Low Carb Barbacoa Beef Taco Salad
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.
How to Make It
Step 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.
Step 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.
Step 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.
Step 4
Cover them with one cup of boiling water and allow to sit and rehydrate for several minutes until softened. Blend until mostly smooth.
Step 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.
Step 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.
Step 7
Once the time has elapsed, release the steam from the Instant Pot. Drain the meat from the braising liquid and reserve the liquid.
Step 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.
Step 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.
Step 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.
Step 11
Arrange the meat on top that has been shredded and chopped cilantro. Serve immediately with the dressing.
Ingredients
- Beef Chuck Arm Pot Roast Lean And Fat Trimmed To 1/8″ Fat Raw
2.33 lb
- Coarse Kosher Salt by Morton
1 tsp
- Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1 tablespoon
- Dried Guajillo Chile Pepper – Bailey Farms
20 gram
- Peeled Garlic Cloves by Heb
3 clove
- Beef Broth
2-½ cup
- Cumin, Ground
2 tablespoon
- Dark Chili Powder by Mccormick
1 tsp
- Oregano, Dried
1 tablespoon
- Bay Leaf
1 tbsp, crumbled
- Romaine Lettuce
1 head
- English Cucumber by Generic
12 ounce
- Tomato
20 cherry
- Cilantro Or Coriander Leaves Fresh Or Raw Herb
¼ cup
- Lime
1-½ each – 2″ diameter
- Organic Raw-unfiltered Apple Cider Vinegar by Bragg
1 tablespoon
- Salsa
4 tablespoon
- Coarse Kosher Salt by Morton
1 tsp