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Home » Recipes » Barbacoa tacos recipe

Mexican Recipes Recipes

Barbacoa tacos recipe

barbacoa tacos

Beef barbacoa is a typical Sunday brunch in Mexico. You can have it in tacos or make a torta de barbacoa. This is a simple and delicious slow cooker recipe and it tastes much better than many restaurants I have tried.

This recipe is also in Spanish: Barbacoa de Res con lengua y cachete

In México, people usually go to the butcher and buy the beef barbacoa ready to eat. Let’s prepare it with this easy recipe and make some delicious barbacoa tacos!

In my hometown, you can see men buying barbacoa on Sunday mornings. The better places have a long line where you can buy it warm and freshly made, with salsa and tortillas to take away.

The traditional beef barbacoa recipe is prepared in a pit that is made on the floor, with firewood where meat is placed and is covered with maguey stalks. That is why you can see places where they announce that “barbacoa en penca de maguey” is sold.

barbacoa tacos recipe

Barbacoa can be made of beef, lamb or mutton, but the one that is most used in my family is beef. And it is delicious if you also serve it along with menudo.

This is how many people eat it: You take a bite out of the barbacoa taco and take a spoonful of Menudo.

Meat cuts for Mexican barbacoa tacos

  • Tongue
  • Cheek
  • Chamberete (beef shank)
  • Skirt
  • Sirloin
  • Lips
  • Head
  • Eye

You can combine different cuts to change the flavor and texture; my personal favorite is a combination of the dry, meaty tongue and the fatty cheek.

HOW to make barbacoa

There are several ways to make barbacoa:

  • In a pit. (en pozo)
  • Pressure Cooker or Steamer
  • Slow cooker
  • Instant pot
  • Stove (It will take a long time)
beef barbacoa recipe

My family loves it, but here in the United States it is not easy to find and if you do it’s usually very greasy, so I am used to cooking it.

I almost always prepare it on Saturday nights, to keep the tradition of having barbacoa tacos on Sundays.

Making barbacoa in a slow cooker is so easy. You only have to put the meat in the slow cooker the night before and in the morning it will be ready for some delicious tacos!

beef barbacoa mexican recipe

how to make beef barbacoa in a steamer

And if you want to know how to make beef barbacoa in a steamer, follow the same instructions, but wrap the meat in aluminum foil.

Add water to the pot, place the steamer accessory that goes inside, and then place in there the meat wrapped in aluminum foil.

Cook over medium-high heat for about three hours.

The beef tongue contains little fat, unlike the cheek. Personally, I like to combine the two types of meat.
It is important to know that when meat is fully cooked the original quantity is reduced.

I hope you enjoy this easy barbacoa tacos recipe with your family, and I also invite you to read how to cook beans in the slow cooker.

BARBACOA TACOS (TONGUE AND CHEEK BARBACOA)


INGREDIENTS
(25 tacos)

  • 3 lbs Beef Tongue
  • 3 lbs Beef cheek
  • 10 bay leaves
  • 4 garlic cloves
  • ½ Onion
  • Water
  • 3 tablespoons of Salt

To garnish

  • 1 onion
  • 1 bunch of cilantro
  • Corn Tortillas, or Flour Tortillas.
  • Green sauce
  • Lemons

First of all, wash the beef tongue and cheek, very well until it no longer has blood.

If the cheek has a lot of fat, you can remove some of it.

If the tongue is too large, you can cut it in half.

Place the cheek and beef tongue in the slow cooker or crock-pot with enough water to cover.

Add the bay leaves, garlic cloves, onion, and salt.

beef tongue barbacoa
Cooking beef tongue on the stove

Cover the pot and turn on high, let barbacoa cook for approximately 6 hours. (If you leave it on slow, it takes about 8 hours) . I usually leave it slow overnight.

After this time the meat should be so soft that it can be easily shredded.

beef tongue in the slow cooker

Meanwhile, you can make a delicious green sauce.

You can also chop the onion, cilantro and cut the limes.

Take out the pieces of beef cheek and chop, separate in a container.

Do the same with the pieces of beef tongue and remove the skin with a fork or knife, as shown in the photo.

Throw away the tongue skin because it is very hard.

Shred the tongue and mix it with the cheek.

Heat tortillas, either corn or flour.

Fill the barbacoa tacos, add onion, cilantro, lime, and sauce to taste.

How to make barbacoa in slow cooker
Cooking beef cheek meat and tongue in the slow cooker

This is a really good barbacoa tacos recipe.

I hope you enjoy it!

More recipes with beef tongue:

  • Mexican beef tongue in tomato sauce
  • Beef tongue in red sauce
barbacoa tacos

Barbacoa Tacos Recipe (Beef cheek meat and tongue)

Brenda Cisneros
A delicious Mexican Barbacoa recipe for tacos
No ratings yet
Imprime la Receta Pin Receta
Course Main Course
Cuisine Mexican
Servings 25 tacos
Calories 255 kcal

Equipo

  • Slow cooker

Ingredients
  

  • 3 lbs beef tongue
  • 3 lbs beef cheek
  • 4 pc garlic clove
  • 1 1/2 pc onion
  • water
  • 3 tbsp salt
  • 1 bunch cilantro
  • tortillas
  • hot sauce (optional)
  • 4 limes

Instructions
 

  • First of all, wash the beef tongue and cheek under tap water, very well until it no longer has blood.
  • If the cheek has a lot of fat, you can remove some of it.
  • If the tongue is too large, you can cut it in half.
  • Place the cheek and beef tongue in the slow cooker or crock-pot with enough water to cover
  • Add the bay leaves, garlic cloves, onion, and salt.
  • Cover the pot and turn on high, let barbacoa cook for approximately 6 hours. (If you leave it on slow, it takes about 8 hours) . I usually leave it slow overnight.
  • After this time the meat should be so soft that it can be easily shredded.
  • Meanwhile, you can make a delicious green sauce
  • You can also chop the onion, cilantro and cut the limes.
  • Take out the pieces of beef cheek and chop, separate in a container
  • Do the same with the pieces of beef tongue and remove the skin with a fork or knife, as shown in the photo.
  • Throw away the tongue skin because it is very hard.
  • Shred the tongue and mix it with the cheek.
  • Heat tortillas, either corn or flour.
  • Fill the barbacoa tacos, add onion, cilantro, lime, and sauce to taste.
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Nutrition Facts
Barbacoa Tacos Recipe (Beef cheek meat and tongue)
Amount Per Serving (1 taco)
Calories 255 Calories from Fat 171
% Daily Value*
Fat 19g29%
Saturated Fat 8g50%
Trans Fat 1g
Polyunsaturated Fat 1g
Monounsaturated Fat 8g
Cholesterol 72mg24%
Sodium 902mg39%
Potassium 306mg9%
Carbohydrates 1g0%
Fiber 0g0%
Sugar 0g0%
Protein 20g40%
Vitamin A 35IU1%
Vitamin C 3mg4%
Calcium 18mg2%
Iron 2mg11%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

Check out:

Brisket on a gas grill easy recipe

More taco recipes:

  • Sausage Tacos Mexican style (franks)
  • Arrachera tacos with chorizo
  • Chipotle shrimp tacos
  • Entomatadas Recipe
  • Beef shank tacos


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About Brenda Cisneros

Brenda Cisneros is a Hispanic mom living in San Antonio, TX, after living in Dallas for fifteen years. She lives with her husband, their three kids, and their dog.
She started her Lifestyle blog, Mejorando mi Hogar, in Dallas in 2009 to connect with the Latino community in the US.
Brenda encourages her readers to enjoy life traveling and spending quality time with their family. In her blog, she shares her family experiences, recipes, travel, crafts, entertainment, and other family-related topics.

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