Beef Barbacoa Tacos

By khojnicki

Ingredients

• 8 dried guajillo chiles, stemmed and seeded
• 2 plum tomatoes, quartered
• 1 small white onion, quartered
• 8 cloves garlic, unpeeled
• Kosher salt
• 2 lbs beef chuck, cut into 1"-2" pieces
• 1/2 tsp cumin
• 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
• 1 c roughly chopped fresh cilantro
• 1/4 tsp dried thyme
• 2 bay leaves
• Freshly ground black pepper
• Corn tortillas, assorted toppings for serving (jalapeno, scallions, radishes, cabbage)

Details

Preparation time 45mins
Cooking time 165mins

Preparation

Step 1

Heat a large Dutch oven over medium high heat. Add the chiles and cook, pressing them down with a spatula, 10 seconds per side. Transfer to a plate. add the tomatoes, onion and garlic to the pan and cook, stirring once or twice, until the vegetables are charred in spots, about 10 mins.

Peel the garlic and transfer to a blender along with the tomatoes and onion. Tear the chiles into pieces and add to the blender along with 1/2 c water and 1 tsp salt; pulse until smooth. Strain the mixture through a fine sieve into the skillet, pressing it through with the back of a spoon.

Add the beef to the skillet and turn to coat in the chile sauce using tongs. Cook over medium high heat, turning occasionally, until a crust starts to form on the meat, about 10 mins. Sprinkle in the cumin, cinnamon and cayenne pepper and cook 1 more min. Meanwhile, puree 2 1/2 c water, cilantro and thyme in the blender; add to the skillet along with the bay leaves.

Reduce the heat to low. Cover and gently simmer until the meat is very tender, about 2 hours, adding up to 1 1/2 c water if the sauce gets too thick. Remove the bay leaves and season with salt and pepper. Serve in tortillas with assorted condiments.