Tacos de Barbacoa (Mexican Beef Tacos with Pasilla Chiles)

mexican-tacosdebarbacoa Tacos de Barbacoa (Barbacoa Tacos), with their flavourful, slow-cooked beef, fresh cilantro and warm corn tortillas, are a fiesta in every bite. The word "barbacoa" has Indigenous origins, believed to be derived from the Taíno word "barabicu," meaning "sacred fire pit." Spanish colonists adopted the term and cooking technique, which involves slow-cooking meat over a fire or in an underground pit.

6 lbs beef chuck roast or beef cheek, boneless, if using beef cheek, remove excess fat
12 dried pasilla chiles
1½ Tbsp. sea salt
1 Tbsp. Mexican oregano
8 cloves garlic peeled
1 large lemon, freshly squeezed
1 Tbsp. fresh ginger
2 bay leaves
1 Tbsp. distilled white vinegar or apple cider vinegar

To Serve:
tortillas
cilantro
red onion
lime wedges
salsa

Salt the Meat:
generously salt the meat at least one hour before adding the marinade. Cover and refrigerate in a large bowl. This step can be done a day in advance.

Clean Pasilla Chilies:
Wipe the dust off of each chile with a damp paper towel and remove the stem and seeds. If you like a little spice, leave some with seeds.

Rehydrate the pasilla chile peppers: Soak dried chiles in very hot water for 15 minutes or until soft. Reserve juice for later use.

Prepare the marinade: In a blender or bowl of a food processor, process the chiles, salt, oregano, garlic, lemon juice and ginger on a high setting until you have a smooth chile purée. If necessary, add some of the liquid from the chile to get the blender going. The chile purée should be the consistency of barbeque sauce. Taste for salt. It should be on the salty side and no single flavour should stand out.

Marinate the Beef:
Place roast in a crockpot and coat well with sauce on both sides. Pour any leftover sauce over the meat. Add the reserved chile liquid, bay leaves and vinegar. This step can be done a day in advance, especially if preparing the meat on the stove or in the oven. It is not necessary to marinate the meat as long when making it in a slow-cooker because of the extended length of time it cooks.

Slow Cook the Beef:
There are two popular methods for slow-cooking barbacoa - in the oven or using a slow cooker. My preferred method is in the slow-cooker. For a hassle-free experience, cover the marinated meat with a lid and cook on low heat for 10 hours or until it reaches that fall-apart tenderness. Alternately, if using the oven method, preheat your oven to a low and slow 250°F (121°C). Place the marinated beef, including the marinade itself, in a roasting pan. Cover it tightly with tin foil and a lid if available, to create a very tight seal and let it roast for about 5-6 hours or until the beef is incredibly tender and easily falls apart.

Shred the Meat:
Once the beef is tender, using a fork, shred it into bite-sized pieces. If there's any easily removable fat, it should be cut off at this stage.

Assemble and enjoy your tacos.

Makes 12 servings.

Cook's Notes:

How much meat should I make? This same barbacoa recipe can be used to make anywhere from 5-10 lbs of meat. Estimate approximately ½ lb of raw meat per person.
If you can’t find dry pasilla peppers, use guajillo peppers.
Use leftover barbacoa meat to make barbacoa quesadillas, barbacoa sliders, burrito bowls, or add it into burritos.
Replace beef with lamb for a unique twist, using the same marinade and cooking methods. Lamb Barbacoa offers a distinct flavour profile and tenderness.
Create a plant-based barbacoa using jackfruit or portobello mushrooms. Marinate and cook them similarly to meat (requires much less time), infusing them with robust barbacoa flavours.