A recent addiction of mine is good barbacoa, which is a Latin-American braised meat method. There's this little taco truck in Woodland, CA that sells cachete barbacoa tacos that are out of this world.
Well, I can't find beef cheeks easy, so I've settled for rump roast. Totally opposite end of the cow, but it's a great stewing meat.
I picked this guy out especially for the glorious fat cap and marbling. Problem was it was only 4.5 pounds, and I needed closer to 5, so I threw in some stew meat (also from the rump) to round it out.
For my supporting cast, I've chosen 1 large onion, 1 Jalapeno, 1 green bell pepper, 4 roma tomatoes, 3 cloves of garlic, 2 oranges, oregano, chili powder, cinnamon, cloves, paprika, my southwestern rub, and coriander.
so, why the fat cap on the roast?
It's because I wanted to trim it off...
and cut it up to render it out for browning up the meat
And after:
Caramelizing the meat:
Nice looking sear.
I've chosen to use the beef fat, and bits in this braise in order to keep as much of the meat flavor in-house. I'm afraid I might be adding water to this, which adds no extra flavor, so the browned up bits, and meat will help compensate for this.
Once the searing business was done, I threw in the onions, and spun them around the pot until it deglazed.
Once they were reduced down enough, I squeezed the oranges and tomatoes, and then dropped them into the pot.
It seems unconventional to add the whole, rind-on oranges to the pot, but it's a solid thing. It's the only convenient way to get the flavor of the zest in there. This is a technique I've seen done on carnitas, and I can't argue with the results.
Added the peppers and garlic.
And the spices
the meat
You kind of have to "tuck it in" past all the veggies. It took some effort.
Add a cervesa and some Pepsi
Of course, why am I posting this on Smoking Meat Forums? this is a braise, and that's a pot on a stovetop. Seems unlike the theme of this site, which is something I really don't want to do, so, I parked the pot in a 200 degree smoker with mesquite and hickory.
I'll smoke it uncovered for the first hour, then lid it up, and continue until tender.
Results to come.
Well, I can't find beef cheeks easy, so I've settled for rump roast. Totally opposite end of the cow, but it's a great stewing meat.
I picked this guy out especially for the glorious fat cap and marbling. Problem was it was only 4.5 pounds, and I needed closer to 5, so I threw in some stew meat (also from the rump) to round it out.
For my supporting cast, I've chosen 1 large onion, 1 Jalapeno, 1 green bell pepper, 4 roma tomatoes, 3 cloves of garlic, 2 oranges, oregano, chili powder, cinnamon, cloves, paprika, my southwestern rub, and coriander.
so, why the fat cap on the roast?
It's because I wanted to trim it off...
and cut it up to render it out for browning up the meat
And after:
Caramelizing the meat:
Nice looking sear.
I've chosen to use the beef fat, and bits in this braise in order to keep as much of the meat flavor in-house. I'm afraid I might be adding water to this, which adds no extra flavor, so the browned up bits, and meat will help compensate for this.
Once the searing business was done, I threw in the onions, and spun them around the pot until it deglazed.
Once they were reduced down enough, I squeezed the oranges and tomatoes, and then dropped them into the pot.
It seems unconventional to add the whole, rind-on oranges to the pot, but it's a solid thing. It's the only convenient way to get the flavor of the zest in there. This is a technique I've seen done on carnitas, and I can't argue with the results.
Added the peppers and garlic.
And the spices
the meat
You kind of have to "tuck it in" past all the veggies. It took some effort.
Add a cervesa and some Pepsi
Of course, why am I posting this on Smoking Meat Forums? this is a braise, and that's a pot on a stovetop. Seems unlike the theme of this site, which is something I really don't want to do, so, I parked the pot in a 200 degree smoker with mesquite and hickory.
I'll smoke it uncovered for the first hour, then lid it up, and continue until tender.
Results to come.
