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 at this time, and many of the work is completed by the sluggish cooker.
Everybody will adore this particular dish. So nice for a household get collectively and it makes an excellent different to the normal 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.

📋 Elements

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
• Hen inventory or lamb inventory
• Salt and Pepper
• 2 Limes

To Serve:

• Mushy corn tacos – I prefer to heat them within the oven or brown them on the griddle or you can additionally use home made 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 put up***

• 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 sluggish 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 sluggish cooker and shred the meat utilizing two fork, don’t discard the cooking liquid!

• Fry the shredded meat in a pan in just a little oil till crisp and golden.

🌮 Easy methods to serve Lamb barbacoa

• Divide the sluggish cooked lamb barbacoa between warmed tacos.
• Drizzle on a few of the sauce from the sluggish cooker,
• Then high with pink onion, contemporary coriander, jalapenos, tomatoes, salsa bitter cream and guacamole.
• Serve with wedges of lime.

Don’t be shy with these toppings now.
And you’ll want to drizzle on a few of the cooking liquid from the sluggish cooker – it tastes AMAZING. Actually, I like to incorporate little particular person bowls of the cooking liquid for dipping.

📺 Watch how one can make it

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🇲🇽 Extra Mexican Impressed Recipes

When you like this Lamb Barbacoa and love Mexican meals then why not strive one in all these subsequent:

? Incessantly Requested Questions

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 could be reheated in a saucepan till piping scorching.

Can I prepare dinner the lamb barbacoa within the oven?

When you don’t wish to prepare dinner the lamb in a sluggish cooker, you may 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 verify a couple of instances 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.

What sluggish cooker do you utilize?

I prepare dinner this recipe in a big (5.6 litre/6-quart) crockpot sluggish cooker. That is the sluggish cooker (<– affiliate hyperlink) I’ve, however I feel they’ve stopped promoting it now.
Morphy Richards additionally do an excellent ‘Sear and Stew’ sluggish cooker with a searing operate and Cuisinart do a Sauté sluggish cooker. 

Can I scale this recipe down for fewer folks?

If you wish to scale down this recipe for 2-3 folks (round 6 tacos), exchange the lamb shoulder with a half shoulder joint or 2 lamb shanks. Scale back the the entire different elements by one quarter and prepare dinner in the identical manner.

Can I freeze it?

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 (depart just a little area within the container because the liquid will increase 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

• 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

• 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

• Carry to the boil, then flip off the warmth and switch to a sluggish cooker. Prepare dinner on low for 8-9 hours or excessive for six hours (see tip under for cooking within the oven).

• As soon as cooked, take away the lamb from the sluggish cooker.

• Place on a board and shred the meat utilizing two forks. Discard the bones.

• 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

• Divide the meat between warmed tacos and drizzle on a few of the sauce from the sluggish cooker.

  10-12 tender tacos

• High 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

• Serve with wedges of lime.

  2 limes

Cooking within the oven moderately than the sluggish cooker:

When you don’t wish to prepare dinner the lamb in a sluggish cooker, you may 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 verify a couple of instances 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 could be reheated in a saucepan till piping scorching.

Can I freeze it?

Sure. Identical 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 (depart just a little area within the container because the liquid will increase 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), exchange the lamb shoulder with a half shoulder joint or 2 lamb shanks. Scale back the the entire different elements by one quarter and prepare dinner in the identical manner.
Dietary Data is approximate, per serving, together with the tacos and toppings (this complete 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

Vitamin info is mechanically 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 put up could also be affiliate hyperlinks – which suggests for those who purchase the product I get a small fee (at no further price to you). When you do purchase, then thanks! That’s what helps us to maintain Kitchen Sanctuary working. The dietary info offered is approximate and may range relying on a number of components. For extra info please see our Phrases & Situations.