Beef Barbacoa Crock Pot Style

The Boy and his girlfriend love Chipolte ... to the point where they had to take a break as the employees knew exactly what they were going to order since they were going so often ;-)

Of course, I'm like, good grief kids, that gets expensive after a while and we can get a pretty close replica of that at home! Which reminds me, I need to be making Steak Bites again pretty soon ...

So when I came across this recipe, I knew I had to give it a try as it totally FITS the Pantry/Freezer Challenge ... I've got everything on hand, with the exception of the cilantro ... which in MY house, has to be added to each individual plate since me and the girlfriend are the only one's who like it ... I even had the beer, and no, it wasn't Dos Equis, it was Corona ... thankful that I discovered this recipe at this particular time, had a cooler full of beer from the 4th of July festivities and actually had more than just the usual Ciders and Coors Lite on hand :-)

The ULTIMATE sacrifice!

The Ultimate Most Interesting Man in the World ... yes, he resides in my living room and is at ALL the parties! Don't worry, Hubby is ok with our relationship!

So here's how I did it:

4 lbs hunk of sirloin steak that was taking up a nice big chunk of space in the garage freezer
6 to 8 cloves of garlic
2 chipotle peppers with 2 tbs of the sauce from can. It's hard to get the sauce only so just do what you can
4 tbs lime juice
2 tbs tomato paste
2 tbs cumin
2 tbs chili powder
1 1/2 tbs garlic salt
2 tsp dried oregano
1 bay leaf (2 if smallish)
can of chicken broth (12 oz) (ideally, beef broth but I am on a Pantry / Freezer Challenge and don't have any!)
bottle of beer (12 oz) - preferably a dark or mexican beer (Corona had to do cuz, well, see above!)

Salt and pepper both sides of your beef.  Mash up the garlic and chipotle peppers in bowl. Add the lime juice, chipote sauce, tomato paste, cumin, chili powder, garlic salt, oregano and stir up to combine well.

These have a really NICE smokey but spicy kick so be careful!

Slater this on both sides of the beef and place in crock pot.  Mix up the broth and beer (use the same bowl, no sense in making MORE dishes!) and pour around the beef carefully so not to rinse all seasoning off beef.

Uhm ... all that juice there? I missed out at the end of the day ... 

Set on low for 6 to 8 hours and cook.  Go ahead, go to work, gym, beach, boating, shopping, something. It's really ok to leave the house for the 6 to 8 hours ;-)

So, when you come home and peek at that hunk of beef, try not to be disappointed. It got so ... small and dark ...

It's ok, honestly.  Take the smaller, dark hunk of meat out and place it on a cutting board. Go make yourself a margarita after scolding the Boy for the mess the kitchen when you just paid the cleaning girls not 24 hours ago to slave away and clean ... take his advice to leave the house for 10 minutes so he can make it right. Stay in garage and make a second margarita and return in 20.

When you come back in, you will be in a much better mood and ready to tackle the beef.

Remove any remaining peppers that might be hanging out on you beef. Go ahead and slice up the beef and then give it a rough chop OR, if you are inclined, shred it.

Now, here's where problem number 1002 of the day came in.  The Boy, in his anger desire to please me, cleaned out the crock pot!!! O M G ... I was, like, "Boy, did you clean my crock pot too?" in a super sweet {tequila speaking} voice ... where's all my lovely juice???? But I didn't say that, only "that was nice, but you didn't have to clean up MY mess!" ... so. If you are luckier than me, go ahead and toss the beef BACK in the crock pot with the juicy juice and turn it on high for 30 minutes.

When ready to serve (however, as a taco filling, rice bowl, or like me, a veggie bowl), go ahead and use a pair of tongs to grab the beef, allow it to drip a little and then dress it as desired.  IF you have the cilantro and want to use, I would use as a garnish. I wish I had cilantro ... and I also wish I hadn't forgotten about the avocados in the guest fridge ... they will be used tomorrow at lunch time ;-)

*I sauteed my dish in a little ghee, diced onions and leftover roasted broccoli, because, you know, I'm on a Pantry/Freezer Challenge AND trying to eat healthier .. that's what I had in the fridge ... and the margaritas are just too easy to make with what I have on the bar*

Enjoy!

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And ... for those of you whole go all the way to the bottom of the post ... you may (or maybe not) appreciate this shot ...

The battle bloggers face daily with animals ... and yes, her nose is really beat up again/still!