Barbacoa Meat
I had no idea what cheek meat was, when a fellow DVO cook asked for a recipe. Cheek meat is from the facial cheek of the animal. It is tender and delicious. Serve on tortillas with hot sauce and chopped cilantro. I was unable to find cheek meat here in Utah, so I substituted rump roast. I'm going to keep looking for cheek meat to give it a try. The original recipe said to wrap the meat in aluminum foil and cook it in the foil. I stay away from aluminum foil as much as possible, so I adapted this recipe to cook without it. I especially love the flavor and texture of meat cooked in my cast iron pot.
Prep Time:
Cook Time:
Total Time:
Ingredients:
| 3 pounds | beef cheek meat |
| 1 tablespoon | olive oil |
| 1/4 cup | salt |
| 2 teaspoons | ground cumin |
| ground black pepper to taste | |
| 2 cups | water, or more as needed |
| 1/2 | yellow onion, halved and thickly sliced |
| 3 cloves | garlic, chopped |
Directions:
Coat beef cheek meat with olive oil. Rub salt, cumin, and pepper into meat. Wrap meat in parchment paper, place in a bowl with a tight fitting lid, or a zip lock bag and refrigerate, 4 hours to overnight.
Pour water into a slow cooker or cast iron pot with a lid.
Unwrap the meat and discard the parchment paper. Place meat in pot or slow cooker. Arrange onion and garlic around beef cheek meat.
Cook on Low in crockpot for 7-8 hours, until meat is very tender. - or - cook in covered cast iron pot 3-4 hours in 250° oven. Shred meat using 2 forks.
Serve on corn tortillas, topped with shredded cheese, lettuce, tomatoes, sour cream, and diced onions.
Revised from Source: allrecipes.com
