Beef barbacoa with consomme! Of all the Mexican restaurants I have visited, very few come close to home-style Mexican cooking! What?
I Mean Barbacoa, Not Beef Roast.
I grew up being told that if the meat didn’t come from the cow’s head, then it’s not barbacoa. Of course it will still be delicious if you use a chuck roast, but technically it’s not barbacoa. This is not the traditional way barbacoa is cooked either. It’s a home cooks version!
Cook With Intention! Like You Mean It!
Don’t take shortcuts! You are craving an authentic, traditional and home-style Mexican meal. At least once, try cooking it the traditional way. Next time, pull out the pressure cooker. Then the slow cooker. Try different cooking methods on the same recipe. That is the only way you will know for sure the results. I do it all of the time. This is how we learn.
When You Work Outside Of The Home.
For many, many years I worked outside the home in a retail job. I would plan my meals ahead and prep what I could before leaving for work. I rarely used the crock pot and this was way before I learned to use a pressure cooker.
Dried Chiles
If you have to invest in a large bag of dried chiles, use them up in a timely manner. The longer the chile pods are stored, the more brittle and dried out they will become. If you have to, soften them, blend them into a quick chile paste and store in your freezer. They will hold up for many months until you are ready to use them. Just make sure you store them flat so they are easy to defrost. Quart size freezer bags are perfect for this.
Barbacoa With Consomme
Equipment
- 12-20 Quart steamer Pot Ideally you want a larger steamer pot so that it will have sufficient water through the whole steaming process. Nothing smaller than 12 quarts
Ingredients
- 3 lbs beef tongue trim any excess fat
- 3 lbs beef cheek trim any excess fat
- 4 chile guajillo stems and seeds removed
- 6-8 chile de arbol stems removed
- 4 chile pasilla stems and seeds removed
- 1 tsp thyme
- 1 tsp cumin seeds
- 1 tsp peppercorns
- 1 tsp oregano
- 1 tsp marjoram
- 4-5 whole cloves
- 4-5 bay leaves
- 1 1/2 inch section Mexican cinnamon stick
- 8-10 cloves of Garlic
- 1 medium Onion roughly chopped
- 3 Roma Tomatoes roughly chopped
- Salt to taste
- Fresh cracked pepper to taste
Garnish
- Onion diced
- Cilantro Chopped
- Spicy red salsa see link above
- Lime wedges
- Warm corn tortillas
Instructions
- To the bottom of the steamer pot, add the dried chiles, tomatoes, onion, garlic, all dried spices and herbs.
- Fill with enough water to level shown in steamer pot. Insert steamer. Place the trimmed beef tongue and cheek on top. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Cover with foil paper, then the lid. Turn heat to high.
- Cover with foil paper, then the lid. Turn heat to high. Once it comes up to a rapid boil and begins to steam rapidly, reduce heat to right below medium.
- Place a large pot of water on back burner and heat on low. The barbacoa will steam for about 4 hours or until meat is very tender. Add 1 cup of hot water to steamer pot about every hour.
- Once the meat is tender, remove it from the pot onto cutting board. Let cool slightly. Remove skin from the beef tongue and discard skin. Roughly chop meat and transfer to a large baking dish. Set aside.
- Remove the steamer insert and transfer all of the solids left in the pot to the blender. Strain broth into another pot. Transfer all the spices in the strainer to the blender. Also to the blender, add some of the reserved broth, enough to just cover ingredients. Season with salt to taste. Blend on high until smooth.
- Pour the blended sauce into the pot that has the reserved broth. Add another cup of water to the blender jar and swish around before pouring in to the pot with sauce. Heat the sauce to medium. Stir well to combine. When it comes up to a simmer, taste for salt. Ladle some of the sauce over beef.
- When it comes up to a simmer, taste for salt. Ladle some of the sauce over beef. Cover with foil paper and keep warm in a low temperature oven.
- Continue cooking the thickened sauce with consomme for 20 minutes.
- To serve, add some barbacoa to shallow bowls. Ladle in some hot consomme/sauce over barbacoa. Garnish with onion, cilantro, spicy salsa and lime. Enjoy with warm corn tortillas.
Notes
Reader Interactions
Comments
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I prepared this today. It is wonderful. I cant wait to share it. Barbacoa vs birria. What is the difference between the two dishes? The ingredients are very similar, if not the same.
Hi Mark, yes they are very similar on purpose. I really enjoy the flavors of the birria with all the chiles and spices that I use the same formula for the barbacoa. Technically, we call it barbacoa because it comes from the cow’s head. Beef birria is typically chuck roast or a combination of roast and ribs. You could call it birria de barbacoa that way people would know specifically that the cuts of meat would be different.
Real barbaco has brains eye balls included
Hi Jose! My parent used to own a small Mexican restaurant back in the day. Yes, barbabacoa de cabeza includes brains, eyeballs, lips, everything. This is barbacoa still because it comes from the cow’s head. That is what it is referred to my whole life. Check out the sights, which are many, that are using chuck roast and calling it barbacoa. I even see famous Mexican chef’s calling chuck roast barbacoa! Lol! To me, that’s NOT barbacoa at all. I appreciate your feedback though.
My family loved it ! I have made barbacoa in the oven before & it was just ok, but the steamer pot was a great idea ! I had not put it away yet from tamales season so worked great.
Thank you so much Liz for taking the time to comment! I really enjoy that recipe. It reminds me a lot of my parents.
You picked good spices. I used your spice because it includes cinnamon and a lot of recipes I found didn’t seem as authentic. It’s cooking right now and my house smells sensational.
Hi Sonia! It’s not often I get to say that! Lol! I hope you enjoyed the barbacoa! I am craving it so bad today!
How much water approximately? Different pans are going to require different amounts, no?
Hi Yuri! Ideally if you are using a steamer pot that is between 12-20 quarts you will fill it to right below the line indicated in the pot. The water varies, of course depending on how big the steamer pot is. I do not suggest using a steamer pot smaller than 12 quarts because it may run out of water before the barbacoa is done cooking and it could burn. I have done it that way before in the past, adding more boiling water as needed.