Whenever I have a lot of guests over, I love to pull out the Dutch oven. These Dutch oven barbacoa tacos are a crowd-pleaser and can feed a whole bunch of people. Braising beef is one of my favorite things to do when I have a lot of people over because I love when people walk into our house and say, "wow, it smells great in here." No matter what you're braising it always makes your house smell amazing.

No matter what you're braising, it always smells amazing. That rhymes. I like that.

Dutch Oven Barbacoa vs. Slow Cooker Barbacoa

I find there to be a marked difference between using a dutch oven vs. the slow cooker. The dutch oven is my favorite piece of cooking equipment in my house, maybe tied with my cast-iron pans. You can sear your meat before braising it right in the same pot and don't have to worry about pulling the slow cooker out of the garage or the basement.

The rich flavors you can develop in a dutch oven for a bolognese, chili, or barbacoa beef is unmatched. It's a tool everyone should have and learn to use, especially if you cook for a big family or have guests over often.

What Ingredients You Need

• 3-4 pounds Beef Chuck Roast
• 2 Jalapenos Chopped
• 1 Onion Chopped
• 1 Green Pepper Chopped
• 3 Cloves Garlic Minced
• 2 Limes
• 1 Orange
• 3 Chipotle Peppers in Adobo sauce chopped
• 1 4 oz Can of Green Chiles
• 1.5 Cups Beef Broth
• ⅓ Cup Tequila
• ¼ Cup Chopped Cilantro
• 2 tbsp Cumin
• 1 tbsp Oregano
• 2 tsp Salt
• 1 tsp Black Pepper
• 2 Bay Leaves
• 3 tbsp avocado oil

The "How-To" for this Barbacoa Recipe

Preheat your oven to 325°. Start with a well-marbled chuck roast, about 3-4 pounds for this recipe, and adjust as necessary. Cut the beef into 1-2 inch pieces, trimming off excess fat as you cut. Avoid having large chunks of beef fat in this recipe. Leaving too much fat will make for a greasy and oily meal.

Searing the beef

Once you cut the meat, salt and pepper all sides of the meat generously. Place your dutch oven on your stovetop and bring it to medium-high heat. Once hot, add avocado oil, or another high-temperature oil. Carefully sear the beef in batches until each side develops a golden brown crust. Avoid cooking the meat all the way through. That's why we use the high temperature; it helps avoid overcooking the meat and allows for a crispy outer layer on the beef. You lose this crust texture if you braise barbacoa in a slow cooker. It becomes mushy and almost a pureed texture.

Sauteing the Veggies

Lower the heat to medium heat and add in 2 chopped jalapenos, 1 chopped onion, and 1 chopped green pepper. Saute over medium heat until translucent, stirring often. If the onions start becoming brown quickly, you may need to lower the heat slightly. It's always good to season in layers to help the flavor develop. Add in half of the seasonings used in the recipe: 1 tablespoon cumin, ½ tablespoon oregano, 1 teaspoon salt, and ½ teaspoon black pepper.

After about 8-10 minutes of sauteing, add in the garlic and stir. Let the garlic cook for another minute then deglaze the pot with the tequila. Scrape the brown bits off the bottom of the pan and take a shot of the tequila to make sure it's not poisoned for your guests. You can replace the tequila with white wine if necessary, but I like tequila for this specific recipe.

Once the tequila is reduced by half, you'll add in the rest of the ingredients.

Making it Saucy

It's time to make the saucy part of this recipe so pay attention because there are some tips here that didn't quite fit into the recipe box. Pour in the beef broth and apple cider. Squeeze in the fresh lime and orange juice. Add in the chopped chipotle peppers in adobo, green chiles, bay leaves, and the remaining seasoning. If the sauce isn't covering most of the beef add a little more beef broth to the pot. Stir well and bring to a simmer.

Cover the pot and place it in the oven. Now, take some time to learn how to make margaritas and wait approximately 3-4 hours for the most incredible dutch oven barbacoa you can imagine.

When the Barbacoa has Finished Braising

Pull the dutch oven out at about 3-4 hours to check on it. You'll know it is finished if the beef shreds with a spoon and the peppers and onions have all floated to the top. The sauce should have been reduced slightly below the beef.

Carefully, remove the beef from the pot while leaving the onions, peppers, and sauce behind. In a high-powered food processor — or a really little $15 food processor that your mom bought you and you told her you would never use but here you are writing in a blog about it — blend the sauce, veggies, and ¼ cup of cilantro.

Shred the beef with a fork and return it to the dutch oven and mix together with the sauce. Let it rest for 10 minutes and then serve.

What to do with Barbacoa Beef

Barbacoa is a versatile food because the beef itself can just be the final product, or it can go on tacos, nachos, sandwiches, breakfasts, and anything you can think of. I love it over rice with a sunny-side-up egg on top.

My personal favorite is barbacoa beef tacos. I like to use corn tortillas even though Marisa HATES how much they rip apart when eating them. I think they're the perfect taste and texture for barbacoa. She has found a half-corn/half-wheat tortilla that she really likes though so we compromise and go with that one usually.

I put the barbacoa on the tacos and then top it with avocado, sliced radishes, healthy homemade chipotle aioli, cilantro, and cotija cheese. This recipe altogether is a relatively healthy meal. Tons of vegetables and protein. This is a great dish for meal prep because it can be the main event in different types of dishes. You can have it in tacos for dinner and then bring it to lunch the next day with rice and veggies.

What is the difference between Birria and Barbacoa?

Birria is another type of Mexican stew that involves stewing the beef slowly over hours, similar to how we made this barbacoa recipe. The two main differences are that birria is stewed with tomatoes and when served, the tortillas are dipped in the layer of fat on top of the stew. The beef is then placed in the tacos and fried on the griddle giving the tortillas a crispy texture.

I am all about tacos. Pizza, Pasta, and Tacos are my three favorite foods. If you love these tacos try out our Shrimp Tacos with Mango Lime Salsa. They're slightly less time-consuming but another tasty meal.

Let us know what you think of our barbacoa by leaving a rating below! Follow us on Instagram @vindelgiudice or @alwaysfromscratch on Tiktok!

Here are some of our other dutch oven recipes!

Broccoli Rabe and Tortellini Soup

Zuppa Toscana

Authentic Bolognese

Curry Chicken and Rice Soup

📖 Recipe