Lamb Barbacoa

Mixed with peach salsa on Paratha

It has been cold here in Oakland the past couple of days. I decided to use the slowcooker to make a nice hot meal.

I found a recipe for Beef Barbacoa on The Kitchn a blog I follow.  This was super simple and turned out delicious!

I had gotten some lamb neck at the farmer's market in Marin, so I replaced the beef with lamb neck. The only problem was the recipe called for 5-7 lbs of beef, and I only had 1-2 pounds of lamb neck. In my infinite wisdom, I did not decrease the chipotle peppers and instead added the whole can! Big mistake! It was so spicy my colon was begging for mercy!

I ate the barbacoa that night with lots of good rustic wheat bread to soak up some of the spice.

After burning a hole through my colon, I decided to dumb it down a bit. I roasted a chicken and shredded the chicken meat off of it, and added that to the lamb...Ah, much less spicy, but it still packed a spicy and delicious punch.

I made some fresh tortilla with duck fat and peach salsa and ate this barbacoa with that! It was delicious!

Even with just the one pound of meat, it took Robyn and I a week or so to get through it. I got 5 distinct meals out of it, stretching this one dish out for a whole week:

Lamb Barbacoa with bread (1st night)
Lamb Barbacoa with tortillas and peach salsa (2nd night)
Lamb Barbacoa with Paratha (3rd night)
Shredded chicken with Barbacoa sauce and Paratha (4th night)
Spicy tomato sauce (5th night)



The 2nd night, I chopped up some peaches, tomatoes, red onions and lime juice for a quick peach salsa and had it with green chili tortillas.

The 3rd night, I cooked up some paratha and then used the meat as a filling for that! What a delicious combination! Indian and Caribbean!

The 4th night, I roasted a chicken and shredded some meat off of the chicken and combined it with the remainder of the sauce. I then used the chicken as a filling for tacos.

The 5th night, I took the remainder of the sauce and added it to tomato sauce which was very delicious!

Oh my god I just thought of another use: mix it with shredded chicken and use it as a filling for tomales!


4 Chipotle peppers (from a can), plus all the adobo sauce it sits in
1 bunch cilantro, chopped
1 red onion, peeled and cut into large chunks
1 head garlic, peed and cloves smashed
5-7 pounds of beef brisket or lamb neck
2 teaspoons ground cloves
1 tablespoon kosher salt
Juice of 4 limes
1/2 cup cider vinegar
4-6 cups  rick dark chicken stock or lamb stock
5 dry bay leaves
Peach salsa
Paratha or tortillas

Chuck the chipotle peppers, cilantro, red onion and garlic in a food processor for a few pulses, until the ingredients are combined, but retain some of their texture.

Add the meat (beef or lamb) to the bottom of the slowcooker. Pour the chipotle/cilantro/red onion mixture on top of the meat.

Add the cloves, salt, lime juice, cider vinegar and bay leaves.

Add the stock, you want the meat to be submerged in the stock. Put the lid on and cook on HIGH for 4 hours.

I like to prepare everything in the crockpot and leave it in the refrigerator. This way all the spices infuse into the meat and help it break down.  Then, just before bed, I turn the crockpot on.

The recipe on The Kitchn recommends cooking it on HIGH for 4 hours and WARM for for 6-8 hours. I didn't do that--I just let it sit on LOW overnight for 10 hours (I put it in around 10pm, took it out around 8am the next morning). But I was using lamb neck instead of beef brisket, and I had less meat than the recipe required.




Either way, it turned out delicious!

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