Recipes
Mexican
Barbacoa

Barbacoa

Name: Barbacoa
Prep time: 25 min
Cook time: 3 h
Total time: 3 h 25 min
Yield: 1 serving
Cuisine: Mexican
Ingredients: 200 g beef chuck or cheek; 2 dried guajillo chillies; 1 dried ancho chilli; 2 cloves garlic; 40 g white onion; 0.25 tsp ground cumin; 2 whole cloves; 4 black peppercorns; 0.5 tsp dried Mexican oregano; 1 bay leaf; 1 dried avocado leaf; 1 tbsp cider or white vinegar; 0.75 tsp fine sea salt; 1 tsp lard; 150 ml water; banana leaf; 3 corn tortillas; 1 tbsp coriander; 2 wedges lime

Beef slow-steamed in a chilli adobo, wrapped in banana leaf until it falls apart into juicy shreds. Spoon it onto warm corn tortillas with onion, coriander and a squeeze of lime.

Mains 25g+ protein 8g+ fibre

205 min25 prep · 180 cookMedium689 kcalper serving

Instructions

Wipe 2 guajillo chillies and 1 ancho chilli, then toast them in a dry heavy frying pan over medium heat for about 40 seconds a side, pressing them flat, until they smell sweet and smoky. Do not let them blacken or the adobo turns bitter. Drop them into a bowl, cover with boiling water and soak 20 minutes until floppy.
In the same dry pan, toast 2 cloves garlic cloves and 40 g of white onion over medium heat for 4-5 minutes, turning, until blistered in patches. Lift the chillies out of their soaking water and blend them with the garlic, onion, 0.25 tsp ground cumin, 2 whole cloves, 4 peppercorns, 0.5 tsp dried oregano, 1 tbsp vinegar, 0.75 tsp fine salt and 4 tablespoons of the soaking water to a thick, smooth adobo. Push it through a sieve if your blender leaves flecks of skin.
Rub the adobo all over the 200 g of beef chuck, working it into the cut faces, and leave to marinate at room temperature for 30 minutes, or covered in the fridge overnight for a deeper flavour.