Crockpot Shredded Barbacoa Beef

Every year in Hunter's family, we do a big Christmas Eve party. It's filled with laughter, cousins running around, a gift exchange, sweets, activities, and really good food! We've done several different things over the years, but this year's menu was definitely a crowd favorite! We had a taco bar and every couple brought a different meat. Carne Asada and Pollo Asada got taken pretty quick so I decided to get creative. I loooveee Chipotle. I don't care what you have to say about how it really isn't good for me and what not... I would eat at Chipotle every week if I could! I love their barbacoa and always have. I always say I'm going to try something new, but literally always go back to the barbacoa. Sooo I thought, why not try to make it?? Barbacoa is a really tender shredded beef with a smoky, spicy, chipotle sauce on it. I did some research and decided to experiment. The experiment definitely worked because this stuff was soo yummy! Anddd... so easy! Gotta love crockpot dump and go meals! I'm sure it could be made in the instant pot too, but I loved that I could just dump it all in when I wasn't busy in the morning and let it cook all day so I used the crockpot.

Ingredients:

-Chuck Roast. I don't have a specific pound requirement. I just buy a 2 pack at Costco and use one of them!

-1 small can of chilis in adobo sauce. 

-1 cup beef broth

-4 tsp minced garlic

-1 1/2 tbsp ground cumin

-1 tsp salt

-1/2 tsp black pepper

-1/4 tsp ground cloves

-juice of one lime

-4 tbsp vegetable oil

Instructions:

1) Thaw your meat. I usually buy the 2 pack of chuck roast from Costco, separate them in different bags, then freeze them. I'll usually take one bag out and put it in the sink to thaw it overnight. 

2) Heat oil in a non stick skillet. To test if it's hot enough, flick a little water on the oil. If it starts to crackle and pop like crazy, it's ready!

3) Coat both sides of your roast in salt and pepper then sear in oil. Searing usually takes 3-4 minutes per side. You'll want a golden crust on both sides. Use tongs to make your life easier!

4) Stick your roast in the bottom of the crockpot and make your sauce. I use a Vitamix to make it, but I'm sure any blender on high speed will work. Add allll of your ingredients other than oil and roast obviously... If you can't handle spice very well... only do 1/4 to 1/2 the can of chilis. I do the whole can and it definitely is spicy but can be mellowed out with sour cream. Soo add all remaining ingredients to blender and blend on high speed. Once all ingredients are combined to make a thick sauce, you'll know it's ready!

5) Pour sauce over roast and cook on high for a minimum of 6 hours. After 6 hours shred your meat. It should literally fall apart. If it doesn't, cook it longer! Once it's shredded, you can stick on low or keep warm setting until ready to serve.

6) You can serve it two ways. You can either keep it in the crockpot with all the spicy juices or mellow it out by scooping out the meat and leaving the juices behind. So far we've eaten it in tacos and burritos and loved both!

Let me know what you guys think!

All my love,

Aleigh Joy

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Tasty Tuesday: Perfect Sunday Crockpot Roast

Okay, so you don't have to only make this on Sunday haha.

It's just more of a Sunday meal for us!

I love making a big meal on Sundays because I have the most time and I just want to keep it a tradition in our little family.

Sundays are a special family day for us so I like to make a special meal that we wouldn't have any other day of the week.

Hunter is obsessed with pot roast.

Like, if you want him to be in a good mood all day... just make pot roast haha. 

I remember when we first got married, he said he always looked forward to Sundays because he knew there was a good chance his mom would make a pot roast.

Because of that, I decided to make my first ever roast!

I was SO disappointed when it was tough, chewy, and dry.

There was zero flavor to it and it was almost hard to eat haha.

I was so bummed because I knew it was Hunter's favorite, so I tried out different things and finally found a combination of things that work!

So, here's what I do to make our Sunday roast :)

Ingredients:

-Chuck Roast or Chuck Tender Roast (either of these work, but stick with chuck! No rump or anything else)

-Potatoes (I usually either use russet or red. I quarter them and do probably 6 red or 4-5 russet)

-1/2 Yellow onion sliced

-1 packet dry onion soup mix

-3/4 cup water

-Salt and pepper

-Garlic Salt

-Garlic powder

-2 tbsp olive oil

Directions:

1) Put your oil in a frying pan and get it sizzling

2) Coat your thawed roast in the dry onion soup mix with salt and pepper

3) Add your meat in the sizzling oil and sear for a few minutes on each side until browned. 

4) Stick your roast in the crockpot and add your potatoes and sliced onion over the top. Pour the water over the top. Sprinkle with garlic salt and garlic powder (about a tsp each) and cover.

5) Now here's the part that you HAVE to make sure you do. You need to SLOW cook it to get it to fall apart. And i mean like realllyy slow. I do like 7 hours on high or I'll do 8-10 hours on low. Remember, the longer the better! 

6) Take a fork and twist it in the meat. You know it's done when it is tender and easily breaks apart. If it feels tough, let it go longer. 

7) Place on a plate and and serve the potatoes and onion on the side. Use your drippings to make a gravy as well. I usually strain the drippings to just get the liquid. I'll do about 1 stick of butter melted in a saucepan and add 3 tbsp of flour to make a roux. Then I add my drippings and whisk together. I usually just add a little water if it seems too thick and more salt if needed. Then serve with some rolls and veggies!

I hope this works for the rest of you that just couldn't seem to get your roast right.

This is tried and true and the only way I do it now!

The browning of the meat gives such a good flavor and the slow cooking just makes it so tender!

Now go ahead and make yourself a delicious roast ;)

All my love,

Aleigh Joy

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