Take taco night up a notch with a filling made of smoked chuck roast. Serve with homemade barbacoa sauce and other fresh toppings in warm corn tortillas.
.Ingredients:
Chuck Roast
1 Chairman’s Reserve® boneless chuck roast (about 4 pounds)
2 teaspoons kosher salt
1 teaspoon smoked paprika
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
½ teaspoon garlic powder
1 cup water
2 cups sliced yellow onions
Barbacoa Sauce
4 dried guajillo chilies stemmed and seeded, chopped, soaked and drained
3 dried ancho chilies stemmed and seeded, chopped, soaked and drained
1 tablespoon raisins
1 yellow onion chopped
6 garlic cloves
4 oz orange juice
2 oz lime juice
1 teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon black pepper
2 teaspoons fresh oregano
1 teaspoon cumin seed
¼ teaspoon ground cloves
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 pilsner beer
2 chipotle peppers in adobe, or to taste
2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
1 14 oz can diced tomatoes
2 cups chicken broth
3 bay leaves
Tacos
24 or more corn tortillas
2 tablespoons fat from sauce
2 cups Monterey Jack cheese, shredded
Cilantro sprigs
Sweet onion, thinly sliced
Directions:
Chuck Roast
- Salt and pepper the roast and brush on some olive oil, dust with smoked paprika and garlic powder. If the roast is flatter vs. fatter, you may want to tie it in each direction 2 times to keep it together and of more even thickness. Or ask your butcher to tie or net it for you.
- Prepare smoker and once coals are hot, add pecan or fruit or oak wood. Place chuck directly on grate with an aluminum pan underneath to catch fat drippings. Add 1 cup of water to the pan. Cook at 225°F-250°F heat for 2 to 3 hours until a crust has formed, and temperature reaches 165°F.
- Remove roast and drip pan from smoker. Place a layer of onions in the aluminum pan and top with the roast. Cover the pan tightly with foil and return to smoker until temperature reaches 190°F. Remove from smoker and keep warm. Save the juices, fat and onions to add to the Barbacoa sauce.
- Rest meat for 20 minutes, then pull into chunks and serve with the sauce.
Barbacoa Sauce
- Put all ingredients, except bay leaves, into vita mix blender and blend until smooth adding the tomatoes and chicken stock gradually. Put into a 3-quart saucepan, add bay leaves and simmer on medium-low heat. Pour the fat and juices from the roast into the saucepan and simmer for 20 to 30 minutes. Taste for seasonings, acid, heat. Pour the sauce into a fat separator and pour off and reserve fat (or place in a container in the refrigerator or freezer for an hour and remove fat). Remaining sauce can be put back into saucepan and kept warm.
Assembly
- Heat skillet on medium heat.
- Brush corn tortillas with reserved fat and heat to get some sear. Stack on plate and cover to keep warm and pliable.
- Serve the pulled meat with sauce, shredded cheese, cilantro and shaved onion.
