Barbacoa Beef Taco Salad

About

Barbacoa Beef Taco Salad is an entirely low carb meal! Beef chuck is braised in a mixture of pureed guajillo peppers, garlic cloves, beef broth, plenty of cumin, chili powder, and bay leaves using an Instant Pot. Once tender, the meat is drained from the braising liquid and seasoned with salt and freshly squeezed lime juice. The braising liquid is reduced down and later used as a dressing for the salad (which uses all the excellent beef fat and collagen in the broth). The salad itself is made with crunchy Romaine lettuce, crisp cucumbers, and sweet cherry tomatoes. The greens are topped with the tender meat, and then the entire salad is garnished with chopped cilantro.

What kind of beef can I use?

Use fatty beef roasts for this recipe, like beef chuck or arm roast.

How do I cook the meat if I do not have an Instant Pot?

If you do not have an Instant Pot, please use a slow cooker on its highest setting for 8 hours. If you do not have either an Instant Pot or a slow cooker, the same effect can be achieved in a Dutch oven or other roasting pot at a low temperature in the oven. The temperature should be about 300-325 F until the meat is falling apart, about 4-5 hours depending on the type of beef roast.

What is the purpose of using the braising liquid for the dressing?

The purpose of this is to preserve the exquisite flavors, collagen, and saturated fats in the braising liquid.

What other toppings to add?

Feel free to add shredded Mexican cheese, sour cream, and additional salsa if your macros will allow it!

Serving suggestion

Serve this with other low carb Mexican-style dishes like Keto Mexican Vegetable Soup

*Note* 1 tbsp crumbled bay leaf = 3 whole bay leaves – please use the whole leaves

Ingredients

• 2 ⅓ lb beef chuck arm pot roast lean and fat trimmed to 1/8" fat raw
• 1 teaspoon coarse kosher salt by morton
• 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
• 20 gram dried guajillo chile pepper – bailey farms
• 3 clove peeled garlic cloves by heb
• 2 ½ cup beef broth
• 2 tablespoon cumin, ground
• 1 teaspoon dark chili powder by mccormick
• 1 tablespoon oregano, dried
• 1 tbsp, crumbled bay leaf
• 1 head romaine lettuce
• 12 ounce english cucumber by generic
• 20 cherry tomato
• ¼ cup cilantro or coriander leaves fresh or raw herb
• 1 ½ each – 2" diameter lime
• 1 tablespoon organic raw-unfiltered apple cider vinegar by bragg
• 4 tablespoon salsa
• ¼ teaspoon coarse kosher salt by morton

Instructions

1. Cut the beef chuck into 4-5 large pieces and sprinkle them all with 1 tsp kosher salt. Heat a medium skillet over medium-high heat until the skillet is hot. Add in the olive oil and swirl to coat.
2. Add in the beef pieces and cook until the first side is nicely browned for about 2 minutes. Flip and repeat on the other side.
3. Place the seared beef into the bottom of an Instant Pot if using. Prepare the braising liquid mixture by placing the dried guajillo peppers into a heat proof container.
4. Cover them with one cup of boiling water and allow to sit and rehydrate for several minutes until softened. Blend until mostly smooth.
5. Then add in the garlic, cumin, dark chili powder, and oregano. Puree the mixture with a stick blender until smooth (some pieces of chili are acceptable). Add some of the beef broth if needed to puree the mixture.
6. Add the chili puree and any remaining beef broth into the pot with the beef. Close the Instant Pot and set the seal to close. Place on high for 1 hour and 25 minutes.
7. Once the time has elapsed, release the steam from the Instant Pot. Drain the meat from the braising liquid and reserve the liquid.
8. Place the liquid into a small saucepan and reduce it down to ⅔ cup. Add the apple cider vinegar, the juice of one lime, salsa, and ¼ tsp kosher salt to the reduced braising liquid. This reduced liquid will be the salad dressing.
9. To the drained meat, add ½ tsp kosher salt to the finished meat and the remaining ½ lime squeezed; toss and taste. Adjust the salt and lime to your liking.
10. Next, prepare the salad by slicing the lettuce into 1” pieces and washing the lettuce greens well. Spin them in a salad spinner to remove the excess water. Wash and cut the cucumber into bite-sized pieces and slice the tomatoes in half. Arrange the lettuce on a platter with the tomatoes and cucumbers.
11. Arrange the meat on top that has been shredded and chopped cilantro. Serve immediately with the dressing.

Nutrition Facts

• Servings: 4
• Calories: 789.9kcal/3230.2kJ (per serving)
• Fat: 52.4g (per serving)
• Carbs: 20.8g (per serving)
• Protein: 58.3g (per serving)