Barbacoa: Slow Braised Beef Cheeks
Tacos are an absolute staple in our house. When Tim and I were at Regis University in Denver we had several beloved taco places within minutes of our house. I still miss 0.99 cent tacos across from Lakeside Amusement Park and Tacos Jalisco on 38th Avenue.
Now, I love making tacos at home! It’s such an easy way to feed a crowd, which is good because it seems as soon as I pull my Instant Pot out, my sister is sitting at my island and my brother is asking how much guacamole I made.
My husband really loves barbacoa, which I’ve made before with brisket; it’s perfectly delicious with brisket but not quite authentic. I decided to try my hand at beef cheeks—the way barbacoa should be made, and it’s outrageous. The cheek is loaded with connective tissue that needs to break down, four cheeks (9-10 oz. each) took nearly 9 hours on the ‘Slow Cook’ setting set to ‘High’ in my Instant Pot. Cheeks have a much richer smell and flavor than brisket, they are closer to organ meat in depth of flavor and nutritional density.
How-To Make Barbacoa with Beef Cheeks
4 beef cheeks (9-10 oz. each)
4 tbsp. Gabbie’s Taco Seasoning (1 tbsp. for each cheek)
1 tbsp sea salt & pepper to your preference
2 c. water
It’s very important that you source your meat properly for this. I bought my beef cheeks from Butcher & the Larder at Local Foods on Willow at Elston. The butchers there are very knowledgeable and were able to immediately pull what I was asking for. The cheeks cost me $9/lb, which I felt was very fair for a cut that is less popular, and still kept fresh on hand.
I prepared my Instant Pot on ‘Sauté’ function with 2 tablespoons of olive oil. If you only have a slow cooker, you should sear your meat in a cast-iron pan so that you get a bit of crust on them. The caramelization of the meat adds flavor and is an important step!
Season the cheeks liberally with salt first, and then one tablespoon each of the taco seasoning. I squeezed them in the Instant Pot (they are huge at first and shrink significantly) and allowed them to crisp up on one side before adding the 2 cups of water and setting the ‘Slow Cook’ function to High for 9 hours. I turned the cheeks about once an hour.
When they were done, I removed the cheeks and left the liquid in the pot. I turned the Instant Pot to ‘Sauté’ again and reduced the sauce. The meat shredded easily with a fork and then I returned the meat to the the reduced sauce for serving.
That’s our barbacoa dinner! I did regular corn tortillas with onion, cilantro, and cotija cheese for the kids. My husband and I had Whole30 compliant sweet potatoes that I roasted whole, cut in half, mixed in salsa and green chiles and rebaked for 20 minutes. The barbacoa is so versatile! It can be used for any number of meals. This cut of meat would be especially delicious on nachos, which my 9-year old has been obsessing over lately!
For more recipes using my taco seasoning: