As the Czar provides some great instruction on smoking poultry here and we discussed this a bit on our two-parter podcast (see link on the left side of the main site) on smoking and grilling, GorT thought he’d take a minute and provide some alternate ideas for dinner tonight….or maybe tomorrow as this takes some planning.

GorT’s family, as probably many of yours, is busy. We’ve got three kids running around with various activities and both Mrs. GorT and GorT work so we’ve found an effective pace of planning and shopping for about 4 nights of meals – which usually results in 5 nights when you count the leftovers*. Frequently, we turn to a slow-cooker (or crock-pot) meal once during the work week. Last night, we enjoyed slow-cooked beef barbacoa tacos. It’s a dirt-simple recipe provided below – give it a try. Barbacoa is a method of cooking that originated in the Caribbean and it is where we derive the word “barbecue” (or “barbeque”).

The night before, prepare the seasoning paste:

In a mini or regular-sized food processor, pulse 6 large cloves of garlic until chopped. Add a packed ½ cup cilantro leaves and pulse until minced.Add 2-4 chipotle peppers plus 1-2 Tbsp adobo sauce depending on the heat level you prefer**, 2 Tbsp lime juice, 1 Tbsp tomato paste, 1 Tbsp cumin, 2 tsp chile powder, 2 tsp garlic salt, and 1 tsp oregano. Secure lid and process until just blended. Cover and set aside in the refrigerator overnight.

In the morning, get the slow cooker out – I recommend using a slow-cooker liner which makes cleanup much easier. Set it for low. Take a 2# cut of beef – preferably rump roast, chuck eye, top or bottom round – and season both sides with salt and pepper and place in cooker. Then take the paste and spread ½ of it across the top in a generous coating. Flip the beef carefully not to disturb the coating and spread the remainder on the other side. Pour 6oz of beef broth and 6 oz of beer (any works, but I prefer low-hop Mexican pale lagers) in the cooker – again, be careful not to wash off the seasoning paste. Toss in a bay leaf. Cover and cook on low for 10 hours. This is a great meal to start before going to work given the duration it needs to cook and render down the fat and connective tissues in the meat.

About 20 minutes before dinner, take the beef out of the cooker – I’d wager that it comes out in chunks as it will be falling apart tender. Shred it with two forks (or these if you’re more serious about pulled meat cooking as I am) and return it to the liquid in the cooker for 20 minutes…or place in a pan on the range top and pour some strained liquid from the cooker over it and heat on low/simmer.

Serve over a tortilla or salad with the toppings you enjoy. I’d suggest diced onions, guacamole, and a sparing use of a good salsa or a hot-sauce (i.e. California Tortilla’s Screaming Sauce). 3of3 prefers a heavy layer of shredded cheese.

I’d include pictures but GorT was too busy last night to document while progressing through the preparation – maybe next time.

* Many times the leftovers are repurposed into other meals: leftover BBQ meat into BBQ nachos, stir-fried rice, appetizer night (with many small “tapas”), etc.

** I find 2 chipotle peppers and 1 Tbsp adobo sauce rather mild – 1of3 doesn’t like spicy, so it works.

GorT

GorT is an eight-foot-tall robot from the 51ˢᵗ Century who routinely time-travels to steal expensive technology from the future and return it to the past for retroinvention. The profits from this pay all the Gormogons’ bills, including subsidizing this website. Some of the products he has introduced from the future include oven mitts, the Guinness widget, Oxy-Clean, and Dr. Pepper. Due to his immense cybernetic brain, GorT is able to produce a post in 0.023 seconds and research it in even less time. Only ’Puter spends less time on research. GorT speaks entirely in zeros and ones, but occasionally throws in a ڭ to annoy the Volgi. He is a massive proponent of science, technology, and energy development, and enjoys nothing more than taking the Czar’s more interesting scientific theories, going into the past, publishing them as his own, and then returning to take credit for them. He is the only Gormogon who is capable of doing math. Possessed of incredible strength, he understands the awesome responsibility that follows and only uses it to hurt people.