Venison Barbacoa Tacos Recipe (plus Orange Sauce)
Ultra-tender venison, slow braised with bold Mexican cuisine flavors. Shredded and piled up to make the most succulent and delicious deer meat tacos you’ve ever seen! Plus a bonus orange salsa recipe to make your tacos really pop.
Venison Barbacoa Tacos Recipe
10
servings30
minutes5
hours10
minutesIngredients
- Venison Barbacoa
3-4 lbs Venison roast meat
1 White onion, chopped
5 cloves Garlic, minced
3 Chipotle peppers in Adobo sauce, chopped
1 teaspoon Cumin
1 teaspoon Paprika
1 teaspoon Oregano
1 teaspoon Ground cloves
1 teaspoon Black pepper
1 Tablespoon Brown sugar
3 Bay leaves
Kosher salt
2 Limes, juiced
1 quart Beef stock
1/4 cup Beef tallow or lard
Olive oil
- Orange Salsa
2-3 Roma tomatoes, roughly chopped
1 Medium-sized white onion, roughly chopped
3 cloves Garlic, sliced
2 Dried Guajillo chilies
1/2 teaspoon Kosher salt
1/3 cup Olive oil
Directions
- Venison Barbacoa
- Trim any visible fat or silverskin off the venison roast meat. Then cut into medium-sized chunks. Season generously with Kosher salt.
- Heat up large Dutch oven and put in enough olive oil to cover the bottom. When hot, place in the venison pieces to sear. Turn each piece after a couple minutes, to ensure each side of each piece gets nicely browned. Then remove meat from the pot and set aside.
- If there is much liquid sitting in the pot, wipe it up with paper towel. Add a little more olive oil, and saute the onions for 3 minutes. Then add the garlic and chopped chipotle peppers and cook another 2 minutes.
- Add in the juice from 2 limes, and scrape the bottom of the pot with a wooden spoon to dislodge any brown bits.
- Stir in 1 cup of beef stock.
- Place the meat pieces back into the pot, nestling it atop the onion mixture and liquid. Add more beef stock, if needed, until the meat pieces are submerged about 2/3 of the way in liquid. Throw in the bay leaves.
- Mix the following dry seasonings together: Cumin, paprika, oregano, cloves, black pepper, and brown sugar. Then sprinkle over top of the meat in the pot.
- Spoon the tallow or lard atop the meat pieces. There is no need to spread it around; just drop it on.
- Cover the Dutch oven, and bake for 5 hours at 300 degrees Fahrenheit.
- When cooking is finished, carefully remove the meat pieces and place in a large bowl. Strain the braising liquid to remove all solids.
- Shred the meat, while stirring in some of the braising liquid until the consistency is right. It should all be moist and juicy, but not sopping wet.
- Add more salt to taste.
- Orange Salsa
- Cut open the dried Guajillo chiles and remove the seeds. Cut or tear the peppers into small pieces. Soak in hot water for 30 minutes.
- Heat 3-4 Tablespoons of olive oil in a large skillet or saucepan over medium-high heat. Add in the tomatoes and onions, along with the salt. Cook for about 5 minutes, stirring each minute.
- Remove the dried Guajillo chiles from the water and add to the hot skillet. Then add the garlic, and cook everything for another minute or two.
- Transfer pan contents into a high-speed blender. Blend all ingredients on high, until pureed. Then begin slowly drizzling in the remaining olive oil, while the blender is still running.
- Add lime juice and blend for 10 more seconds.
- Allow to cool, and refrigerate salsa in a sealed container until ready to use.
