Tacos de Barbacoa is a great way to cure any bad hangover! Eating barbacoa on Sundays morning in Mexico is very popular. Add some tasty hot sauce on top, cilantro, and onion and there you go! no! not yet! we definitely will need some fresh lime juice on those barbacoa tacos. absolutely ready to be eaten!
The Authentic Mexican Barbacoa Recipe can be very different from one region of Mexico to another! you can find tacos de barbacoa made of beef or lamb or goat! The most popular are tacos de Cabeza, which means that the barbacoa is made of cow head beef. The recipe will change depending a lot on the region of Mexico where is prepared. The best lamb barbacoa tacos I had was in Zacatecas. Find here the recipe for lamb barbacoa! but my beef barbacoa recipe in Instant Pot is super easy to make and yet delicious!
Barbacoa Tacos Ingredients
What would you need to make barbacoa tacos? To make the best tacos de barbacoa you need the best barbacoa around! you can make it at home or buy it. Most Mexican supermarkets sell barbacoa on the weekends! or you can always make it! It really doesn’t take long and is pretty easy to make homemade barbacoa. The method is the same to make beef barbacoa tacos, lamb barbacoa tacos, or even goat barbacoa tacos. To make barbacoa tacos you will need the following:
- Barbacoa
- Corn tortillas
- Chopped onion
- Tablespoons lime juice
- Chopped cilantro
- Salsa for Tacos de Barbacoa
- Slices of avocado are optional
- If you want more topping ideas check out my best Tacos de Barbacoa Toppings selection
How to Make Tacos de Barbacoa
These are the step-by-step instructions to make your own tacos de barbacoa at home. If you need the barbacoa recipe it is in the following paraph or on the recipe card at the end of this post along with some salsa for barbacoa options.
- Start by warming up a griddle. Once is hot warm corn tortillas on top and let them warm for 7 to 10 seconds on each side.
- Warm up a pan and add a tablespoon of vegetable oil. Warm up the barbacoa at medium heat and cover it to keep it hot, or of course, make it the easy way and just place it in a container in the microwave.
- Place the tortilla on a plate and add 2 tablespoons of barbacoa in the middle of the tortilla. Serve as many tacos per plate as you want. Mexican street food barbacoa usually serves 4 tacos per serving.
- At the table have ready all the toppings and let everyone add their favorites.
Tacos Favorite Toppings
- Pico de gallo
- chopped onion
- chopped cilantro
- lime wedges
- Mexican Salsa for tacos
- chopped avocado
- and salt!
Check out my tacos toppings list! I hope you really enjoy these delicious tacos de barbacoa. I am writing this and already my mouth is watering. I am for sure making barbacoa tacos this weekend! If you want to make the barbacoa at home here is the recipe!
How to Make Barbacoa for Tacos
First of all, you need to decide what kind of meat you will be using. Lamb, beef, goat? I most probably will go with barbacoa beef as it is the easier option and the one that does not leave the house smelling like a goat for the next couple of hours. LOL.
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon oregano.
- ½ teaspoon cumin.
- 1 tablespoon salt.
- 5 black peppercorns.
- 3 bay leaves.
To prepare the seasoning start by warming up a griddle and toasting the following ingredients:
- 2 guajillo or mirasol dried chilies.
- 1 red hot chili or chile de Arbol.
- ½ an onion.
- 5 garlic cloves.
Toasting the chiles makes them spell some oil that changes the taste and makes them more delicious but you need to be fast! just toast the chiles for 3 to 5 seconds per side. As soon as they start smelling take them out of the griddle. If they burn out you will need to get rid of them and start over with new chilis. Do not use the burned chiles as they can give the recipe a bitter flavor.
Have some hot water ready, and submerge the chilies in it for about 5 minutes so they can rehydrate.
In the blender add the ingredients that we just toasted along with 1 tablespoon oregano, ½ teaspoon cumin, 1 tablespoon salt, 5 black peppercorns, and 3 bay leaves. Add 1 cup water and bled all together until liquified. Pass through a sieve and save the sauce.
You can use beef, goat, or lamb to make barbacoa. I will suggest making 2.5 pounds of barbacoa and if you have some left you can freeze it and save it for a Sunday brunch! but indeed there might not be any barbacoa left after you taste it.
- Beef barbacoa use chuck roast, or beef brisket.
- Lamb barbacoa uses a mix of lamb legs, lamp chops, and ribs.
- Goat barbacoa uses goat shank and ribs
Pour the sauce on top of the beef/meat and you have two options, let it marinate overnight or make it right away! I have made both and they turn out delicious as Mexican cuisine is either way.
Instant Pot: Use the Meat/Beef option. That will make it!
Slow Cooker barbacoa street tacos: 8 hours in low temperature or 4 hours in high temperature
Oven: Cover an oven-safe container with foil paper and cook at 360f for about 4 hours or until the beef is ready.
Authentic Barbacoa is cooked in Maguey leaves, which is a kind of cactus and is hard to find in the US and other countries but if your Mexican supermarket carries it go for it! Cut the leaves into large pieces and toasted them straight in the stovetop fire. Add them to the barbacoa when cooking and then take them out when is ready.
Shared the beef once it has a cold down and if you want Mexican Street Barbacoa Tacos here is the secret!
Mexican Street Barbacoa Tacos Recipe
The real secret to the barbacoa tacos Mexican Street style is that the beef after being cooked is fried! Add a couple of tablespoons of cooking oil to the pan and fry the shredded beef. Check to add some extra salt and freshly ground pepper. As you know some extra fat clearly brings more flavor to barbacoa.
Barbacoa can be made with goat, lamb, or beef. The meat/beef is marinated in a mix of dried chilies as well as spices. These are some of the options to use to make barbacoa.
Beef barbacoa use chuck roast, or beef brisket.
Lamb barbacoa uses a mix of lamb legs, lamp chops, and ribs.
Goat barbacoa uses goat shank and ribs.
In big celebrations such as a wedding, a whole lamb will be made barbacoa.
Tacos de barbacoa refers to a kind of tacos made with a traditional way of cooking meat or beef known as barbacoa. Barbacoa is a Mexican traditional food used especially for Sunday’s tacos breakfast or during Quince años, or wedding parties. Traditional barbacoa is cooked for hours in wholes made in the dirt and cooks along with maguey leaves which gives a delicious smoked flavor to the barbacoa.
No, both recipes can use the same kind of meat such as goat, lamb, or beef but the way it is made is different as well as the seasoning that is used to cook them. Check out my Authentic Birria Recipe
All you need to know for your authentic barbacoa tacos
- Authentic Mexican Barbacoa Recipe
- Barbacoa Sauce
- The best Authentic Tacos Toppings
- Mexican Salsas for Tacos
- Instant Pot Barbacoa recipe
- Lamb Barbacoa Recipe
- Goat Barbacoa Recipe
- Barbacoa Broth Recipes
- Slow cooker Barbacoa Recipe
Equipment
- 1 Pressure cooker, Pot, Instant Pot, Crock Pot, or Oven safe conteiner
- 1 Griddle
- 1 Large Pan
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon Oregano
- ½ teaspoon Cumin
- 1 Tablespoon Salt
- 5 pieces peppercorn
- 3 leaves bay leaves
- 2 pieces guajillo chili
- 1 piece red chili pepper
- ½ piece onion
- 5 cloves garlic
- 2 tablespoons cooking oil This is optional only if you want to make the Street Style Barbacoa Tacos
- 2.5 pounds Beef barbacoa use chuck roast, or beef brisket. For Lamb barbacoa uses a mix of lamb legs, lamp chops, and ribs. For Goat barbacoa uses goat shank and ribs
Barbacoa Tacos Toppings
- 4 pieces lime
- ½ piece chopped onion
- 1 cup Mexican Salsa
- ½ cup chopped cilantro
- 1 piece chopped avocado
Instructions
- Place the chilies, onion and garlic on top of the griddle and toast. Toasting the chiles makes them spell some oil that changes the taste and makes them more delicious but you need to be fast! just toast the chiles for 3 to 5 seconds per side.
- As soon the chilies start smelling take them out of the griddle. If they burn out you will need to get rid of them and start over with new chilis. Do not use the burned chiles as they can give the recipe a bitter flavor.
- Have some hot water ready, and submerge the chilies in it for about 5 minutes so they can rehydrate.
- In the blender add the ingredients that we just toasted along with 1 tablespoon oregano, ½ teaspoon cumin, 1 tablespoon salt, 5 black peppercorns, and 3 bay leaves.
- Add 1 cup water and bled all together until liquified. Pass through a sieve and save the sauce.
- Pour the sauce on top of the beef/meat and you have two options, let it marinate overnight or just a couple hours. I have made both and they turn out delicious as either way.
- Instant Pot: Use the Meat/Beef option.
- Slow Cooker barbacoa street tacos: 8 hours in low temperature or 4 hours in high temperature
- Oven: Cover an oven-safe container with foil paper and cook at 360f for about 4 hours or until the beef is ready.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
Laura creates content in Spanish and English for a community of over 3 million followers and has been recognized as one of the most influential Latinas in the US, Latinos 40 under 40 in Chicago.
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