Lamb Shoulder Barbacoa Recipes

Steps:

• Preheat the oven 350 degrees F.
• Seed the ancho chiles and boil them in water. Add them to a heavy-duty blender to blend.
• Remove the lamb from the fridge and let sit out for 15 to 20 minutes. Score the fat with a sharp knife, creating a crisscross pattern. Rub thoroughly with salt and pepper, then some of the ancho liquid and chipotle chiles. Place celery, garlic, tomatoes, carrots, thyme, oregano, bay leaves and 1 onion in a roasting pan along with the beer, stock and chile powder. Put a roasting rack on top of the vegetables and liquid and place the lamb in the roasting pan.
• Roast until the lamb starts to turn deep brown, approximately 4 hours. Cover tightly with foil and continue to roast until an instant-read thermometer inserted in the thickest part (do not touch bone) registers 180 degrees F. Let stand for 20 to 30 minutes to cool. Once cool enough to handle, remove the roast from the roasting pan and begin to shred all of the meat off to a bowl with forks and your fingers.
• Strain the liquid from the roasting pan into a blender and blend thoroughly until smooth (this is what I call lamb butter). Pour over the lamb and mix together, adding some water if it becomes too thick.
• Chop your cilantro and remaining onion and mix together in a small bowl.
• Serve the lamb on corn tortillas with homemade Salsa. Top with cilantro-onion mixture, Cotija and radish. Enjoy.
• Heat a grill for cooking at medium heat. Grill or roast the garlic, tomatillos, tomatoes and onions, turning occasionally, until charred. Let cool.
• Bring 3 cups water to a boil in a medium pot over medium heat, then add garlic, tomatillos, tomatoes, onions, chiles de arbol, anchos, guajillos, cilantro and sugar and boil together for 8 to 10 minutes. Let cool, and then drop into a blender and blend until pureed, but a little bit chunky. Season to taste.

Steps:

• Toast the chiles in a dry cast iron skillet on medium heat for a few minutes on each side and then turn off the heat and fill the skillet with water. Let the chiles soak for 20 minutes or until soft.
• Cut the lamb into three-inch cubes and rub the meat with salt.
• Drain the chiles from the soaking water and place in a blender. Add to the blender the garlic, the coffee, the water, the cinnamon, the oregano, the cumin and the agave nectar. Puree until smooth.
• Coat the lamb with the chile puree, and let it marinate in the refrigerator for four hours.
• Heat the oven to 250°F.
• In a roasting pan, coat the bottom with some of the marinade. Place the onions and carrots on top of the marinade and then top this with the lamb.
• Tightly cover the pan with foil, and then cook in the oven covered for four hours or until fork tender.
• Shred meat with forks and serve in tortillas with cilantro, onions and salsa.

Steps:

• Place chiles in a bowl; pour enough hot water over them just to cover. Let stand until softened, 10 minutes. Reserve 3 tablespoons soaking liquid; drain. Transfer chiles to a blender with brown sugar, chipotle, lime zest and juice, oil, spices, 3/4 teaspoon each salt and pepper, garlic, onion, and reserved soaking liquid. Blend to a fine paste.
• Cut lamb into two equal-size pieces; season both with salt and pepper. Rub prepared chile paste all over both pieces, place in a resealable plastic bag, and refrigerate at least 1 hour and up to 1 day. Bring to room temperature 1 hour before grilling.
• Prepare grill for direct- and indirect-heat cooking. Place a banana leaf on top of two sheets of heavy-duty foil. Lay a piece of lamb in center of leaf, folding leaf up and over to fully cover. Repeat with remaining banana leaf and piece of lamb. Place over indirect heat, cover grill, and cook, maintaining a temperature of 325°F to 350°F, until lamb is fork-tender, 2 to 2 1/2 hours. Carefully open parcels and continue to cook, with grill still covered, until juices have reduced and lamb begins to crisp at edges, about 20 minutes more.
• Meanwhile, lightly drizzle poblanos and halved limes with oil and season with salt. Grill over direct heat, turning occasionally, until charred in places and poblanos are tender, 6 to 8 minutes. Transfer to a platter. Just before serving, grill tortillas over direct heat, uncovered, flipping once, until charred in places, about 1 minute.
• Immediately wrap in a clean kitchen towel to keep warm and pliable. Remove parcels from grill and shred lamb into large pieces. Serve with tortillas, grilled poblanos, limes, onion, salsa, radishes, and crema.

Steps:

• Preparing the grill and the soup ingredients: About 30 minutes before cooking, prepare a charcoal fire, letting the coals burn until they are covered with a gray ash and are medium-hot. Bank the coals on 2 sides of the lower grate to prepare for the indirect cooking that follows.
• In a 12 by 9-inch, heavy-duty aluminum-foil pan (or something similar), combine the potatoes, carrots, onion, garlic, garbanzo beans, and epazote. Position the pan in the center of the lower grate and surround with the coals. Pour water into the pan to about 1-inch from the top (it'll take about 5 cups). Position the cooking grate 8 inches above the coals and set an oven thermometer on it, if you have one.
• Grilling the meat: Sprinkle the lamb liberally with salt. Lay the roast in the center of the cooking grate directly over the soup, cover the grill, and cook, maintaining a moderately low temperature (between 250 and 300 degrees F), checking every 30 minutes and adding coals as needed. The lamb will be beautifully smoky-roasted, it'll register about 170 degrees F on a meat thermometer and be fall-apart tender in about 2 1/4 hours. Be sure to check the slow-simmering soup that's capturing all those lamb juices periodically, to ensure the liquid level remains more or less the same, adding more water if it's needed.
• Finishing the dish: With a couple of meat forks or spatulas, remove the roast to a platter. Sprinkle with salt and let rest, tented with foil, in a warm place for about 20 minutes.
• Meanwhile, with the precision of a steady-handed circus performer, carefully remove the pan of soup from the bottom of the grill. Skim off the fat that is floating on the surface, then taste and season with salt, usually about 3/4 teaspoon. Stir in the cilantro and finely chopped chipotle and ladle into small, warm soup cups.
• Scrape the salsa into a serving dish and sprinkle with cheese. Remove the string from the lamb. Slice the lamb into good, thick slabs and arrange on a warm platter that's lined or decorated with parsley, banana leaves, or lemon leaves. Strew the olives around the platter and carry to the table with a flourish. Serve each guest a cup of soup, and pass the meat, salsa, and lots of warm tortillas for everyone to make delicious soft tacos.

Steps:

• Rehydrate the anchos and chipotles in a bowl and cover with hot, boiling water. Soak the chiles until they are soft, about 20 minutes.
• Add the chiles, paprika, oregano, cinnamon and garlic to a food processor. Pour in the oil and process until smooth. If the puree is too thick, add a tablespoon or 2 of the chile soaking liquid to thin to desired consistency.
• Place the lamb in a roasting dish and sprinkle all over with salt and pepper. Pour the puree on top, cover and marinate in the fridge for 3 to 4 hours.
• Preheat the oven to 275 degrees F. Thaw the banana leaves (if frozen) by running them under warm water. Line a turkey roaster or braising dish with the banana leaves, slightly overlapping them on one another.
• Remove the lamb from the marinade and place on the banana leaves. Wrap up the lamb with the banana leaves, tucking in the edges so it is completely covered. Add 1 1/2 cups water to the baking dish, then cover the entire pan with aluminum foil.
• Bake until the meat is tender and falling apart, 4 hours. Remove the foil and open the banana leaves. Shred the lamb with a fork and season with salt and lime juice. Serve with the warm flour tortillas, cilantro leaves, queso fresco, radishes and onions and pair with the Malbec.

Steps:

• Toast chiles, cover with boiling water in a deep bowl, and set aside for 20 minutes. Grind cumin, cloves, allspice, and oregano in coffee grinder. Drain soaked chiles, puree in blender the chiles, ground spices, thyme, garlic, onion, vinegar, and 1/2 cup of water. Process until smooth Push mixture through a sieve, season goat with salt and pepper. Rub paste all over the meat. Arrange in a bowl and allow to marinate for 4 hours, refrigerated.
• Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F.
• In a deep roaster pan scatter half of the avocado leaves on the bottom, place meat on top of the avocado leaves and scatter the remaining leaves over the meat. Cover the pan tightly with aluminum foil. Cook the goat 6 to 7 hours until meat is falling off the bone. If using lamb shoulder cook for 4 hours.