Out of all the meals and desserts I’ve made, this dish has gotten the best reaction from Kris, who I lovingly call Bubby. So here it is: Bubby’s Beef Barbacoa. While this is certainly the star of the show and the centerpiece, I’ve included ideas + recipe links for side dishes at the bottom!
I made this for dinner with friends on a Friday and then again three days later for dinner at home + a meal train delivery for our friends who just had a beautiful baby girl! They can’t go to our favorite restaurant for steak quesadillas just yet so this was meant to be a replacement in the meantime.
The reactions I got have been the best I could ever hope for:
“Holy smokes!! This looks AMAZING”
“DID YOU TRY THIS??? Oh my god!!”
“It could be a controlled substance”
“This is so good. I’m mad. Should have had a baby so long ago”
So lets get into it!
Logistics
Serves: 4-6 people
Time: 5 hours honestly
Equipment: 4 quart Dutch Oven or cast iron Braiser (or larger!)
You’ll need:
2.5 pounds of chuck roast
3 tablespoons of a steak rub seasoning
1 tablespoon of chile powder
1/2 of a vidalia or white onion
4-6 cloves of garlic
1/4 cup tomato paste
1 can of chipotle peppers in adobo sauce (won’t use the whole thing)
1 cup beef broth
1 cup orange juice
3 tablespoons soy sauce
Instructions
Cut the chuck roast into 2-5 pieces, large pieces. Keep them at least the size of your fist or they will overcook. Preheat your pan over medium heat. Preheat the oven to 325°F.
Mix the steak seasoning with the chile powder and season all sides of every piece of chuck roast. You might end up needing more than 4 tbsp, be generous with the seasoning!!
Chop the onion into wedges or large slices. Slice the garlic cloves.
Add the chuck roast pieces into your dutch oven or braiser and sear each side for 2-3 minutes. Rotate until all sides have been browned. Remove the meat and place it on a plate.
Turn the heat down to medium low then add in a drizzle of olive or avocado oil, then add the onion and garlic and stir. Add in the tomato paste, stir. Add in 1-2 chipotle peppers from the can, also add in 2 tablespoons of the adobo sauce in the can. The peppers add smokiness and spice so if you want some heat, you can certainly add more! Stir again. The onions should be starting to soften.
Add the meat back into the pan, nestled on top of the onions. Pour in the beef broth, orange juice, and soy sauce. Put the lid on your dish and make sure it’s fully closed. Transfer the dish into the oven.
Let it roast for 4 hours! After 4 hours, very carefully pull the dish out of the oven and use tongs + forks to start breaking apart the meat.
There should still be a good bit of liquid/ moisture in the dish, but different lids let out moisture at different rates. We want it to be If it’s already getting sticky or the liquid has cooked down so you’re mostly just seeing meat, add a splash of beef broth! Then, take the lid off and place the pot back in the oven for another 30-45 minutes. We want it to be saucy but not runny!
Turn the oven off and keep the dish covered until you’re ready to serve! Ideas for side dishes are listed below the notes. ENJOY!!!
Notes:
I put 2.5 pounds of chuck roast in the ingredients, you can do a little more or less and it will be fine! This size fits my pan really well and is typically what my grocery store has pre-cut. If using less, check on it after 3.5 hours and maybe add 3/4 cup each of both/ orange juice rather than a full cup of each. If using more, the liquid is probably fine but it may need to cook a little longer, but still check on it at 4 hours!
For the steak rub I use the ‘Steak Dust’ from B Xtreme BBQ - my mom found this while on the hunt for the perfect spicy chex mix seasoning. It has salt, brown sugar, garlic, black pepper, guajillo pepper, paprika, MSG (yay), chipotle, jalapeno, and cayenne. Basically - use something with salt, pepper, brown sugar, and some chile pepper spices!
I’ve been using my Staub 4 quart Dutch Oven for this recipe and it works beautifully. The lid is designed to keep moisture in the dish, making sure it stays juicy and tender! I’m considering getting a braising pan or a larger dutch oven specifically for making larger batches of this recipe.
Ideas for side dishes (recipe links coming Aug 19, 2027)
Summer Rice Salad
‘Refried’ Beans
Off-the-Cob Elote
And for a sauce:
Chipotle Ranch Sauce
You know when you were little and licking the brownie batter spoon was the ultimate treat? Now, for me, it’s licking the chipotle ranch spoon.
Phenomenal no notes