Instant Pot Barbicoa

Adapted from How to Instant Pot: Mastering All the Functions of the One Pot That Will Change the Way You Cook by Daniel Shumski (Workman Publishing). Copyright © 2017

Total time: 1 hour, 6 servings

Ingredients

1/4 cup apple cider vinegar

2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lime juice

3 cloves garlic and 1-2 large yellow onions, processed in food processor until fine

1 chipotle chile in adobo, minced

1 tablespoon ground cumin

2 teaspoons dried oregano

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1/4 teaspoon ground cloves

2 tablespoons vegetable oil

2 1/2 pounds boneless beef chuck roast, trimmed of most fat and cut into large chunks

1/2 cup reduced-salt chicken or beef broth

2 bay leaves

Small (6-inch) corn tortillas, for serving

Salsa or pico de gallo, for serving

Cotija cheese, for serving

Preparation

1. Add the garlic to the bowl of your food processor. process until fine. Quarter the onions, add to food processor, process until fine.
2. Press Sauté and use the Sauté or Adjust button to select the highest temperature (“More”). Place the vegetable oil in the inner pot. Wait until the display reads “Hot,” about 5 minutes, then add the onions & garlic and cook until onions are translucent. Be careful that you don’t burn the garlic. Now add the beef. Cook with the lid off, turning the beef every 2 minutes, until the beef is browned on most sides, about 8 minutes (you can also skip this step depending on your mood).
3. Add the vinegar, dried herbs, chipotle and the chicken broth (be careful—steam may whoosh up!), and then the bay leaves. Stir to combine.
4. Close and lock the lid. Set the valve to Sealing. Press Cancel, then press Pressure Cook and use the Pressure or Pressure Level button to select High Pressure. Use the – or + button to set the time to 45 minutes.
5. When the cooking cycle ends, press Cancel. Allow the appliance to cool and release pressure naturally, about 20 minutes. (The pressure is released when the small metal float valve next to the pressure-release valve sinks back into the lid and the lid is no longer locked.)
6. Remove the lid. Discard the bay leaves. Shred the beef using two forks: Use one fork to pull off a chunk and then use two forks to shred that piece, holding down the meat with one fork and pulling at it with the other. Repeat with the remaining beef.
7. You may want to remove a portion of beef and brown in a skillet too cook off some of the liquid so that your tacos are not too wet.
8. Assemble the tacos – I like to add a small amount of oil to a hot skillet and then the tortilla sprinkled with cotija cheese. when the cheese begins to melt, add beef and desired toppings (chopped onions, hot sauce, cilantro, etc). Fold the taco and flip in the skillet until tortilla has browned. Repeat as desired!