Traditionally a Sunday morning treat, but barbacoa is great any morning. Barbacoa can be for the more adventurous, but a real treat none-the-less. I do not recommend substituting the cheek meat with roast, it won’t taste right. Barbacoa has a certain gelatinous slide and tack that is the hallmark of the genre. Serve on tortillas with hot sauce and chopped cilantro.
Ingredients:
- 3 pounds beef cheek meat
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- ¼ cup salt
- 2 teaspoons ground cumin
- ground black pepper to taste
- 2 cups water, or more as needed
- ½ yellow onion, halved and thickly sliced
- 3 cloves garlic, chopped
Directions:
Coat beef cheek meat with olive oil. Rub salt, cumin, and pepper into meat. Wrap meat in aluminum foil and refrigerate, 4 hours to overnight.
Pour water into a slow cooker.
Arrange onion and garlic around beef cheek meat in the aluminum foil. Wrap foil tightly around meat and vegetables. Add a second sheet of aluminum foil around meat mixture, sealing tightly; place in the slow cooker.
Cook on Low, adding more water if it has evaporated, until meat is very tender, 7 to 8 hours. Remove foil packet from slow cooker and shred meat using 2 forks.
Preparation time: 10 mins
Cook time: 7 hrs
Total time: 11 hrs 10 mins
Servings: 12 – Yield: 12 servings
Nutrition:
Calories:316.4