This is what’s for dinner next Taco Tuesday!
Tyler and I love to cook, and let’s be honest, we know you guys follow us for the food mostly. Tyler has been dying to try his hand at some Smoked Barbacoa ever since we got some good barbacoa at one of our favorite taco joints, so we looked into it.
If you’ve never heard of barbacoa, it is actually a cooking method. It’s kinda like barbecue. It is typically made with beef cheeks and steamed in banana leaves UNDERGROUND! How crazy is that?! Something about the spices they use combined with the, admittedly odd, cooking method creates this unbelievable smoky flavor. We wanted an easier way to get that signature spicy sweet flavor without digging a hole in our front yard. We tried our own recipe and WOW. These tacos are wildly flavorful; you won’t believe you made it at home! My mouth is watering just typing this out…
We decided to amp up the flavor even more by making my signature mango salsa. If you’ve been to my house for taco night, you know this mango salsa is a rockstar on tacos. Or pretty much anything for that matter. This mango salsa is so easy and takes literally anything to the next level. Tyler says it “would even make vomit look appealing”. (I don’t know if I’d take it that far, but I appreciate the sentiment!)
Seriously, the next time you host Taco Tuesday at your house, you’re going to want to cook these Barbacoa Tacos with Mango Salsa. They do not and WILL NOT disappoint. Ever.
That being said, let’s get to the good stuff!
Total Time: about 4 hours
Ingredients:
BARBACOA:
5 lb. whole, boneless Chuck Roast
1 tsp Oregano
1 1/2 Ancho Chili Powder
1 tsp Cumin
1/2 tsp Paprika
1 1/2 tsp Chipotle Chili Powder
2 1/2 tsp Salt (optional: replace 1/2 tsp with smoked salt for extra flavor)
2 1/2 tsp Pepper
Pinch of Onion Powder
Drizzle of Olive Oil
SAUCE:
2 1/4 cups Beef stock
3/4 of small can of Green Chiles
1/3 rounded cup of Fire Roasted Tomatoes
3 cloves of Garlic, minced
3 tbsp Coconut Sugar (or brown sugar)
3/4 tsp Ancho Chili Powder
3/4 tsp Chipotle Chili Powder
3/4 tsp Cinnamon
Juice from 1/2 Lime
1/2 tsp Salt
1/2 tsp Pepper
MANGO SALSA:
1 large ripe Mango, diced
1 small-medium sized Jalapeno, diced
1 Red Bell Pepper, diced
Handful Cilantro, chopped
Juice from 1/2 Lime
Salt to taste
EXTRA NECESSITIES:
A Smoker (pellet smoker, Big Green Egg, etc.)
A Cast Iron Dutch Oven
Heat proof gloves (or hefty oven mitts)
Meat Thermometer
Tortillas of your choice (we used Siete Foods Cassava Flour Tortillas)
Now, WE COOK!
1. Fire up the smoker to 250.
2. While your smoker is heating up, combine all the seasonings for the barbacoa in a small bowl.
3. Coat the chuck roast generously with olive oil.
4. Shake the seasonings evenly onto the chuck roast until it is fully coated.
It may seem heavy on the seasoning, but we promise, the flavor is worth it. When you smoke big cuts of meat like this, you want to be heavy on the seasoning.
TIME TO SMOKE!
5. Place the seasoned meat on the smoker and monitor it until it reaches an internal temp of 180 (or until the internal temp begins to stall).
6. While the meat is smoking, throw all the sauce ingredients into a blender and blend until mostly smooth. (Don’t actually throw them, though, that could get messy.)
7. When the meat is at 180 degrees internally, take the chuck roast off the smoker.
It will smell amazing, but it’s not done yet! When you take the meat off the smoker and put it in the dutch oven, it will look like this!
8. Now, crank the heat to 350.
9. Put the chuck roast into a cast iron dutch oven and pour the prepared sauce on top.
10. Cover with a lid and put it back on the smoker until the meat reaches an internal temp of 205 (about 1.5-2 hours).
While it’s cooking, let’s make the mango salsa!
11. Gather all the ingredients and toss them together in a bowl. Salt to taste. Easy peasy! (Feel free to make this ahead of time, the longer it marinates, the better it tastes.)
Get your heat-proof gloves ready!
12. Once the chuck roast has reached temperature of 205, take the whole dutch oven out of the smoker. It’s best to pull the meat when it’s hot, so heat-proof gloves are necessary if you plan to pull the meat by hand. (PRO TIP: You can use your stand mixer with the paddle attachment to pull any kind of meat! Put the meat in and turn the mixer on medium/low until it’s shredded!)
13. After the meat has been pulled, build your tacos!
From the plate up: Tortilla, hefty helping of Barbacoa, mango salsa, and a squeeze of lime.
(If you want to get crazy, add some guac, extra cilantro, or whatever else!)
14. DEVOUR!
Enjoy some of the best tacos YOU have ever made. You are awesome!
We love these barbacoa tacos, and we can’t wait for the next Taco Tuesday!
We want to see your creations! Send us a message or comment below with pictures of your Barbacoa Tacos. We are always learning and testing new recipes on our pellet smoker, so let us know what worked for you and what didn’t!
