You know those yards in your neighborhood that just give you grass envy? The ones that make you wonder what you are doing wrong in this world because your grass just won’t do the wonderful things that said glorious yard is doing? Well… I can’t help you with that problem. Sorry! My husband jokingly calls our house “the Njoroges….. where plants come to die”. I have a serious black thumb, and can’t seem to understand why plants need watering more than once a year. Anyhoo, I decided that since I can’t make the neighbors want my glorious plants, I can just assault them with the aroma of barbacoa beef and make them wish they were invited for dinner. The barbacoa beef is perfectly seasoned with Mexican spices and slow cooked until it falls apart. It’s edible potpourri!!! It will make the dude jogging by your house want to give you the slow clap.
You will need a dutch oven pot or a pot that can go in the oven. You could also brown in a pan and transfer to an oven safe dish and cover with foil if you do not have a pot with a lid that is oven safe. This recipe does need some prior planning since you need a few hours to cook the meat, but it yields enough for leftovers for a few days. Don’t have chipotle powder…. no worries. Chili powder would be a good substitute for it.
Barbacoa beef is super versatile when it comes to how to serve it. You could serve it with rice, beans, and salsa, you could use it for tacos, burrito bowls or in a salad. All you need is the usual accompaniments such as lettuce, salsa, sour cream, guacamole, shredded cheese, refried beans and you are all set for a fantastic meal. The leftovers taste even better the next day as the spices soak into the meat, so do yourself a favor and make a big batch. You will be so glad that you did!
- 4-5 pounds chuck eye beef, cut into big cubes
- 2 teaspoons oil
- 6 cloves garlic minced
- 2 onions, diced
- ½ lime juice
- ¼ cup apple cider vinegar
- 3 bay leaves
- 2 Tablespoons cumin
- 2 Tablespoons oregano
- 1 Tablespoon salt
- 1 teaspoon black pepper
- 1-2 teaspoons chipotle powder
- 1 can green chiles (optional)
- 1 cup broth or water
- Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Heat oil in a dutch oven pan over medium-high heat. Add the beef and allow to brown 3-4minutes. Flip over and brown the other side.
- Add all the other ingredients and bring to a simmer. Put the lid on it and transfer the pot to the oven.
- Cook for 3-4 hours, until the meat is soft enough to shred with a fork.
- If there is too much liquid, move the pot to the stovetop and simmer without the lid on for a few minutes to reduce the liquid.
- Shred with a fork and enjoy!
Weekly reflection:
Today I wanted to focus on some verses from 1st Kings 19, on “the call of Elisha”. The prophet Elijah had been instructed by God in the previous verses to go and find Elisha and to anoint him as his successor. We pick up on the story here, in verse 19.
19 So Elijah went from there and found Elisha son of Shaphat. He was plowing with twelve yoke of oxen, and he himself was driving the twelfth pair. Elijah went up to him and threw his cloak around him. 20 Elisha then left his oxen and ran after Elijah. “Let me kiss my father and mother goodbye,” he said, “and then I will come with you.”
“Go back,” Elijah replied. “What have I done to you?”
21 So Elisha left him and went back. He took his yoke of oxen and slaughtered them. He burned the plowing equipment to cook the meat and gave it to the people, and they ate. Then he set out to follow Elijah and became his attendant.
I was quite intrigued by Elisha’s response. Was he hesitant about his new calling? He asked for time to finish saying his goodbyes and tie up loose ends before he was ready to leave for his new assignment. I can only imagine the things going through his mind. Up to this point, he was a farmer, and yet he was now about to embark on a new path that he knew nothing about! But he did something that really has stayed with me since I read it over a week ago. He burned his past! He literally burned the things that once defined him, so that there would be nothing for him to come back to. I feel like that was his stake in the ground moment. He was taking off the title that once defined him, and he was fully stepping into his future.
In my own life, there is a specific area where God has given me clear direction on what my way forward is. It’s a completely different direction from where I pictured I would be heading, and honestly, I’ve had a bit of a hard time with it. Yet the one thing I have always wanted to say is “not my will, but yours, Lord”. So maybe that’s why Elisha’s response strikes such a chord with me. I’m working on burning those past ideas and fully committing to this new path ahead. Easy? NO. But I’m sure it will be so worth it.