Homemade Beef Barbacoa Tacos (Dutch Oven)

by Deana Larkin Evans · March 27, 2023

Pickling the Onions, Jalapeños the Day Before Cooking

The night before making the beef barbacoa tacos, prepare your pickled items. We cleaned and cut up both jalapeños and red onions. We heated up pickle juice and covered both with the pickle juice. Let cool to room temperature then refrigerate overnight.

Pre-Measure All of The Spices and Ingredients

I usually take the beef out of the refrigerator first thing and set it on the counter to come to room temperature before searing it. Or at least leave out long enough to not be so cold straight out of the refrigerator.

Then I start to measure out all of the spices and ingredients we will be using in the recipe. Chop up the garlic and onions and set aside until we are ready to use them.

Preparing and Searing the Roast

Pat the roast dry and generously season all sides with salt and pepper. Preheat the Dutch oven over medium high heat on the stove. Then drizzle olive oil into the Dutch oven and sear the beef for about 3-4 minute per side until browned. Carefully remove the beef from the Dutch oven and set aside.

Also, start preheating the oven at 325 degrees F.

Preparing the Beef Barbacoa

Turn the temperature down to low heat. Add the sliced onions and allow to cook down until nice and brown and soft. Scraping up the bits on the bottom of the Dutch oven as you cook them. Then add in the dried oregano, cumin, ground cloves, and chopped garlic. Cook for about 30 seconds. Next add in chipotle peppers in adobo sauce and cook for about 1 minute.

Add in the apple cider vinegar and beef broth. Bring to a boil. Then turn off the stove top. Add in the beef roast and bay leaves. Cover with the lid and place in the preheated oven.

We cooked it for about 2 hours and 15 minutes. Cooking times will vary depending on whether the meat is cold, size, your actual oven temperature. A roast should be done when the internal temperature reaches at least 145 degrees F when checked with a meat thermometer.

When done, set aside to shred. Remove chipotles and bay leaves from the remaining broth. Pour the liquid from the Dutch oven into your blender and blend until smooth. Or even easier is to leave the sauce in the Dutch oven and use an immersion blender if you have one.

Place the shredded beef back into the sauce. Top with some fresh squeezed lime juice. Then serve with your favorite ingredients.

We love to serve it on small corn tortillas warmed in the microwave. Place a wet paper towel around the corn tortillas then microwave for a few seconds to make them more pliable.

Place the beef barbacoa on the tortillas then add cilantro and your pickled goodies. Squeeze a little more lime juice. And enjoy the labor of love! You could probably freeze some of the barbacoa, too. I took small batches and froze them to see how well it does after freezing.

Homemade Beef Barbacoa Tacos (Dutch Oven)

Beef Barbacoa recipe (cooked in a Dutch oven) and served as tacos with corn tortillas, cilantro, lime, pickled red onions, and pickled jalapeños.

Course Main Course

Cuisine Mexican

Keyword barbacoa, beef, spices, tacos

Prep Time 1 day

Cook Time 3 hours

Ingredients

2 lb eye of round roast
salt and pepper
olive oil
1 large onion sliced
1 tbsp dried oregano
1 tbsp cumin
1/4 tsp ground cloves
4 cloves garlic chopped
3-4 whole chipotle in adobo sauce
3 tbsp apple cider vinegar
1 1/2 cups beef broth
3 dried bay leaves

Serve with Your Choice

limes to squeeze after cooking
corn tortillas
cilantro
pickled onions
pickled jalapeño

Instructions

Prepare Pickled Items Beforehand

The night before making the beef barbacoa, prepare your pickled items. We cleaned and cut up both jalapeños and red onions. We heated up pickle juice and covered both with the juice. Let cool to room temperature then refrigerate overnight.

Preparing the Beef Barbacoa

Preheat your oven to 325 degrees.
Let the round roast come to room temperature. Season all over with a generous amount of salt and pepper.
Place the Dutch oven on the stove and turn the heat up to medium high heat. After about a minute drizzle in olive oil. Then sear the beef on all sides about 3-4 minutes each so that it has browned nicely.
Remove beef from the Dutch oven and set aside. Turn the temperature down to low heat. Add the sliced onions and allow to cook down until nice and brown and soft. Scraping up the bits on the bottom of the Dutch oven as you cook them.
Add the oregano, cumin, ground cloves, and garlic. Cook for 30 seconds or until fragrant. Next, add the chipotle peppers in adobo sauce and cook for 1 minute. Add the broth and apple cider vinegar, and bring to a boil.
Turn off the stove. Then add the beef back into the Dutch oven along with the bay leaves. Put the lid on the Dutch oven and place in the oven for about 2 hours 15 minutes. The internal temperature should be at least 145 degrees F when checked with a meat thermometer.
Once the meat is fork tender, remove it from the Dutch oven and set aside to cool a bit. Then shred.
Meanwhile, remove chipotles and bay leaves from the remaining broth. Using an immersion blender liquify the remaining broth and onions in the Dutch oven. Place the shredded beef back into the broth and stir until well coated.
Top with a squeeze of fresh lime juice. Serve with cilantro and pickled red onions or shallots, and jalapeños.