Name: Not Really Chipotle’s Barbacoa Beef
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 90 min
Yield: 4-6 servings
Cuisine: Mexican
Ingredients: 1 tsp olive oil; 2 lbs boneless beef chuck (cut into 2 inch pieces; or beef stew meat, cut into 2 inch pieces); Up to 6 medium garlic cloves (minced (2 tablespoons)); 2 canned chipotle chilesadobo sauce (stemmed, cored, and minced (seeded, if desired— and gluten-free, if necessary)); 1 tbsp mild paprika; 3 tsp ground cumin; 4 2 tsp onion powder; 1 tsp ground black pepper; 2 tbsp adobo sauce from the can or a chipotle-flavored hot sauce (such as Cholula (either gluten-free, if necessary)); 3 tbsp apple cider vinegar; 4 2 tbsp lime juice; 2 tbsp regular or low-sodium soy sauce (or gluten-free tamari sauce); 3/4 cup beef broth

Not Really Chipotle’s Barbacoa Beef

By :Bruce Weinstein & Mark Scarbrough

On the road, we’ve been known to drive out of the way (unheard of!) to find a Chipotle’s and wolf down the barbacoa. In an online forum recently, we discovered we weren’t the only ones. So here we are: a copycat recipe for the IP. There are three secrets to success — which happen to be three simple ingredients: 1) lots of garlic (seriously!), 2) canned chipotle chiles in adobo sauce (for the smokiness), and 3) apple cider vinegar (for zip). We upped the game a bit by using olive oil for a slightly sweeter finish and by giving the stew a heavy splash of soy sauce for greater umami flavor. A new can of chipotles in adobo sauce should have about the 2 tablespoons sauce you need here. If you’re using a can you’ve already opened or if your can is scant on sauce, you can make up the difference with a chipotle-flavored hot sauce like Cholula. If you skip the hot sauce and use a reduced amount of adobo sauce from the can, you must make up the liquid difference with more broth.

Course

Dinner, Main Course

Cuisine

Mexican, Modern

Difficulty

Easy

Browse Category

Meat

Duration

1-2 hours

Cooking Technique

Pressure Cook, Sauté

Main Ingredient

Adobo Sauce, Beef Broth, Boneless Beef Chuck Roast, Canned Chipotle Chiles

Keyword

instant pot beef recipes

Prep Time

15 minutes

Cook Time

90 minutes

Servings

4-6 servings

Ingredients

1 tsp olive oil
2 lbs boneless beef chuck cut into 2 inch pieces; or beef stew meat, cut into 2 inch pieces
Up to 6 medium garlic cloves minced (2 tablespoons)
2 canned chipotle chilesadobo sauce stemmed, cored, and minced (seeded, if desired— and gluten-free, if necessary)
1 tbsp mild paprika
3 tsp ground cumin
4 2 tsp onion powder
1 tsp ground black pepper
2 tbsp adobo sauce from the can or a chipotle-flavored hot sauce such as Cholula (either gluten-free, if necessary)
3 tbsp apple cider vinegar
4 2 tbsp lime juice
2 tbsp regular or low-sodium soy sauce or gluten-free tamari sauce
3/4 cup beef broth

Course

Dinner, Main Course

Cuisine

Mexican, Modern

Difficulty

Easy

Browse Category

Meat

Duration

1-2 hours

Cooking Technique

Pressure Cook, Sauté

Main Ingredient

Adobo Sauce, Beef Broth, Boneless Beef Chuck Roast, Canned Chipotle Chiles

Keyword

instant pot beef recipes

Prep Time

15 minutes

Cook Time

90 minutes

Servings

4-6 servings

Ingredients

1 tsp olive oil
2 lbs boneless beef chuck cut into 2 inch pieces; or beef stew meat, cut into 2 inch pieces
Up to 6 medium garlic cloves minced (2 tablespoons)
2 canned chipotle chilesadobo sauce stemmed, cored, and minced (seeded, if desired— and gluten-free, if necessary)
1 tbsp mild paprika
3 tsp ground cumin
4 2 tsp onion powder
1 tsp ground black pepper
2 tbsp adobo sauce from the can or a chipotle-flavored hot sauce such as Cholula (either gluten-free, if necessary)
3 tbsp apple cider vinegar
4 2 tbsp lime juice
2 tbsp regular or low-sodium soy sauce or gluten-free tamari sauce
3/4 cup beef broth

Instructions

Press Sauté and set for Medium, Normal or Custom 300°F. Set the time for 10 minutes.
As the pot heats, warm the oil in the insert set in a 5- or 6-quart Instant Pot. Add the meat and cook, stirring often, until it browns, about 6 minutes. Get good color on some of the pieces (although there will be a lot of boiling juices in the pot). Stir in the garlic and minced chipotle until aromatic, just a few seconds.
Stir in the paprika, cumin, onion powder, and pepper. Warm by stirring a few times, then stir in the adobo sauce, vinegar, lime juice, and soy or tamari sauce. Scrape up any browned bits on the pot’s bottom and turn off the heat. Stir in the broth until uniform. Lock the lid on the pot.
Pressure Cook: Set the Instant Pot for Pressure Cook or Manual and set the level to High. The valve must be closed. Set the time for 35 minutes with the Keep Warm Setting off.
--OR--
Slow Cook: Set the Instant Pot for Slow Cook. Set the level to High. The valve must be open. Set the time for 4 hours.
When the pot has finished cooking under pressure, turn it off and let the pressure return to normal naturally, about 35 minutes. Whichever cooking method you’ve used, unlatch the lid and open the cooker.
Use two forks to shred the beef right in the pot. Stir it into the sauce and set the pot aside for 2 to 3 minutes so that the meat continues to absorb the juices. Serve warm.

Recipe Notes

Other Pots
• For a 3-quart Instant Pot, you must halve almost all of the ingredient amounts except you must use 1/2 cup broth.
• For an 8-quart Instant Pot, you must increase almost all of the ingredient amounts by 50 percent except you must use 1 1/4 cups broth.
• For a 10-quart Instant Pot, you must double almost all of the ingredient amounts except you must use 2 cups broth.

Beyond: serve in flour or corn tortillas with hot sauce (or salsa), sliced avocado, sliced radishes, and/or diced mango.