Cinco de Mayo / Cooking with Orvil

Get ready for the tastiest meal ever! We love having burritos and tacos so much. Orvil even made churros for the first time too. See below for the recipe and click HERE for the YouTube video to see him cook barbacoa!

Barbacoa Beef Tacos

* 2/3 cup beer or beef stock

* 4 cloves garlic

* 2 chipotles in adobo sauce or to taste

* 1 small white onion, peeled and roughly chopped

* 1 4-ounce can chopped green chiles

* Juice from 2 limes

* 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar

* 1 tablespoon ground cumin

* 1 tablespoon dried oregano

* 2 teaspoons salt

* 1 teaspoon black pepper

* 1 tablespoon olive oil

* 3 pounds beef roast (lean or fat trimmed), cut into 2-inch chunks

* 3 bay leaves

INSTRUCTIONS

Instant Pot (preferred method):

* Combine beer, garlic, chipotles, onion, green chiles, lime juice, vinegar, cumin, oregano, salt and pepper in a blender or food processor.  Purée for 30 seconds, or until completely smooth.  Set aside.

* (Press the “Sauté” setting on the Instant Pot.  Add oil.  Then once it is heated and shimmering, add the roast and sear — turning every 45-60 seconds or so — until the roast is browned on all sides.  Press “Cancel” to turn off the heat.

* Add the bay leaves and pureed sauce, and briefly toss everything until the roast is evenly coated in the sauce.  Close lid securely and set vent to “Sealing”.

* Press “Manual”, then press “Pressure” until the light on “High Pressure” lights up, then adjust the +/- buttons until time reads 60 minutes. Then let pressure naturally release until the valve has dropped.

* Remove the lid, and discard the bay leaves.

* Using two forks, shred the beef into bite-sized pieces.  Give the beef one more good toss in all of those juices so that it can soak them up.

* Serve warm, or refrigerate in a sealed container for up to 3 days, or freeze for up to 3 months.

Dutch Oven(Alternate method): 

* Combine beer, garlic, chipotles, onion, green chiles, lime juice, vinegar, cumin, oregano, salt and pepper in a blender or food processor.  Purée for 30 seconds, or until completely smooth.  Set aside.

* Put oven rack in middle position and preheat oven to 325°F.

* Add oil to Dutch oven and heat on stove over medium high heat until oil shimmers.

* Pat beef dry and add chunks of chuck roast to Dutch oven and brown on all sides removing browned pieces and setting aside on a separate plate until all pieces of chuck roast are browned.  

* Place all chuck roast in Dutch oven and add puréed sauce and bay leaves and briefly toss everything until the roast is evenly coated in the sauce. 

* Cover Dutch oven with lid tightly and place in the oven I’m the center rack at 325 degrees for approximately 2 1/2 to 3 hours (You will want to stir the beef once about 1 to 1 1/2 hours in) or until beef is fork tender.

* Remove from oven and discard bay leaves.

* Using two forks, shred the beef into bite-sized pieces.  Give the beef one more good toss in all of those juices so that it can soak them up.

* Serve warm, or refrigerate in a sealed container for up to 3 days, or freeze for up to 3 months.

Sarah and I both love Mexican cuisine! We never pass up tacos and the kids are always asking for tacos and nachos. This is one of our favorite recipes. We typically make this recipe in the instant pot as it’s so easy to use and makes this recipe a breeze and reduces the cooking time greatly! However, you can also make this by braising the beef in the Dutch oven which is probably the more traditional way to make it. Either way you will enjoy the explosion of flavor.

We like to eat this with tortillas as tacos, burritos or even over nachos (Harper’s favorite!). Garnish with toppings such as cilantro, pico de gallo, salsa, cheese, sour cream and whatever great toppings you can think of!

Churro Recipe

* 1 cup water 

* 2 ½ tablespoons white sugar 

* ½ teaspoon salt 

* 2 tablespoons vegetable oil 

* 1 cup all-purpose flour 

* 2 quarts oil for frying 

* ½ cup white sugar, or to taste 

* 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon 

Directions:

* Step 1 In a small saucepan over medium heat, combine water, 2 1/2 tablespoons sugar, salt and 2 tablespoons vegetable oil. Bring to a boil and remove from heat. Stir in flour until mixture until mixture forms a ball.

* Step 2 Heat oil for frying in deep-fryer or deep skillet to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Pipe strips of dough into hot oil using a pastry bag. Fry until golden; drain on paper towels.

* Step 3 Combine 1/2 cup sugar and cinnamon. Roll drained churros in cinnamon and sugar mixture.

Hope you all love it as much as we do! We make these tacos every week and they are the kids favorite. Let us know what you think in the comments 🙂