Gluten Free Slow Cooked Barbacoa

As pointed out in many of my previous recipes, I have to have dishes which I can prepare quickly and easily, or place in the slow cooker and forget about for the day. The truth of this reflection demonstrates true for many people today. The need to have a wonderful dinner and still not have to slave away in the kitchen makes a demand we can struggle to meet many times. Especially when the quick and easy begins to become stale. This is where the amazing barbacoa comes into play!

This is one of the dishes that helps to get out of the funk! Barbacoa is a term derived from Barbados and consists of either lamb or beef that will be prepared as a barbeque. The migration into Texas would lead to the popular term bbq (barbeque) but there is just a little difference with this wonderful dish!

When first created, the meat was prepared with the utilization of the fire-resistant branches to support the cooking of either the lamb or beef which has been marinated in herbs and spices before placing the branches (and meat) into a fire pit. From Barbados it would travel to Mexico; however unlike the use of the fire-resistant fig branches, it would be cover with the leaves of the agave plant to cook slowly in the fire pit.

Minus the "slow firepit" cooking, the following recipe will be more similar to Mexico's barbacoa utilizing salsa, a variety of chiles, onions, garlic, as well as other ingredients to contribute to a rich sauce, minus the overtly sweet taste!

Once complete, there are numerous options for how to serve this succulent dish. You can serve it inside a gluten free soft taco shell with your favorite dressings, over a bed of rice and/or beans, or any other manner you may choose. Our family normally leans towards a choice of the gluten free taco shell prepared with rice, beans, lettuce, tomatoes, sour cream, and guacamole; or when there is an even bigger rush, we may just place it over a bed of white rice and enjoy a side of either refried beans or black beans. It's versatile as this will allow you the option which works more quickly for you and your family!

Obviously, the preparation with a slow cooker can help save time and effort when preparing the meal and many times, your family will continually ask when it going to be finished, as the entire house is filled with the wonderful smells of the meat cooking! I look forward to hearing what others think of the finished products and welcome the opportunity for any suggestions which may come up for ways to serve this easy dish. The most time-consuming aspect is the shredding of the meat!

One of the most enjoyable aspects of this meal is the nature to create a variety of options from a singular dish. Feel free to add something like potatoes and carrots in with the meat to create a fresh twist on a roast favorite and serve on top of rice. Or maybe, like my family, the idea of a taco/fajita/chimichanga style dish is more to your liking and this is the quick option! Perhaps you would like to have a "beef dip" style of sandwich on a gluten free sandwich bread, add some new cheese and you will fall in love instantly!

For all of these reasons, I want to note that the "tiny tidbits" I am speaking of involving the need to recognize how truly versatile this meat is to create a new twist with dinner that has a little "Mexican-style" flare! The peppers and create that hint of spice many favor when looking for such a meal and this meat answers the demand!

Do not think you are restricted to utilizing the recipe for the fajita/taco style. There is nothing that you cannot do to complete the meal in a manner that suits your family. We have even utilized it to create a gluten-free "Mexican" lasagna which was wonderful! Feel free to test your limits and uncover a new way to create a meal using this meat!

Also, I can imagine that it would work well with pork, as I have a friend who has done just that, (which our family does not eat) or even lamb (we haven't tried this as we prefer rosemary and garlic with all lamb), so please try that out as wellI! If you do, please share your own discoveries in the comments! I would love to hear what you have made!

Unfortunately, time has yet to allow me to get to work in the kitchen with a camcorder (truthfully, we are remodeling the kitchen and it is already small) so I am trying to help out by searching for some of the youtube links which I have utilized with my own cooking to try and help with some tips and ideas to consider if you are like me and the time to record or find different videos proves to be too time-consuming.

I have an excellent video with tips on how to dice onions to be better suited for this meal and even an awesome guacamole recipe I love that is dairy free! I hope you enjoy these tips as much as I enjoyed discovering them!

Another great tip I will be including is the recipe I love for a dairy free sour cream! We use this for more than this specific recipe; however, it is excellent if you elect to prepare fajita/tacos, or even decide you have enough leftovers to prepare chimichangas the next day!

If you uncover new ideas, let me know! I am always wanting to discover new ideas and methods to improve my cooking skills!

Like mentioned, you have a variety of options when working with this wonderful recipe. I have even utilized chicken; however, from personal experience, I do feel that the idea of chuck roast was perhaps the best of all the meats which I have tried in this specific recipe. It creates a more succulent taste than the other meats! Some of the great tips I have uncovered involves that the addition of fresh lime juice and cilantro on top of the dish is awesome! Not only this but including black beans or refried beans in the final product can create a more enjoyable fajita/taco/chimichanga.

When I use cheese on the products, or in the sandwiches, I do use go veggie dairy-free cheese so that the allergy concerns in our home are addressed; could you use regular cheese and shells? Definitely! Just adapt the product as necessary for your family.

Acknowledging this, for those who have nut allergies, you need to seek out a new sour cream recipe, just as if there is not a dairy allergy you can use standard sour cream. I am just sharing the recipes which we have uncovered to work great in our family and do not want others to feel that they are bound by our search to a paleo lifestyle or the missing things such as dairy and gluten. Again, please share your final thoughts and ideas! I love to hear from others and learn their ideas and suggestions!

In my final thoughts, I have also uncovered a way to ensure there is at least one new recipe a day that I will be able to use, but this does not mean that all will be slow cooker meal (even though there will be a ton of these since I prefer this method!) and I welcome you to follow me for new ideas and recipes! Thanks!