Tex Mex Barbacoa, Slow Cooker Style

Rinse cheek meat (see note below) and cut away as much fat and visible gristle as possible. Cube into large pieces. Put cheek meat into a large crock pot and season well with salt, pepper, comino (cumin), oregano and garlic powder. (I estimated amounts above.) Remove the skins from the garlic cloves, cut off the little hard end and throw them in whole.

Add the bay leaf and squeeze the juice of the limes over all. Add the beef stock (I use Kitchen Basics), stir, cover and cook on high for at least 6 hours. I like to stir at least once an hour but there’s really no need to so skip that part if you are making this on a day when you are out of the house. I was prepared to go to 8 hours cook time but at 6 hours the meat was falling apart and was all gooey and melting.

Lift the meat out with a slotted spoon and shredded it with two forks. Discard any solid fat or any remaining ooey bits like vein or gristle. Taste for seasoning and adjust as needed. The texture and slight stickiness is exactly what I’ve been craving. If you trim it well, it won’t be anywhere near as greasy as some barbacoa (I’m looking at you, Taco Cabana). It has a rich meaty flavor with a faint citrus hint from the lime.

Serve on flour or corn tortillas (your preference) and garnish with diced onion, cilantro and salsa, with perhaps another squeeze of lime juice on top. Easy, easy recipe and takes me back to Austin and San Antonio, to the days when Barbacoa was only available on Sundays at little mercados in the barrio.

(In the photo above, the barbacoa taco is the one in the middle.)

Note: While there are Mexican grocery stores in my area, the nicest beef cheek meat I found was at Walmart, of all places. I usually dislike shopping there but will go when I’m making barbacoa.