Chihuahua-Style Barbacoa
Barbacoa Chihuahuense
Recipe Yield
6 servings
Cooking time
2 hours 30 minutes
Rate this recipe
Ingredients
- 3 pounds sirloin cap (see note) fat cap trimmed to ¼-inch thick, cut into 2-inch chunks
- 2 pounds beef short ribs with bone
- 1 plum tomato fresh or canned whole, quartered
- 1/2 white onion peeled and quartered
- 3 garlic cloves peeled
- 1 to 2 jalapeño chiles with seeds, stemmed and halved lengthwise
- 3 bay leaves
- 2 sprigs fresh rosemary
- 1 tablespoon kosher or coarse sea salt or to taste
- 1 teaspoon coarsely ground black pepper
- 3½ cups water
- 1 large Yukon Gold potato quartered
For serving:
- Jalapeño Salsa Verde with Cumin
- Chile de Árbol Mixed Salsa
- Chopped cilantro for garnish
- Chopped white onion for garnish
- Avocado slices
- Warm corn or flour tortillas or telera or bolillo bread
To Prepare
- Put the sirloin chunks, short ribs, tomato, onion, garlic, jalapeños, bay leaves, rosemary, salt and pepper in a large Dutch oven or deep lidded pot. Pour in the 3½ cups water and bring to a boil over high heat. Cover, reduce heat to medium-low, and simmer for 1 hour.
- Stir and add the quartered potato. Cover and continue cooking for another hour and 15 minutes to an hour and a half, until the meat falls apart when pulled with a fork. Remove from the heat.
- When you’re ready to eat, remove the potato pieces and enjoy as a cook’s treat or share with your guests. Remove and discard the bay leaves and rosemary. The tomato, onion, garlic, and jalapeño will have cooked down and melted into the cooking juices. Transfer the meat with a slotted spoon to a small bowl or a baking sheet and with two dinner forks or your hands, finely shred it; discard the bones. Return the meat to the pot and serve hot with the salsas, chopped cilantro and white onion, avocado slices, and tortillas or bread in tacos or tortas.
Note:
- Tri-tip steak is similar to sirloin cap and works too. It comes with a hard, thick layer of fat on top; some is needed for flavor, but you’ll want to trim most of it off.
Comments
4comments inChihuahua-Style Barbacoa
Anna L Lopez
Dec 15
I enjoyed watching you make this recipe. We will try it as soon as we have a chance. Having a lot of health issues so always looking for alternatives to cut back on. This looks like a good one to cut back on fat and cholesterol. Thank you Pati for your help. Love your show, family and Mika.
Pati Jinich
Dec 25
Thanks so much Anna, big hugs to you!
RD Bacon
Oct 03
Dear Pati, I have SO enjoyed your recent series on the northern states of Mexico. Thanks to you, I’ve become obsessed with Durango style burritos (which remind me of the tacos al carbon of my childhood in Texas). I’ve found a Chicago restaurant that specializes in them (shout out to Gorditas La Tia Susy!), and I’ve found the right kind of flour tortillas to make them at home. This barbacoa is a wonderful filling, very much like the shredded beef (deshebrada) at La Tia Susy. I modified your recipe just a tad — for things that are so super savory like this barbacoa, I need a counterpoint of something acidic. So, I diced up some pepperoncini and pickled jalapeños and added a few tablespoons of their brine. It balanced the dish just right for me. It is SO delicious. Thanks again.
Pati Jinich
Oct 12
Oh well, you know how much I adore pickled jalapeños so now I cannot wait to try your recipe, thanks for sharing!