🌮 Barbacoa tacos

Name: Barbacoa tacos
Total time: 240 min
Yield: 6
Cuisine: Mexico · Central Mexico
Ingredients: 1.2 kg beef chuck or cheek, cut into large pieces; 3 dried guajillo chillies and 1 ancho chilli, seeded; 1 onion, halved, plus 1 onion, finely chopped, to serve; 5 garlic cloves; 1 tsp ground cumin, 1 tsp dried oregano, 3 cloves, 2 bay leaves; 2 tbsp vinegar and salt; 12–18 small tortillas; A bunch of fresh cilantro, chopped; Salsa: 3 tomatoes, 1–2 green chillies, 1 garlic clove, salt; Lime wedges to serve

Origin: Mexico · Central Mexico

575kcal

per serving · 250 g

230kcal

per 100 g

38 gProtein15 g / 100 g

28 gFat11 g / 100 g

42 gCarbs17 g / 100 g

Barbacoa tacos are filled with beef that has been slow-cooked for hours with chillies, garlic and spices until it falls apart into tender, juicy shreds. The meat is piled onto warm tortillas and topped simply with chopped onion, fresh cilantro and a spoonful of spicy salsa, often with a squeeze of lime. They are a favourite weekend breakfast and street food in Mexico.

Diets

✓

No porkfor halal, the meat must be halal-slaughtered

✓

Dairy-freeno milk, cheese, butter or yogurt in a typical recipe

✓

High protein15 g protein per 100 g — 26% of the calories

Not vegetarianbecause of: beef

Not veganbecause of: beef

Contains glutenbecause of: tortilla

Not keto17 g carbs per 100 g

Allergens

Contains (in a typical recipe):

⚠ Gluten

What it is made of

beeftortillaonioncilantrosalsa

Recipe

6 servings240 min

Ingredients

1.2 kg beef chuck or cheek, cut into large pieces
3 dried guajillo chillies and 1 ancho chilli, seeded
1 onion, halved, plus 1 onion, finely chopped, to serve
5 garlic cloves
1 tsp ground cumin, 1 tsp dried oregano, 3 cloves, 2 bay leaves
2 tbsp vinegar and salt
12–18 small tortillas
A bunch of fresh cilantro, chopped
Salsa: 3 tomatoes, 1–2 green chillies, 1 garlic clove, salt
Lime wedges to serve

Method

Soak the dried chillies in hot water for 15 minutes, then blend with the garlic, cumin, oregano, cloves, vinegar, salt and 250 ml water.
Put the beef, halved onion and bay leaves in a heavy pot, pour over the chilli sauce, cover tightly and cook at 150 °C (or on very low heat) for 3.5–4 hours until the meat falls apart.
For the salsa, char the tomatoes and chillies in a dry pan, then blend or pound with the garlic and salt.
Shred the beef with two forks and moisten it with some of the cooking juices.
Warm the tortillas in a dry pan, fill with beef and top with chopped onion, cilantro, salsa and a squeeze of lime.

How to make it lighter

Trim visible fat from the beef before cooking and skim the fat off the cooking juices.
Count your tortillas: two tacos with extra salsa and onion make a lighter meal than four.
Salsa, onion, cilantro and lime add lots of flavour for very few calories — use them freely.

History

Barbacoa traditionally means meat cooked slowly in a pit dug in the ground and lined with hot stones and agave leaves, a method especially associated with central Mexico, including Hidalgo. The word is commonly linked to a Caribbean Taíno term for a wooden cooking frame, which also gave English the word 'barbecue'. Today beef barbacoa, often made in a pot or oven, is popular across Mexico and the United States.

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Similar dishes

Values are estimates per 100 g for a typical recipe; home and restaurant versions vary. Diets and allergens are worked out from the ingredients of a typical recipe — always check with whoever cooked the dish. Not medical advice. Nutrition data: Me Nutrition dish database v13. How we count →