When I first heard the words barbacoa de arrachera (beef skirt barbacoa, I stopped dead in my tracks! I was like, “What!!!” I must investigate! After an afternoon of researching online and watching a few You Tube videos, I was hooked.
I already knew I loved beef barbacoa!
I grew up enjoying beef barbacoa, so why wouldn’t I love this beef skirt version? Arrachera is the cut of meat used in many parts of Mexico for carne asada. It’s especially popular in northern Mexico where my family is from. Early on my parents prepared barbacoa de cabeza(beef head). Later on when we lived in Houston, they liked serving beef cheek barbacoa(cachete de res). For me it’s the most rich and beefy part!
One more taco recipe to add to my list!
I didn’t hesitate for to long before I was out searching for beef skirt. Just the idea of barbacoa de arrachera for the weekend tacos was motivation enough.
Tomorrow I am going to add a video to the blog post! And a few more details about the recipe.
I decided that I was going to shorten my wait time and I pulled out my heavy duty pressure cooker! One hour under steady pressure and it was ready!
Banana Leaves!
To soften the banana leaves, simply cut the sections you need. Then place them over a hot comal or griddle, using a spatula to gently push them down. They will change in color and become shiny and soft. Find banana leaves in the frozen foods near the Latin American foods.
Corn or flour tortilla?
It’s always interesting to see which tortilla people choose for there tacos. I am definitely a corn tortilla girl when it comes to tacos. But there are certain recipes like pork chile colorado or chorizo con huevo that need a flour tortilla! For barbacoa and carne asada, I need corn! Have you ever experienced a tortilla that is both corn and flour?
I can never decide on one salsa. I typically will set out one tomato based salsa and one tomatillo based salsa. The salsas featured above are Salsa de Mesa prepared with red fresno and serrano. For extra heat, the tomatillo salsa is prepared with red serrano peppers instead of green. Follow the instructions and then just switch out the chile peppers to suit your liking.
Barbacoa the next day. Homemade corn tortilla brushed with some of the fat from the barbacoa ans then warmed on the hot comal (griddle)before assembling the tacos.
Beef Skirt Barbacoa (Barbacoa de Arrachera)
Equipment
- Pressure cooker
Ingredients
- 2 1/2 pounds skirt steak sliced into 2 inch pieces
- 1 tsp peppercorns
- 1 tsp oregano
- 1/2 teaspoon cumin seeds
- 2 teaspoons kosher salt
- 2 chile ancho pods stems and seeds removed
- 1/2 cup grapeseed or olive oil
- 2 bay leaves
- 1 onion sliced into strips
- 1 stalk celery sliced in two
- 4 large sections of banana leaves previously softened
- 3-4 cups of water
You Will Also Need
- Corn or flour tortillas
- Guacamole your favorite recipe
- 1/3 cup Cilantro chopped
- 1 cup Onions diced
- Lime wedges from 2 limes
- Your favorite salsa
Instructions
- Slice the beef skirt and transfer to a baking dish or pan. Set aside.
- If you have time, you can lightly toast the peppercorns and cumin seeds to bring out more flavor. It’s optional.
- In a molcajete, blender or coffee grinder, combine the salt, peppercorns, cumin seeds and oregano. Blend until you have a fine powder. Tear the chile ancho into pieces and add it to the blender along with 1/2 cup of oil. Blend until smooth.
- Pour the blended wet seasoning(marinade) over the meat. Use you hands to really work it in so it’s evenly coated. Set aside.
- To the bottom of the pressure cooker, pour in 3 cups of water. Arrange 2 sections of the banana leaves so they criss cross each other, making sure the flaps reach top of pressure cooker.
- Layer the seasoned meat evenly in pressure cooker. Add the onions, celery and bay leaves. Pour in any remaining blended seasoning with oil over the top. Cover everything with 2 remaining banana leaves. Fold in the flaps and push down slightly.
- Secure and lock pressure cooker lid onto the pot. Heat to high until the safety valve seals shut and pressure cooker is secure. Once it begins releasing that steam rapidly, reduce the heat to just below medium and set your timer for 1 hour.
- While the arrachera is cooking, prep any salsas, garnishes or sides you may want to serve.
- After one hour, shut the heat off from the pressure cooker. Now you wait. Wait until the safety valve opens back up or you can carefully release the steam. Be careful.
- When ready, transfer the barbacoa to a serving dish with a lid. Serve with warm tortillas, guacamole, salsa, limes, cilantro and onion. Buen Provecho! Y
This looks delicious! Can this be done in a heavy pot on the stove top?
It can Christina. The skirt steak is a tough cut of meat, so it requires at least 4-5 hours hours of steady cooking time so it becomes tender.
Omg this looks DELICIOUS!!!! Before I got sick I cooked and ate like this all the time. Sadly don’t have energy to cook anymore… Anyway, I just really wanted to tell you that you keep my mouth watering and I wish you lived close by! Lol, I’d be calling you every day like “Hey girl, whatcha cookin’?”. 😂
I hope you feel better soon Stella. Thank you.
This recipe looks delicious. I love cooking with a pressure cooker, so much so that I have both a stove top and an electric pressure cooker. Lol! Question please, at the point where the 3 cups of water are added to the pressure cooker, are the banana leaves place directly into the water or is there a steamer insert or something separating water from banana leaves which contain the meat? I havent made this before so I dont know, but seems like all the seasoning would be washed off the meat if it is cooked in water which will seep inside the banana leaves. Thank you!
Mark the banana leaves go directly into the pressure cooker. The seasoning doesn’t wash off. I just take the remaining broth and mix some of it into to shredded meat before serving. the three cups of water are added to the bottom of pressure cooker, then layer the banana leaves, add meat, aromatics, then more banana leaves.
Really excited to make this, but can the banana leaves be subbed for something else? Not sure I’ll find any where I live.
Hi Alex, there’s really nothing that can replace the banana leaves. The banana leaves impart some of their flavor to the dish.You can still prepare the recipe though