Barbacoa

[pbe gummi bear]

Anyone in here know about Barbacoa? I had the one at Micklethwait's in Austin and it might have been one of the best BBQ things I've ever had in my life. Soooo, I'm looking to make some myself.


From http://burntmyfingers.com/2016/07/26/meet-micklethwait-meats/




The second reason is the barbacoa.... a dish that doesn't show up all that often in Texas BBQ places. The cook explained to me that slow-smoked beef cheeks are "comfitted in brisket fat" which is information you want to hide from your cardiologist. The result is incredibly tender, truly justifying the overused sobriquet melt-in-your-mouth, plus it's $2 per pound cheaper than brisket.

[XRichard23]

Central California native, of Mexican decent, so we have barbacoa often. Probably monthly in my house.  But holy crap I've never had it cooked in anything other than a slow cooker. That's just how it's always been made to me. Now I'm just realizing I can smoke the cheeks for hours on the grill! I'll be trying some variation of this dish very soon and I will update you.


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[SMOKE FREAK]

No beef cheeks around here...I have a recipe that marinates and smokes chuck roast as a reasonable alternative...We love!

[pbe gummi bear]

Central California native, of Mexican decent, so we have barbacoa often. Probably monthly in my house.  But holy crap I've never had it cooked in anything other than a slow cooker. That's just how it's always been made to me. Now I'm just realizing I can smoke the cheeks for hours on the grill! I'll be trying some variation of this dish very soon and I will update you.


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Hey @XRichard23, please share any recipes or tips you may have. i presume Barbacoa can be cooked in a similar way to Pepper Stout Beef, where you first smoke the chunk of meat, then braise it in the liquid.

[JDann24]

Town where my wife is from on Mexico, there's a dude who sells barbacoa tacos on the street for breakfast/lunch. Awesome fucking tacos man. I've done this and it's good, but not the same.

https://www.weber.com/US/en/blog/barbacoa-tacos-with-salsa-verde

[pbe gummi bear]

Town where my wife is from on Mexico, there's a dude who sells barbacoa tacos on the street for breakfast/lunch. Awesome fucking tacos man. I've done this and it's good, but not the same.

https://www.weber.com/US/en/blog/barbacoa-tacos-with-salsa-verde

Thanks for sharing that recipe, @JDann24. My intuition tells me that recipe leaves the meat severely underseasoned vs. what I'm looking for.

[GoAnywhereJeep]

Que interesante la barbacoa. Voy a hacer. Nunca prepare eso.


@JDann24 My wife is from a town near Guadalajara. Best street tacos are from her pueblo from a dude who operates a tiny cart on a street corner but he has very irregular hours and a day job.

[pbe gummi bear]

So I started going down this rabbit hole and found this recipe through a random post on egullet:

https://food52.com/recipes/2731-barbacoa-beef-cheek-tacos



Author Notes: I couldn't face a whole cow head ... so I made this with cheeks. The marinade turns into a thick, rich almost mole-like sauce ... delicious! —aargersi

Food52 Review: When we asked for "nose to tail" recipes, we didn't expect to see many universal crowd-pleasers, but aargersi's tacos are just that. The beef cheeks, marbled and melting after over three hours in the oven, absorb the various marinade components (spices, coffee, chili, peanut butter) and sing with freshness of the lime juice in which they're braised. Add a warm corn tortilla, some addictive pink pickled onions, a slab of avocado and a fistful of cilantro leaves, and you've got a taco fit for the toughest critic. Make sure to save any leftover onions! – A&M (less) —The Editors

Serves 6-8 (depends how many tacos each person can eat!)

Pickled Onions

1   red onion
1   tablespoon salt
2   tablespoons sugar
1/4   a beet
1   handful cilantro
1   part water
2   parts cider vinegar Slice the onions very thinly and put them in a microwaveable container. Add the beet, cilantro, salt and sugar. Cover everything with 1 part water to 2 parts vingar. microwave for 1 minute, stir, and microwave for another minute. Cool, then refridgerate overnight. The beet will turn it a really pretty hot pink color.
Barbacoa Beef Cheeks

2 1/2   pounds beef cheeks
4   cloves garlic
1   tablespoon natural peanut butter
1   ancho chili
1   teaspoon instant espresso
2   tablespoons olive oil (plus 2 more for cooking)
1   tablespoon honey
2   teaspoons cumin
1   teaspoon smoked sweet paprika
1   handful fresh cilantro
1   teaspoon salt
1   cup chicken broth (you can use beef too, I just had chicken on hand)
3   limes
1   avocado
Corn tortillas
Fresh cilantro Clean and trim the cheeks. Put them in a container that you can marinate them in. Remove the stem and seeds from the ancho, cut it up into chunks and rehydrate in a little water (I stick it in a ramekin and microwave for 30 seconds) Peel and chop the garlic. Put everything from the garlic to the salt in the food processor (including the water from the chili) and blend into a paste. Toss the paste with the cheeks and marinate for several hours or better yet over night. When it is time to cook, heat the oven to 275, and heat 2 tbs olive oil in a dutch oven. Brown the cheeks on both sides. Use the broth to rinse the rest of the marinade into the dutch oven, then squeeze the juice of 3 limes in. Bake at 275 for 3 1/2 hours - turn the cheeks over once or twice while they cook and if the liquid dries up add a bit more broth When the cheeks are fall-apart tender, take the pan out of the oven. Using 2 forks, pull the meat apart in the pan so that it mixes in with all of that fatty juicy goodness. To serve - heat 2 tortillas (I like to double wrap the taco as they are juicy). Fill with barbacoa, a slice of avocado, some of pickled onions and fresh cilantro. Serve and enjoy!!!

This is the most interesting recipe I've found so far but I'll keep digging.

[Bubblehead]

Like you mentioned earlier, I just treat them like PSB.  I just use different spices.

That recipe above looks fantastic!

[hawgheaven]

No beef cheeks around here...I have a recipe that marinates and smokes chuck roast as a reasonable alternative...We love!

No beef cheeks here also. Share that chuckie recipe please!!!

[Mike in Roseville]

So a lot of head meat I've had from a cow tastes very similar (ojo, cachete, cabeza, even lengua). The texture is a little different, but I would say if you can't find cheeks then a chuck roast or brisket point is where you want to be got a similar texture/fat content.

Some barbacoa at taco shops is very simply seasoned (think salt, pepper, garlic and maybe some msg) then steamed/braised. The added flavors come from the toppings and salsas offered.

Other places definitely up the seasoning a little to include some chile, citrus, and or sweetness. However, most keep the seasoning simple to let the beef flavor shine through.

I would say use something like "It's Incredible," Suzie Q's, or Killer Hogs AP Rub as a good foundation and then add a few things after that to suit. Smoke for a few hours, then braise in a combination of Beef broth and water....or water with some beef bullion added.

The smoke from the pit and a spritz of apple juice will help with color and depth of flavor without seeming too far out of place.


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