Just got back from a trip to Mexico. Normally Barbacoa is a "big production"
dish involving digging a hole, lining it with maguey cactus leaves, and
cooking on coals for hours. A restaurant I visited shared a method that's
more adaptable to a normal kitchen but still had a quite authentic "Charro"
flavor. If you're not cooking 1/2 a pig, or a whole lamb this method may
work for you.

-= Exported from BigOven =-

Mexican Style BBQ (Barbacoa)

This recipe works equally well with beef, lamb, or pork.

Recipe By: Pete Romfh
Serving Size: 12
Cuisine: Mexican
Main Ingredient: Beef
Categories: Low Sugar, Diabetic, Atkins-Friendly, Low Fat, Slow cook, Roast,
Main Dish, Breakfast

-= Ingredients =-
2 pounds Roasting meat ; - Beef, lamb, or pork
2 quarts Water
1/4 cup Garlic puree -- *
1 1/4 ounces Pickling spice ; - in cloth bag
1 teaspoon Salt
~~ BBQ sauce ~~
4 tablespoons Oil
1/2 cup Green chilies ; - roasted, peeled & chopped
1 medium White onion ; - chopped
1/4 cup Garlic puree -- *
1 tablespoon Vinegar
1 cup Broth
8 ounces jalapeno peppers ; - Canned slices
1 tablespoon Juice from canned jalapenos
1 Bay leaf
1/2 cup Salsa De Chile Colorado ; (or other red salsa)
1 teaspoon Pepper
1/2 cup Green olives ; -- minced
4 large Tomatoes ; - whole-peeled, chopped
1/2 cup Wine vinegar ; - red or white

-= Instructions =-
* Garlic Puree - peel 8 whole heads of garlic by smashing the cloves with
the side of a wide knife; the peel will slip off easily then. Put the
peeled garlic in a blender with about 2 cups of water, and puree. Drain, if
necessary, and store in a tightly closed glass jar in the refrigerator.

In an 8-quart stock pot, bring water to the boil, add meat, garlic puree,
spice pouch and salt. Bring to the boil again, skim scum, reduce heat and
simmer 1 hour, or until the meat is tender, frequently removing scum.
Remove meat and cool enough to handle. Discard spice pouch; reserve liquid.
With fingers, shred the meat finely.

In a large skillet, heat oil and sauté green chile, onion, garlic puree,
vinegar, broth and jalapeno. Add bay leaf. Add shredded meat and the rest
of the ingredients. Simmer until flavors blend, about 10 minutes. Place
seasoned meat in a large, shallow baking pan and bake at 300 degrees for
about 1 hour, stirring occasionally.

Serve with warm corn tortillas, or bolleos, and extra salsa on the side.
This will serve about 12 people unless they're really hungry.
Adapted from a recipe by: El Charro Cafe

Each (3/4 cup) serving contains an estimated:
Cals: 360, FatCals: 243, TotFat: 24g
SatFat: 9g, PolyFat: 4g, MonoFat: 11g
Chol: 72mg, Na: 477mg, K: 456mg
TotCarbs: 9g, Fiber: 1g, Sugars: 4g
NetCarbs: 8g, Protein: 20g
--- Tortillas or rolls are not included in analysis ---

** Recipe, with photo, is available at: http://www.bigoven.com/recipe160744
**
** Easy recipe software. Try it free at: http://www.bigoven.com **


--
Pete Romfh, Telecom Geek & Amateur Gourmet.
http://www.bigoven.com/~promfh
promfh (at) hal-pc (dot) org