Authentic Mexican Barbacoa Recipe: mastering the street food flavor

Street food stalls in Mexico are a weekend staple. Sundays are filled with makeshift setups in people’s garages, where they serve up mouthwatering Barbacoa tacos.

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Near my parent’s house in Chihuahua, Mexico, a neighbor named Charito would convert her garage into a makeshift eatery, and we would gather as a family to devour delicious Barbacoa tacos with ice-cold Coca-Cola and a good salsa taquera picosa on top.

Barbacoa is surprisingly easy to make at home, and I’ve perfected this recipe over time to rival Charito’s street tacos.

My kids love it, and so do their friends. I remember serving homemade Barbacoa tacos at a Día de los Muertos party for my kids, and they were blown away. With left over barbacoa you can also make torta de barbacoa or even burritos de barbacoa with avocado! I f you love Mexican street food try this authentic Birria de Chivo recipe.

In Mexico, Authentic Mexican Barbacoa is traditionally cooked in pits dug into the ground or open fire, where the meat is shielded from the fire with maguey leaves, imparting incredible flavor. The slow cooking process allows the flavors to penetrate, making this Mexican delicacy a staple at weddings, quinceañeras, and family gatherings.

I’ll share the easy Barbacoa recipe with different cooking methods: Instant Pot, slow cooker, pressure cooker, crock pot, stovetop, or in a slow cooker, whichever works best for you. I always opt for the Instant Pot for its speed and delicious results.

Beef Barbacoa Recipe Ingredients

• 2 guajillo peppers
• 1 Red hot chili (chile de arbol)
• ½ teaspoon of Cumin
• ½ teaspoon of dried Mexican Oregano
• ½ white onion
• 5 garlic cloves
• ½ tablespoon Salt
• 6 whole black pepper
• 3 Bay leaves
• 1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
• 2.5 pounds of beef. Here are some beef options you can choose from: shank, beef chuck roast, or beef brisket. 
• 2 cups water.

Tip:

• Mix several kinds of beef for barbacoa meat for a surprising texture and flavor.
• I prefer beef shank for a leaner option and chuck roast for an indulgent Barbacoa.

How to Make Barbacoa Step-by-Step

Step 1. Start by quickly toasting the guajillo and red chilies on a hot griddle for about 3 seconds on each side. Be quick, as they burn easily. If they burn, use fresh ones. Why toast chiles? If you expose chiles to the heat, they expel some oils that enhance the flavor.

Step 2. Blend all the toasted ingredients with oregano, cumin, salt, black peppercorns, bay leaves, apple cider vinegar, and 1 cup of water until smooth. This will be our adobo sauce.

Step 3. Place the meat in an airtight container, marinate the meat, and refrigerate overnight with the barbacoa sauce for enhanced flavor. If you’re short on time, don’t worry; it’ll still be tender and delicious without marinating (most times I just make it right away and is still fantastic).

Step 4. Place the meat and marinade in the Instant Pot, then activate the Meat/Stew function and let it cook.

Step 5. Once done, let the meat cool slightly and shred it. Here’s a secret: for authentic street tacos, fry the shredded beef in a pan with the same fat that is on top of the leftover broth.

Instant Pot Barbacoa

Place the meat and marinade in the Instant Pot, then activate the Meat/Stew function and let it cook. If after cooking the beef is not tender yet set again the same option and let it cook longer.

Slow Cooker Barbacoa

Follow all the recipe instructions, add the bay leaves, and cook on low for 8-9 hours.

Pressure Cooker Barbacoa

Place the meat and marinade in the pressure cooker, add the bay leaves, close the lid, and pressure cook on high pressure for 60 minutes. Make sure you let release the valve for a couple of minutes before the pressure cooker.

Stove Top Barbacoa

If you’re making Mexican barbacoa on the stovetop, add an extra cup of water when blending the ingredients. Place the beef and marinade in the pot and bring it to a boil. Once the marinade starts boiling, cover the pot and reduce the heat to low. The cooking time will vary depending on the cut of beef you’re using, but it typically takes between 3 hour and 3 1/2 hours for the meat to become fully tender.

What to do with the broth?

Did you know that some regions of Mexico serve the barbacoa in the broth just like birria is served?  In Chihuahua, we have it dry and we have the broth apart. So to make a garbanzo barbacoa broth soup follow these instructions:

• Add to the barbacoa broth 5 cups of water
• 5 sticks of fresh cilantro
• ½ teaspoon salt and taste to add more to taste if needed.
• ½ onion
• 1 can chickpeas aka garbanzo
• a couple of chile de arbol if you want it spicy.
• Now set the Instant Pot in the soup cooking option., if you are making thin on the stovetop just let it boil all together for 20 minutes.
• When you serve it sprinkle some chopped cilantro, and fresh onion on top! do not forget to squeeze some lime into it.

Did you know that there are different kinds of barbacoa? 

It is the same barbacoa but sometimes it will be promoted as barbacoa de cachete (beef cheeks), barbacoa de cabeza (beef head) and you can choose of what part of the cow or goat you want your tacos! yes, tacos de chivo, aka goat are also very popular!

Popular Toppings for Barbacoa Tacos:

Get ready for your taco night with warm tortillas and this Authentic Mexican Taco Toppings. Do you know how we warm up tortillas in Mexico?

• Fresh cilantro
• fresh lime juice or lime wedges
• red onions al escabeche
• chopped onion
• hot sauce
• Salsa verde
• Salsa Roja
• Pico de gallo

I have seen people in the US adding queso fresco or sour cream on top. You can do that if you like it, but it is not the way we eat in Mexico. I can’t think of an authentic Mexican taco with sour cream on top, if you are making hard shell tacos there things change, that would be the equivalent of having tostadas and tostadas do call for sour cream on top.

Left over Barbacoa? Prepare these recipes!

• Tacos de Barbacoa
• Torta de Barbacoa