We were fortunate enough to live out in California for 15 years in an area with amazing taquerias. When we first moved to North Carolina it was hard to find that style of Mexican food, but I am happy to say that there are totally amazing taqueria style Mexican food trucks all over the place now! We had some fantastic food from one at the gas station down the highway a few weeks ago.
One of my favorite things at taquerias is the huge jar of pickles jalapenos, carrots and onions to eat along with your taco or torta or pupusa. When I decided to make barbacoa burritos today, I wanted to make this easy side to go with them.
I love this recipe for barbacoa burritos because it is delicious, but it is also really flexible. You can make it in your crock pot if you don’t have time to babysit the oven. I used my crock pot today because I wanted my oven free for making soft pretzels (recipe here) since the kids asked for more of them.
You can add whatever fillings you want into these burritos with the beef. Today I decided on Spanish rice, shredded cheddar, lettuce, guacamole (my recipe here), sour cream, and salsa/hot sauce). I was going to add refried beans too but forgot to buy them. 🙂 I let my family customize what they want to add to their own burritos and everyone makes a slightly different version.
This is a great weeknight dinner if you use the crock pot because there is very little work once the meat is made. Hope you enjoy!
Barbacoa Burritos + Taqueria Style Jalapenos and Carrots
Ingredients
For the Beef:
- 1 3-4 lb chuck roast
- 3 tbsp apple cider vinegar
- 4 garlic cloves outer skin removed
- 2 tsp cumin
- 2 tsp oregano
- 1/2 tsp black pepper
- 2 tsp salt
- pinch ground cloves
- 3 bay leaves
- 3 tbsp lime juice
- 2-4 chipotle peppers in adobo plus some sauce
- 1/4 cup tomato paste
- 1/2 yellow onion sliced
- 2 tbsp oil
- 3/4 cup chicken broth
For the Pickles:
- 4 carrots cleaned and sliced into 1/2 inch slices
- 5 jalapenos sliced
- 1/2 onion sliced
- 4 garlic cloves sliced
- 3/4 cup white vinegar
- 3/4 cup water
- 2 dried red chilies (optional)
- 2 bay leaves
- 1/2 tsp ground black pepper
- 1/2 tsp cumin seeds
- 1 tsp oregano
- 1 tsp kosher salt
For the Burritos:
- Burrito sized tortillas
- Shredded cheese
- guacamole or salsa or both
- rice or beans or both
- sour cream
- shredded lettuce
Instructions
For the Beef:
- Combine the vinegar, lime juice, chipotles, tomato paste, garlic, cumin, oregano, black pepper, salt and cloves in the blender and blend on high until smooth.
- Remove excess fat from the roast and cut into a few large chunks.
- Heat the oil in a frying pan and brown the meat over high heat on all sides.
- Transfer the meat to a crock pot or an oven safe pot with a lid. Pour over the sauce and the 3/4 cup chicken broth and bay leaves. Make sure the meat is mostly submerged.
- Cook on low in the crock pot until tender or in a 325 degree oven for about 2-3 hours until you can shred the meat.
- Shred the meat and use to fill your burrito.
For the Pickles:
- In a medium sauce pan, add the vinegar, water, salt, oregano, cumin seeds, garlic, chilies, pepper and bay leaves. Bring to a boil and add the carrots.
- Cook the carrots for 4 minutes and then add the onions/peppers. Cook until the jalapenos lose their bright green color and start to dull. Pour into a quart sized canning jar or other high heat safe container. Allow to cool and then refrigerate. These will keep for at least a few weeks.