Duke City Barbacoa Shenanigans - w/ Pr0n!

Happy Sunday Phunday, y'all!

It is absolutely beautiful here in the 505 - watched the hot air balloons rise over the Sandias around dawn. Temps are still ridiculous in the sun, but we'll soon be sub-90 F in the day and sub-60 F at night. Can't wait.

I've failen for a local barbacoa place - Barbacoa El Primo - Google Maps link - Great photos and the like. Some of you may remember that I've made barbacoa before and that I swear by SteveKing's Barbacoa Recipe.

- El Primo's Barbacoa is different - very soft but still with a little texture in the meat, and with no spicy notes to be found - just lovely fatty, umami lusciousness that's cut by the veg, lime juice, and house-made salsas in a taco.

Today, I'm on the prowl for that flavor and texture. Wish me luck.

I started with a small chuckie and some of John's Q-Salt.



That went on the kettle to smoke until 150-160F over mesquite (El Diablo charcoal).



Using SteveKing's recipe, but omitting anything with "heat" or "spice" (concentrating on depth of flavor), I built the braising liquid in the Instant Pot.
- Better Than Bouillon (Beef), half of a huge elephant garlic clove, cut into about 8 chunks, cumin, Mexican oregano, ground cloves, bay leaves, lime juice, and apple cider vinegar.

I broke down the chuckie into smaller chunks, added it to the pot, and gave it a quick stir/mix.



I'm going to run this a little long, intentionally, on high pressure (for our high altitude here in the Duke City), for 45 minutes with a natural release.



Cross your fingers. We'll see how this plays out.

Kind regards and thin blue.

It sure smells good in here. Meat looks delicious, but it's too tight. No pull yet.



Back in we go for another 30 minutes. - Gives me almost another full episode of Bosch to (re)watch! Love this show.

Moose said:

I think you are on the right track with this approach, Marc. Too many ingredients and/or a prominent chile flavor and it starts to overwhelm the natural beefy goodness.

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Thanks, Moose. Trying to keep this simple.



Second time around, it all nearly fell apart with a gentle nudge of a fork. Quick pull with 2 x salad forks. CINCHOUSE and Munchkin both happy - barbacoa back into the juice to sit until dinner time.

This has more smoke flavor than the commercial stuff, and it will pick up much more flavor while sitting in the braising liquid in comparison to El Primo. Good texture - soft, but with substance.

Wanted some sort of side, and I found some Charro Beans from La Costeña, "seasoned with bacon, chicharron, and chorizo" (threaten me with a good time!).

More as dinner time approaches. Enjoy your Sunday afternoon, folks.

You've gotta try these beans.



Empty can into only non-stick skillet I own.
- Preemptive shake of granulated garlic and onion powder.
- Heat. Stir. Wait. Heat. Stir.
- Taste.
- Be impressed.

Sorry for the delay - got distracted:
- Puck Drop for the PHI vs NYI Stanley Cup Playoff Match

Oh, yes. Dinner was excellent.



The munchkin added beans to her taco and wanted to take a photo.



Off to watch live sports, surf the 'Net, and relax before heading back to work (all at the same time).

Thanks for stopping in for a few.

Y'all kick some tail this week.

cowgirl said:

I bet those balloons at dawn were a beautiful site!

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Thank you, Jeanie.

They truly were. On Saturday morning, I also gave into my inner child and drove to Rebel Donut - FB Page Link - for a family breakfast treat. I watched no less than 6 balloons launch from the ground along the drive. Watched them fly over the house on the way home. It was glorious.