~ Slow Cooker: Barbacoa Beef ~

Slow cooker Saturday!

This is wonderfully spicy shredded beef is amazing in burritos, tacos, fajitas.. you name it!

On a scale of 1 - 10, I have been told this ranks close to a 7 in spiciness. If you need a tamer meal, just add a bit more chicken broth to the sauce. If you want extra spice, add some of the sauce from the canned chipotle peppers into the mix before blending.

Sauce

3-4 T        Lime juice
4-5           Chipotle peppers, canned
4-5           Cloves garlic
4 tsp         Cumin
2 tsp         Oregano
1 1/2 tsp    Salt
1 1/2 tsp    Pepper ((I use white))
1/2 tsp      Clove, ground
1/3 c          Apple cider vinegar
3/4 c         Chicken broth

Combine ingredients in a food processor or blender and blend well.

3                Bay leaves, broken into medium sized pieces

Add to the sauce, but do not blend further. Just stir them in.

3-4 lbs      Beef Roast, trimmed

After trimming off the excess fat, slice the roast in half, then chop into about 6 pieces total. They should be large chunks. In a small skillet sear each piece on each side for a few seconds on high heat. This should leave the chunks browned on the outside but still very red in the center. Toss the meat into the slow cooker.

Pour the sauce mixture evenly over the beef, taking care to coat each piece nicely. Cook on low for 4 hours. If possible, turn the beef chunks once every hour or so to ensure each side gets simmer time in the sauce.

Uncover the crockpot and cook another 2 hours, still turning the chunks occasionally. Shred or slice the chunks of roast then return the meat to the cooker. Allow the shredded beef to simmer in the sauce at least another 15 mins or until ready to serve, whichever is longer.

If you care for a sauce, drain the juices from the beef into a small pot. Mix a Tbs or so of cornstarch with a small amount of water and stir into the pot. Bring the liquid to a boil for a few minutes, then let sit to thicken.
You can continue to add the cornstarch/cold water mixture and repeat until the sauce reaches the desired thickness.

Combine with black beans, Lime Cilantro Rice and a bit of Corn Salsa for a real treat!

Enjoy!