Enticing Instapot Beef Barbacoa

Enticing Instapot Beef Barbacoa 1

Guys! I jumped on the Instapot bandwagon about 2 or 3 months ago. Those things are amazing!

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Personal Health Benefits of Using an Instapot

I have so much trouble eating anything that has been slow-cooked because of the Mast Cell Activation Syndrome (I’ll refer to this as MCAS pretty much from now on). Slow cooking, smoking, anything like that allows the histamine levels to grow pretty high, which makes my body go on high alert and in turn triggers a reaction. So anything I would normally slow cook, I now throw in the Instapot! I love making beef barbacoa in it!

I love Chipotle but have started to have some reactions when I eat there. So I hunted around and modified several beef barbacoa recipes to make them MCAS friendly for myself. Everyone with MCAS has different food triggers, as well as environmental triggers, so what I can eat and do, someone else with MCAS may not.

My Enticing Instapot Beef Barbacoa

But here is my version of Instapot beef barbacoa. I normally eat this with Instapot rice or alone on tortillas.

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Instapot Beef Barbacoa

My personal MCAS-safe Beef Barbacoa (may not be safe for other MCAS people)
Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 1 hour
Total Time 1 hour 30 minutes
Servings 4
Author Holly Dacia

Ingredients

  • 2/3 cup water
  • 4 cloves garlic
  • 3 jalapenos chopped
  • 1/4 cup fresh lime juice
  • 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar*
  • 1 tablespoon ground cumin**
  • 1 tablespoon dried oregano**
  • 1 teaspoon black pepper**
  • 1/4 tsp ground cloves**
  • salt to taste
  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • 2 to 3 pounds beef roast cut into 1-to-2-inch chunks

Instructions

  1. Use the “Sauté” setting on the Instant Pot. Add oil, once it is heated and shimmering, add the roast and sear until the roast is browned on all sides. Press “Cancel” to turn off the heat.
  2. Add the rest of the ingredients and briefly toss everything until the roast is evenly coated in the sauce. Close lid securely and set vent to “Sealing”.
  3. Use the “Meat/Stewl” setting, then adjust the +/- buttons until time reads 60 minutes. Cook. Cautiously turn the vent to “Venting” for quick release. Remove lid.
  4. Using two forks, shred the beef into bite-sized pieces. Give the beef one more good toss in all of those juices so that it can soak them up. I will oftentimes remove the beef from the Instapot, placing it into a bowl, to make this easier.
  5. Serve warm, or refrigerate in a sealed container for up to 3 days, or freeze for up to 3 months.

Recipe Notes

* I sometimes have to omit this if I'm super reactive.
** I discovered when I was out of cumin, that Old Bay Seasoning works in a pinch in place of these and tastes very similar.