Tender slow-cooked shredded lamb in a spicy Mexican-style barbacoa sauce, piled onto tender tacos and loaded with toppings.
I’m making a Lamb Barbacoa taco FEAST in the present day, and many of the work is completed by the gradual cooker.
Everybody will adore this particular dish. So nice for a household get collectively and it makes a superb different to the standard Sunday Roast!
I actually wished to point out of the flexibility of lamb and the way it can tackle some critically massive flavours. So we’re going Mexican and making these wonderful barbacoa-style lamb carnitas tacos.
Components
For the lamb barbacoa:
- 2 kg (4.4lb) bone-in shoulder of lamb
- For spicy wealthy warmth – adobo paste and chipotle paste
- Aromatics and spices – garlic, cumin, floor coriander, dried oregano, floor cloves
- Rooster inventory or lamb inventory
- Salt and Pepper
- 2 Limes
To Serve:
- Mushy corn tacos – I wish to heat them within the oven or brown them on the griddle or you could possibly additionally use do-it-yourself flatbreads.
- Loads of decisions for toppings – my favourites embody: pink onion, contemporary coriander (cilantro), jalapenos, cherry tomatoes, bitter cream, salsa, guacamole and lime wedges.
How To Make It
***Full recipe with detailed steps within the recipe card on the finish of this submit***
- Sear the lamb on all sides in a big frying pan, then add in adobo paste, chipotle paste, minced garlic, cumin, coriander, oregano, inventory, salt, pepper, cloves and lime juice and convey to the boil.
- Switch to a gradual cooker and prepare dinner on low for 8-9 hours or excessive for six hours (see tip within the recipe card for cooking within the oven).
- Take away the lamb from the gradual cooker and shred the meat utilizing two fork, don’t discard the cooking liquid!
- Fry the shredded meat in a pan in a bit oil till crisp and golden.
Easy methods to serve Lamb barbacoa
- Divide the gradual cooked lamb barbacoa between warmed tacos.
- Drizzle on a number of the sauce from the gradual cooker,
- Then high with pink onion, contemporary coriander, jalapenos, tomatoes, salsa bitter cream and guacamole.
- Serve with wedges of lime.
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Don’t be shy with these toppings now.
And you should definitely drizzle on a number of the cooking liquid from the gradual cooker – it tastes AMAZING. In reality, I like to incorporate little particular person bowls of the cooking liquid for dipping.
Watch the way to make it
Extra Mexican Impressed Recipes
In the event you like this Lamb Barbacoa and love Mexican meals then why not attempt one in every of these subsequent:
? Ceaselessly Requested Questions
Sure – you can also make up the barbacoa proper as much as the purpose you’ve shredded the meat. Then cool, cowl and refrigerate the lamb for as much as two days.
Cool, cowl and refrigerate the cooking liquid too.
To reheat, fry the lamb in a big frying pan in two tbsp of oil till golden and piping scorching all through.
The cooking liquid may be reheated in a saucepan till piping scorching.
In the event you don’t need to prepare dinner the lamb in a gradual cooker, you’ll be able to prepare dinner it in a heavy-based, oven-proof pan, with a lid, within the oven at 160C for 3 hours.
Add an additional 180ml (3/4 cup) of inventory and test a number of occasions throughout cooking to make sure the lamb doesn’t prepare dinner dry. Add good splash of boiling water or inventory if it begins to look too dry.
I prepare dinner this recipe in a big (5.6 litre/6-quart) crockpot gradual cooker. That is the gradual cooker (<– affiliate hyperlink) I’ve, however I feel they’ve stopped promoting it now.
Morphy Richards additionally do a very good ‘Sear and Stew’ gradual cooker with a searing operate and Cuisinart do a Sauté gradual cooker.
If you wish to scale down this recipe for 2-3 folks (round 6 tacos), substitute the lamb shoulder with a half shoulder joint or 2 lamb shanks. Cut back the the entire different elements by one quarter and prepare dinner in the identical approach.
Sure. Much like the make forward directions, make up the barbacoa proper as much as the purpose you’ve shredded the meat. Then cool, cowl and freeze.
Freeze the cooking liquid too (go away a bit area within the container because the liquid will develop barely upon freezing.
Defrost within the fridge in a single day, then reheat as per the ‘make it forward’ directions above.
Extra Scrumptious Lamb Recipes
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Make the lamb barbacoa
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Warmth 2 tbsp of oil in a big frying pan. Add the lamb and sear on all sides.
4 tbsp vegetable oil, 2.2 kg (4.8 lbs) bone-in shoulder of Welsh lamb
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Add the adobo paste, chipotle paste, minced garlic, cumin, coriander, oregano, inventory, salt, pepper, cloves, and lime juice to the pan.
1 tbsp adobo paste, 1 tbsp chipotle paste, 4 cloves garlic, 1 tbsp cumin, 1 tsp floor coriander, 1 tbsp dried oregano, 480 ml (2 cups) hen or lamb inventory, 1 tsp salt, 1 tsp floor black pepper, 1/4 tsp floor cloves, juice of two limes
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Carry to the boil, then flip off the warmth and switch to a gradual cooker. Prepare dinner on low for 8-9 hours or excessive for six hours (see tip beneath for cooking within the oven).
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As soon as cooked, take away the lamb from the gradual cooker.
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Place on a board and shred the meat utilizing two forks. Discard the bones.
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Warmth the remaining 2 tbsp oil in a big frying pan over a excessive warmth. Fry the shredded lamb for 3-4 minutes, turning each minute or so, till crisp and golden.
Assemble the lamb tacos
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Divide the meat between warmed tacos and drizzle on a number of the sauce from the gradual cooker.
10-12 tender tacos
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Prime with pink onion, contemporary coriander, jalapenos, tomatoes, salsa, bitter cream, and guacamole.
1 pink onion, 4 tbsp chopped contemporary coriander, 2 jalapenos, 10 cherry tomatoes, 4 tbsp salsa, 120 ml (1/2 cup) bitter cream, 200 g (1 cup) guacamole
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Serve with wedges of lime.
2 limes
Cooking within the oven reasonably than the gradual cooker:
In the event you don’t need to prepare dinner the lamb in a gradual cooker, you’ll be able to prepare dinner it in a heavy-based, oven-proof pan, with a lid, within the oven at 160C for 3 hours.
Add an additional 180ml (3/4 cup) of inventory and test a number of occasions throughout cooking to make sure the lamb doesn’t prepare dinner dry. Add good splash of boiling water or inventory if it begins to look too dry.
Can I make it forward?
Sure – you can also make up the barbacoa proper as much as the purpose you’ve shredded the meat. Then cool, cowl and refrigerate the lamb for as much as two days.
Cool, cowl and refrigerate the cooking liquid too.
To reheat, fry the lamb in a big frying pan in two tbsp of oil till golden and piping scorching all through.
The cooking liquid may be reheated in a saucepan till piping scorching.
Can I freeze it?
Sure. Similar because the make forward directions above, you can also make up the barbacoa proper as much as the purpose you’ve shredded the meat. Then cool, cowl and freeze.
Freeze the cooking liquid too (go away a bit area within the container because the liquid will develop barely upon freezing.
Defrost within the fridge in a single day, then reheat as per the ‘make it forward’ directions above.
Easy methods to scale down this recipe to serve fewer folks
If you wish to scale down this recipe for 2-3 folks (round 6 tacos), substitute the lamb shoulder with a half shoulder joint or 2 lamb shanks. Cut back the the entire different elements by one quarter and prepare dinner in the identical approach.
Dietary Info is approximate, per serving, together with the tacos and toppings (this entire recipe serves 10).
Energy: 385kcal | Carbohydrates: 23g | Protein: 29g | Fats: 20g | Saturated Fats: 9g | Ldl cholesterol: 87mg | Sodium: 1069mg | Potassium: 624mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 3g | Vitamin A: 251IU | Vitamin C: 17mg | Calcium: 89mg | Iron: 4mg
Diet info is routinely calculated, so ought to solely be used as an approximation.
This lamb barbacoa recipe was first revealed in July 2020, up to date in March 2025 with further info and for housekeeping causes.
Among the hyperlinks on this submit could also be affiliate hyperlinks – which suggests in the event you purchase the product I get a small fee (at no additional price to you). In the event you do purchase, then thanks! That’s what helps us to maintain Kitchen Sanctuary working. The dietary info offered is approximate and might fluctuate relying on a number of components. For extra info please see our Phrases & Circumstances.
