In honor of National Hispanic Month, I decided to make Barbacoa. When I googled some Barbacoa recipes, I noticed that almost of them used butt roast but that isn’t how we make it. We use Cacheta de Res, aka, Beef Cheeks and this is the only way I’ve known how to make it. And in actuality, we make Barbacoa de Cabeza (a cow head) and make barbacoa out of that but for this, we are just using the beef cheeks.
Before I get to the very easy barbacoa recipe, I thought I’d share with you a tidbit about us. My real dad’s side of the family is Mexican, which makes me half. My husband and his family is Spanish. They all speak Spanish, sing Spanish, and often talk in Spanish when together. My kids who very much look white, call themselves Hispanic because that’s what they are and how we live. I’ve always considered myself Mexican because 1) you’re supposed to go by your Dad and 2) I just feel it.
We cook Mexican food all the time with homemade tortillas being a staple around here. We haven’t had homemade barbacoa in a long time so I thought the timing was perfect for it. One of the things I love about our Walmart is that I can find those unique cuts that I need, in this case, cacheta de res (beef cheeks). They also carry other parts of the beef head like tongue which we would have also put in this but they were sold out.
Barbacoa is probably one of the easiest foods to make. While many might dress it up, we prefer an original, plain version.
Recipe: Authentic Barbacoa Using Cacheta de Res
Ingredients
- 6lbs of Cacheta de Res (Beef Cheeks)
- Handful of Comino
- Handful of Salt
- Pepper to taste
- 32oz Beef Broth
- Water to Cover
Instructions
- Pour your broth, salt, pepper, and comino into your slow cooker.
- Add your cacheta de res and cover with water.
- Cook on low for 10 hours.
- When done, shred with forks and serve with rice, beans, and homemade tortillas. I also recommend you top with fresh cilantro and onion!
Variations
You could also add lengua de res (beef tongue) if you wanted.
So if you want to be truly Authentic with this, buy a cow head and cook it in the ground, shred all the cheeks, tongue, eyes, etc and you’ll have barbacoa. We think is easier and for me, slightly more appealing than the other…….
Have you ever tried Barbacoa?
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Yoly de Cuponeando says
Never had tried with beef cheeks (that I know of.) Neither I had thought of using the crock pot. Thank you for sharing!
A Cowboy's Wife says
LOL *That I know of* that cracks me up because I’m surprised what I’ve eaten and not know it! My MIL tricked me good a few times. :)
I use a slow cooker for so many things…it saves a lot of time and makes for an easy clean up.
Cat Davis - Food Family Finds says
First of all, I never ever would have guessed you as being Hispanic, so that’s pretty cool to know.
Second, I’ve never tried or even heard of this dish. I’ll admit, I’ve never eaten anything close to authentic Mexican food. The closest I’ve ever come is Taco Bell.
Last, you scared the hell out of me with “beef cheeks” and “tongue” … in fact, I wish you hadn’t told me what the cut of meat was because I could see my family loving this but I’d have to use a rump roast. Other cow parts scare me. LOL
Sunnie says
Nice red crockpot, Im getting ready to upgrade my with my Swagbucks money on Amazon. I also love using mine. I have tried barbaco at Chipotle, but Im not sure what type of beef they use. My sister likes Asians, so she makes some interesting stuff, pork belly, that has a lot of fat on it.
jules p says
I need to ask a question….is this cut of beef fatty? I know that might be a strange question. I just wanted to know if the meat has a lot of fat in it!
thanks!
A Cowboy's Wife says
The photos should show you how fatty it is..but yes, very fatty.
H.A. Gonzalez says
Hi, just wondering do the Spanish people call it “cacheta” because I am Mexican and we call it cachete. Thanks for the recipe.
Jennifer in Austin says
I have beef cheeks in my freezer that I didn’t know what to do with. I had no idea I could make barbacoa with it, I love that stuff thanks for the recipe.
Jordan says
Do you cover the crock pot as it cooks?