This Instant Pot Barbacoa is tender, juicy beef cooked in a delicious medley of chilis and spices. Perfect in so many different dishes such as tacos, bowls and burritos!
1head of garlic, sliced in half across the middle of all the cloves
12ouncesbeer (or beef broth)(Mexican beer is preferred)
Instructions
Turn the instant pot to saute and melt 1 Tablespoon lard or heat the olive oil, if using. Add 3 pounds chuck roast, cut into 2 inch chunks.
Add 2 chipotle chilis in adobo sauce, 2 guajillo chiles, deseeded and stems removed and 2 ancho chilis, deseeded and stems removed to a blender or food processor.
Squeeze in juice from one lime along with 2 Tablespoons apple cider vinegar and 2 Tablespoons adobo sauce from the chipotles. Mix until it is well blended. This may take a couple of minutes.
Pour the chili sauce over the meat. Add 1 onion, diced, 2 bay leaves, 2 dried stems with leaves of Epazote (or cilantro, if using), 1/2 teaspoon Mexican oregano and 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon to the pot. Stir well.
Add 1 head of garlic, sliced in half across the middle of all the cloves (cut side down) over the meat.
Pour 12 ounces beer (or beef broth) over the meat.
Close and seal the instant pot and set to the meat setting for 60 minutes.
When the timer goes off, let it slow release for 10 minutes then do a fast release.
Remove the meat, discard the fatty pieces and shred on a plate with two forks. Spoon a few spoonfuls of the broth over the meat to keep it moist.
Serve in tacos, over rice, on tostadas or however you choose.
Notes
Some of these ingredients can be harder to find unless you have a Mexican grocery store around you. So be sure to check in the specialty aisles of your grocery store where other Latin foods are located. I've listed substitutes where possible. Keep in mind though, the more substitutions you make, the less this will taste like how it was meant to taste.
Epazote is an herb that can be hard to find in most states that aren't near the border of Mexico so you can substitute with cilantro.
If you can't find guajillo chiles, just use all ancho chiles which is easier to find in post places.
I like to use a Mexican beer for this recipe to keep it as authentic as possible, but any regular beer will work as well. Beef broth can be substituted for the beer.
You can remove the meat from the pot to shred or you can leave it in the pot as well, we add some of the juices to the meat after shredding, but leaving it in the pot will soak up more juices.
You can trim your roast before cooking or just remove the fat pieces after cooking as well.
This cooks best when your roast is cut into smaller chunks rather than put in as a whole.