Smoked Barbacoa Recipe

Fire up your grill and make this incredible flavor-packed smoked barbacoa recipe! This Tex-Mex favorite is made with slow-smoked beef cheeks in barbacoa sauce and then shredded to make Incredible tacos, nachos, tortas, and more!

Course BBQ, Grilling, Main Course

Cuisine American, Mexican, tex mex

Keyword beef cheek barbacoa, Smoked Barbacoa Recipe

Prep Time 1

Cook Time 6

Servings

Calories 182kcal

Author Bon Appeteach

Ingredients

Smoked Beef Cheeks

4 Beef Cheeks trimmed
4 tbsp. Olive Oil
1/2 cup BBQ Dry Rub
1 cup Beef Stock
4 tbsp. Butter

For The Barbacoa

6 cups Beef Stock divided
12 dried Guajillo Peppers
1/4 cup Olive Oil
1 small Onion Large Dice
4 medium Tomatoes quartered
6 cloves Garlic
2 Bay Leaves
2 tsp. Salt
1 tbsp. Cumin
1 tbsp. Thyme
1 tbsp. Oregano
2 tsp. Black Pepper
3 Oranges juiced
2 Limes juiced

Instructions

Smoking The Beef Cheeks

Preheat your smoker to 225-250 F. and set it for indirect heat.
Prep the beef cheeks by removing any large pieces of fat or silver skin and pat them dry with paper towels.
Add a small amount of olive oil or other binder of choice to each beef cheek and then coat liberally in your favorite beef rub or brisket rub.
Place the beef cheeks directly onto the grill grates and allow them to smoke for 2-3 hours, lightly spraying the beef cheeks with beef broth every hour to help the smoke adhere to the beef and prevent the bark from getting too dry. Remove from the smoker when the internal temperature of each cheek reaches 165-170 F.

Barbacoa Braising Liquid

While the beef cheeks are smoking, prepare the barbacoa broth base for the braising portion of the cook. Begin by adding some olive oil to a large skillet over medium heat and adding the 12 whole dried guajillo chiles to the pan. Carefully toss them in the oil for 5-6 minutes to help rehydrate them (do not let them burn).
Combine the chopped yellow onion, chopped tomatoes, garlic cloves, and bay leaves. Allow this to cook for 2-3 minutes, then add the dried spices and mix well.
After everything has been added, carefully add in 2 cups of beef stock and fresh squeezed juices from the oranges and lime. Allow the mixture to simmer for about 10 minutes on low heat then completely remove it from the heat to rest and cool before blending.
When the barbacoa base mixture is no longer hot (it can be warm) carefully add it toa large blender and blend well.
Use a large fine mesh strainer and strain the mixture fully into the aluminum foil pan (or another pan you plan to use for braising). Use a spoon to help work the mixture through the strainer and discard the leftover pulp.

Making Smoked Barbacoa

Add the remaining 4 cups of beef broth to the pan and add the smoked beef cheeks into the barbacoa broth mixture. It’s ok if the tops are slightly exposed.
Place a small pad of butter over the top of each beef cheek, then cover the pan with foil and place it back onto the smoker to finish cooking until the beef cheeks are tender and reach an internal temperature between 195-203 F. (Use a meat thermometer to test for tenderness as well as temperature).
When the beef cheeks are probe tender, carefully remove the pan from the grill and allow it to rest for 30-45 minutes before shredding. Carefully shred with forks or by hand and keep the shredded meat in the barbacoa broth.

Notes

Make barbacoa bowls, tacos, enchiladas and more! The meat will keep in the fridge for 3-5 days or freeze for up to 3 months.

Nutrition