Beef Barbacoa

I tore this recipe out of a Cooking Light magazine back in June of 2010. The dish comes from a restaurant in Santa Fe called Cafe Pasqual's and was created by their chef, Katherine Kagel. This is such an easy dish to prepare and it is very versatile. You can throw it on top of a salad, or into a burrito or a taco, or make Eggs Barbacoa by toasting corn tortillas in a hot skillet, topping them with a bit of the shredded beef, refried beans, a fried egg, some crumbled queso fresco or goat cheese, a bit of salsa, and some chopped cilantro. YUM!

Beef Barbacoa

1 teas. freshly ground black pepper
1 teas. dried oregano
1 teas. kosher salt (or low sodium seasoned salt)
1 teas. ground cumin or whole cumin seeds
1 teas. ancho chili powder
1 (2-2 1/2 pound) boneless chuck steak, trimmed
olive oil
1 cup water
2-3 garlic cloves, sliced
1 TB fresh lime juice

Preheat oven to 300 degrees. Rub spice mixture (first 5 ingredients) over the beef. Heat a large dutch oven over high heat. Drizzle in a small amount of olive oil to coat the pan. Brown beef on both sides, approximately 3 minutes per side. Add water and garlic to pan. Cover and bake for 3 hours or until beef is completely tender. Cool to room temperature. Cover pan and chill overnight.

The following day, skim excess fat from surface of broth. Shred beef with two forks. Reheat beef in broth over medium high heat. Simmer until moisture evaporates. Stir in lime juice immediately before serving. Yield: about 10 servings. Each serving should be about 2 oz.