recommend using additional fresh cilantro to garnish your tacos (or however you plan to eat your Barbacoa) before serving.
Beer + beef broth. As for whether or not you have to use beer in this recipe...no, you do not. I feel like beer adds a distinctive depth of flavor to this Barbacoa, so I like using a 50/50 combo of beef broth and beer. But you can certainly use all beef broth instead. If you do use beer, however, please use a Mexican beer. And, if you have the option, darker is better. I typically use Negra Modelo. Coors Light just won't cut it in this recipe...no offense to Coors Light.

How to Make It

It's hard to believe that a few simple steps can yield such delectable, flavorful beef.

Puree together fresh garlic, cilantro, chipotles in adobo, lime juice, and spices. Season your roast and slather it with the chipotle mixture.
Place the coated roast in a crock pot and pour in some beef broth and Mexican beer.
After slow cooking all day, your beef will be fall-apart tender. Shred it and return the meat to its juices to soak up even more flavor.

And then present your delicious platter of Barbacoa center-stage at the dinner table! Prepare yourself for groans of culinary delight as everyone digs in.

Ways to Enjoy Barbacoa

I'll be honest in that we almost always initially eat this slow cooker supper as tacos. But here is a full array of ideas for enjoying your Barbacoa (as a stuffing or as a topping) on the first day, or on subsequent days as leftovers:

Tacos
Burritos
Enchiladas
Quesadillas
Tostadas
Rice Bowls
Salads

I've even piled this meat on a sandwich roll and dipped the whole shebang in the cooking liquid for a Mexican spin on a French Dip Au Jus!

So have I convinced y'all to try my version of Slow Cooker Barbacoa? I can promise you that it's simply scrumptious.

Besides, who needs Chipotle when you can just wake up, toss a few ingredients in your crockpot, and ultimately stuff your face with as many glorious tacos as you so desire?

Sounds like a plan to me.

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