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Chipotle Mexican Grill Barbacoa Burrito Recipe
Chipotle Mexican Grill Barbacoa Burrito
By Todd Wilbur

Recipe Rating: 4.8 (12 reviews)
 
Menu Description:  "Spicy, shredded beef, braised with our own chipotle adobo, cumin, cloves, garlic and oregano."
 
The original Mexican dish barbacoa was traditionally prepared by cooking almost any kind of meat -- goat, fish, chicken, or cow cheek meat, to name just a few -- in a pit covered with leaves over low heat for many hours, until tender. When the dish made its way into the United States via Texas the word transformed into "barbecue" and the preparation changed to incorporate above-ground techniques such as smoking and grilling. The good news is that we can recreate the beef barbacoa that Chipotle has made popular on its ginormous burritos without digging any holes in our yard or tracking down a local source for fresh cow faces. After braising about 30 pounds of chuck roasts, I finally discovered the perfect clone with a taste-alike adobo sauce that fills your roast with flavor as it slowly cooks to a fork-tender delicacy on your stovetop over 5 to 6 hours. Part of the secret for great adobo sauce is toasting whole cumin seeds and cloves and then grinding them in a coffee grinder (measure the spices after grinding them). Since the braising process takes so long, start early in the day and get ready for a big dinner, because I've also included clones here for Chipotle's pico de gallo, pinto beans, and delicious cilantro-lime rice to make your burritos complete. You can add your choice of cheese, plus guacamole and sour cream for a super-deluxe clone version.
Barbacoa 
1/3 cup apple cider vinegar
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JH  
Submitted on 11/12/11

This recipe is good but it does not taste like Chipotle's barbacoa. With a couple of minor tweaks, it comes fairly close: 1. Reduce vinegar to 1/4 cup. The goal is to not taste the vinegar once barbacoa has finished cooking. 2. Reduce cloves to 1/4 tsp. 3. Salt the roast with kosher or sea salt and let sit at room temperature for about an hour before searing.
CALI  
Submitted on 07/16/11

Excellent recipe. For those who want a less spicier beef batch, use two parts roasted red peppers (in a jar) and one part spicy peppers instead. I prefer the chicken broth over beef broth because that adds a unique flavor that totally blends well.
john h  
Submitted on 06/05/09

Very good, I used beef broth instead of chicken broth and a little less cumin seeds. We make it ones every couple of weeks, it goes fast!!!!!
MegWY  
Submitted on 12/10/08

I FLIPPING LOVE IT!!!! I live in WY and there is NO Chipotle in the town I live in! Its just SSSSSSSOOOOOOOOOOOO YUMMY! I love it!
JohnC  
Submitted on 07/09/08

Perfect! I love the barbacoa at Chipotle, but all of the internet recipes were bogus (or for authentic Mexican barbacoa, which is a completely different thing). Now I don't have to pay $1.50 for a couple of extra shreds of beef -- I just pile it on! Nice touch to add the other recipes! (But could you figure out how to make their hot tomatilla sauce -- I'm stuck.)
JP  
Submitted on 03/27/08

Glad to have found this recipe because we just moved to a town with no Chipotle restaurant. I've made the recipe twice and it was awsome both times. Last time I cooked it in the crockpot overnight - 8 hours on low. The meat was very tender and shredded easily. This will become a regular meal in our house!! Thanks for all your efforts Todd!
mxgrl  
Submitted on 02/03/08

Mmmmmm.... deeeee-licious! Thanks to your outstanding recipe, my husband now thinks I am a true kitchen goddess! So easy...and so, so, so yummy! Thanks so much, Todd! You ROCK...always! :D
lucyjo  
Submitted on 08/30/07

This is so great!!!! I used a crockpot to cook it in....great time saver....just leave to cook for the day on med-high setting.
Tina  
Submitted on 08/09/07

LOVE IT!!!!! GREAT JOB!!!! I tried it with pork and it was fabulous!!!!
DW  
Submitted on 07/30/07

This recipe was awesome! Our two teenaged sons devoured the burritos and argued about who could have the leftovers. I used a rice cooker then mixed the butter, salt, lime and cilantro into the cooked rice - it was great. Otherwise, I followed the directions exactly but found it only took a bit over 3 hours for the meat to shred.
JW  
Submitted on 07/09/07

Fabulous and flavorful! With the adobo sauce and cilantro rice (which would make a great side dish), it's a good Chipotle clone. I couldn't find any chipotles, so I roasted jalapenos instead. The yield of 8 large burritos was about 16 for my guests, so invite a crowd, eat hearty, and enjoy!
Sue in OH  
Submitted on 07/04/07

This was wonderful, my family loved it. It took a long time, but I made it ahead and we had it around for quick meal, just some meat and cheese on a tortilla. My husband says it tastes like the real thing.