Shredded beef
Hello. My name is Debi and I’m a Chipotle-holic. How do I love Chipotle? Let me count the ways.
1. I can eat pretty much everything served, except anything with flour tortillas. That’s a rarity for someone on a gluten-free diet.
2. They are a socially responsible corporation, using local produce when possible and animals that are raised free-roaming without antibiotic treatment.
3. There are so many combinations to try.
4. Barbacoa.
There is something about that barbacoa meat that I just crave. It’s a spicy meat and I’ve tried their other meat options, but I always get the barbacoa. It could be that it is well seasoned. So well seasoned that it’s spicy. And I’m not one that digs a lot of spice. However, I think because it’s “Mexican” food and most Mexican places in the Mid-West don’t season their meat at all, I’m drawn to it simply because it is seasoned.
I usually order the Barbacoa Bowl, no rice, black beans, fajita veggies, pico de gallo, and guacamole. I figured why not make something like it at home to jazz up my usual fajitas that I make.
I bought a grass-fed shoulder roast. I rubbed it with salt, pepper, cumin, chili powder, and cayenne, then browned it on all sides. I put it in my slow cooker with a little bit of beef broth. By little bit, I mean it didn’t even cover the entire bottom. I deglazed the pan with some water and then poured it into the slow cooker. I added a lot more chili powder, cumin, and cayenne, as well as more salt (but not a lot, of course). I let it cook for about 6 hours before shredding it and letting it simmer a little longer (long enough for a leisurely bubble bath!). I checked the seasoning before cooking the peppers and onions, and continued to let it cook while the peppers and onions were in the pan.
The Finished Product.
The pico was made before the bubble bath and I had the cilantro and lime juice ready for the guac at the same time. While the peppers and onions cooked, I cut open the avocados and mashed them into the cilantro and lime juice. I had some tortilla chips. I like eating my Barbacoa Bowl with tortilla chips just like I do with taco salad. The fork is really to just help get the food onto the chip when the food is being stubborn.
Overall, I was pretty pleased with the results. As usual, hubby didn’t think there was enough salt.
I couldn’t help but think, what if I threw a hot pepper in with it next time?
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