Salsa to Serve Over Barbocas Beef

Beef barbacoa with consomme! Of all the Mexican restaurants I have visited, very few come close to home-style Mexican cooking! What?

I Mean Barbacoa, Not Beef Roast.

I grew up being told that if the meat didn't come from the cow's head, then it's not barbacoa. Of course it will still be delicious if you use a chuck roast, but technically it's not barbacoa. This is not the traditional way barbacoa is cooked either. It's a home cooks version!

Cook With Intention! Like You Mean It!

Don't take shortcuts! You are craving an authentic, traditional and home-style Mexican meal. At least once, try cooking it the traditional way. Next time, pull out the pressure cooker. Then the slow cooker. Try different cooking methods on the same recipe. That is the only way you will know for sure the results. I do it all of the time. This is how we learn.

When You Work Outside Of The Home.

For many, many years I worked outside the home in a retail job. I would plan my meals ahead and prep what I could before leaving for work. I rarely used the crock pot and this was way before I learned to use a pressure cooker.

Dried Chiles

If you have to invest in a large bag of dried chiles, use them up in a timely manner. The longer the chile pods are stored, the more brittle and dried out they will become. If you have to, soften them, blend them into a quick chile paste and store in your freezer. They will hold up for many months until you are ready to use them. Just make sure you store them flat so they are easy to defrost. Quart size freezer bags are perfect for this.

I keep tomatoes, onions, garlic, chiles, cilantro and limes on hand all of the time. I need to be prepared! Lol!

Many mainstream markets sell these cuts in vacuum sealed packages these days. They are more readily available.

Invest in a steamer pot. They are fairly inexpensive.

Those cuts don't intimidate me anymore! But the first few times were stressful, lol! It's comical now that I think about it.

Beef cheek and tongue are the most beefy and tender meat I have ever had!

Invest in a Vitamix blender! You won't regret it, especially if you prepare a lot of sauces.

I really enjoy my inexpensive Mexican cookware. It gets the job done and it's lightweight!

Be generous with the consomme. This recipe yields generous amounts.

Barbacoa deserves a Spicy Red Salsa!

• Steamer Pot

• 3 lbs beef tongue trim any excess fat
• 3 lbs beef cheek trim any excess fat
• 4 chile guajillo stems and seeds removed
• 6-8 chile de arbol stems removed
• 4 chile pasilla stems and seeds removed
• 1 tsp thyme
• 1 tsp cumin seeds
• 1 tsp peppercorns
• 1 tsp oregano
• 1 tsp marjoram
• 4-5 whole cloves
• 4-5 bay leaves
• 1 1/2 inch section Mexican cinnamon stick
• 8-10 cloves of Garlic
• 1 medium Onion roughly chopped
• 3 Roma Tomatoes roughly chopped
• Salt to taste
• Fresh cracked pepper to taste

Garnish

• Onion diced
• Cilantro Chopped
• Spicy red salsa see link above
• Lime wedges
• Warm corn tortillas

• To the bottom of the steamer pot, add the dried chiles, tomatoes, onion, garlic, all dried spices and herbs.

• Fill with enough water to level shown in steamer pot. Insert steamer. Place the trimmed beef tongue and cheek on top. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Cover with foil paper, then the lid. Turn heat to high.

• Cover with foil paper, then the lid. Turn heat to high. Once it comes up to a rapid boil and begins to steam rapidly, reduce heat to right below medium.

• Place a large pot of water on back burner and heat on low. The barbacoa will steam for about 4 hours or until meat is very tender. Add 1 cup of hot water to steamer pot about every hour.

• Once the meat is tender, remove it from the pot onto cutting board. Let cool slightly. Remove skin from the beef tongue and discard skin. Roughly chop meat and transfer to a large baking dish. Set aside.

• Remove the steamer insert and transfer all of the solids left in the pot to the blender. Strain broth into another pot. Transfer all the spices in the strainer to the blender. Also to the blender, add some of the reserved broth, enough to just cover ingredients. Season with salt to taste. Blend on high until smooth.

• Pour the blended sauce into the pot that has the reserved broth. Add another cup of water to the blender jar and swish around before pouring in to the pot with sauce. Heat the sauce to medium. Stir well to combine. When it comes up to a simmer, taste for salt. Ladle some of the sauce over beef.

• When it comes up to a simmer, taste for salt. Ladle some of the sauce over beef. Cover with foil paper and keep warm in a low temperature oven.

• Continue cooking the thickened sauce with consomme for 20 minutes.

• To serve, add some barbacoa to shallow bowls. Ladle in some hot consomme/sauce over barbacoa. Garnish with onion, cilantro, spicy salsa and lime. Enjoy with warm corn tortillas.

My version of consomme(consome) yields a slightly thicker concoction. You can eliminate the tomatoes if you prefer a lighter consomme.

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Source: https://pinaenlacocina.com/barbacoa-with-consomme/

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