Barbacoa with Cilantro Lime Rice and Pico de Gallo

This Mexican inspired barbacoa recipe is incredibly tender and juicy. Chuck roast is slow cooked with a feisty, flavor packed chipotle, guajillo pepper sauce. The extra juices are soaked up with cilantro lime rice and a radish, black bean Pico de Gallo rounds out this Mexican inspired feast. 

What is barbacoa?

Barbacoa is a dish consisting of a piece of meat that loves to slow cook in a peppery marinade.

Chuck roast is an excellent choice for barbacoa since it needs a low and slow cooking method to breakdown the connective tissue or collagen. After hours of simmering in the peppery marinade and broth, the collagen and fat break down, imparting incredible flavor. I sourced my chuck roast from All Grass Farms, a regenerative farm raising grass fed and finished beef. Chuck roasts are a perfect cut of meat to feed the entire family for a relatively lower cost. A single 3-pound chuck roast will typically feed 8 people when served with side dishes.

What peppers to use for barbacoa?

Chipotle and guajillo peppers are commonly used in authentic barbacoa recipes.

When reading “Coming Home to Eat,” author, Gary Paul Nabhan, learned how to smoke jalapeno chilies to make chipotles from a highly esteemed eastern Mexico local. The full recipe is so coveted that the author couldn’t share the entire process with his readers. What he was able to share is that the jalapeños chosen for “The Ritual,” as he calls it, are streaked white, which happens when most would think the chili is past its prime.

One day I would like to smoke my own jalapeños but for this recipe I opted for Chipotles en Adobo sauce. Super flavorful and spicy, it’s an excellent addition to the pepper sauce.

Guajillo peppers are a sweet pepper that are found dried in just about any grocery store in the international aisle. Roasting them in the oven or on the grill prior to rehydrating brings out their flavor. After roasting and discarding the seeds, submerge them in hot water and cover for 10-15 minutes until soft.

To amp up the spice and flavor I mixed ground ancho chili powder into the sauce. Ancho chili comes from the fresh poblano pepper, making them a bit hotter than jalapeños.

This recipe is still considered mild in the heat department. My toddler ate it and loved it. My mother-in-law is heat sensitive and found it spicy.

Barbacoa Outline.

Barbacoa is an easy weeknight dinner if planned out.

1. Start by salting the chuck roast overnight uncovered. This flavors the meat and ensures a juicy end result.
2. Cut the roast into chunks for faster cooking. Leave the bone, this will impart flavor.
3. Roast the chuck roast in the oven with diced onions and guajillo peppers. Remove guajillo peppers before the rest to make sure they don’t burn.
4. Make the pepper sauce with rehydrated guajillo peppers, Chipotle en Adobo sauce, orange juice, seasonings, lime, garlic and tomato paste. (Full ingredients below)
5. Combine the onions, roast, pan juices, pepper sauce, beef broth and bay leaves into a slow cooker. Slow cook 6-8 hours.
6. Important to note that you need to make sure the fat chunks are removed after cooking. No one wants to bite into a hunk of fat.

Cilantro Lime Rice Tips:

Cilantro lime rice is a fairly common side dish. A few things set this recipe apart:

1. Butter. Green onions are sautéed in butter and then the rice is coated in the butter
2. Beef Broth. Cooking the rice in beef broth imparts richer, deeper flavor.
3. Barbacoa Au jus. Once the barbacoa is done cooking, it’s sitting in beautifully, deeply flavored juice– also called Au jus. Taking some of the Au jus and giving it to the rice adds even more richness and savoriness.

Pico de Gallo.

A rich, meaty dish screams for some acidity. Pico de Gallo is the perfect topping to create a well-rounded flavor profile. In the Midwest, peppers are not in season just yet. Pickled jalapeños are the perfect substitute. A splash of the brine adds a perfect, fiery zing to the Pico.

Radishes are one of the first veggies ready in the spring. They are fast growing, typically ready in a month from seed to harvest. They naturally have a peppery taste, even spicier if the weather is hot. When chopped into match sticks, they add great texture and flavor to the Pico de Gallo.

A garden cherry tomato makes a world of difference from the watered down, green house grown varieties found in the grocery store. Skip them if they aren’t in season. Sweet 100 cherry tomatoes are an amazing variety for Pico de Gallo. Their candy sweetness compliments the spicy elements.

Serving Suggestions

Serve the barbacoa straight from the slow cooker. Pile it high over cilantro lime rice and top the entire dish with Pico de Gallo. Leftovers are good for around 3 days. Keep the Pico separate.