Smoked Barbacoa Lamb Tacos with Pickled Onions

These Smoked Barbacoa Lamb Tacos have rich tender meat, and are complemented by simple pickled onions, queso fresco, a smidge of cilantro, and toasted tortillas. Amazingly delicious and an absolute crowd pleaser, this recipe is a winner. Traditionally, barbacoa is meat that cooks slowly in a hole in the ground. Don’t worry, I didn’t dig any holes to make this recipe and you won’t have to either. In Mexico, barbacoa has a loose definition that mostly means flavorful meat cooked so tender that it falls apart on its own.

This recipe is inspired by a recent trip to Puerto Vallarta where there was a taco stand selling birria tacos. Birria is tender goat, cooked with bay leaves, guajillo chiles, oregano, and cinnamon. I incorporated those same flavors, but took it up a notch by smoking the meat first and making pickled onions. The flavor combination in these tacos is truly unreal.

The Ultimate Way to Cook Meat

Have you ever used a Traeger smoker? I have this one, which we purchased at Costco a few years ago. We use it all the time, and it makes meat so incredibly flavorful. On weekends when my husband and I are around the house, we love to cook a huge chunk of something so it infuses with smoky flavor throughout the day. (My dog also loooooves the smoker, and immediately leaps for joy when we pull it out. He will spend the entire day sleeping next to it. Of course, we tip generously to thank him for “guarding” the grill all day long.)

A few favorite smoker recipe discoveries include lemon rosemary chicken (smoked whole), which essentially ruined regular chicken for me. Also, it turns out that cooking pineapple rings on the smoker turns them into sweet smoky pineapple candy. I normally can’t stand dried fruit, but I was enamored by smoked pineapple rings. Anyway…

About This Barbacoa Lamb

After coating the lamb leg with spices, it goes on the smoker for three hours to get infused with flavor but not cook entirely. Then, the meat is switched to the slow cooker, where it’s bathed in a guajillo chile sauce and cooked for about 4 hours until it is falling apart. Your house will smell absolutely amazing all day long.

Here’s the lamb leg, ready to spend three hours on the Traeger.

While the lamb is on the smoker, it’s time to get started on the sauce.

To keep the sauce simple, the chiles get toasted with the onion and garlic. No extra toasting steps, and no separately rehydrating the chiles. I am all about efficiency, and I found no flavor difference when the chiles are handled separately before going in the sauce.

Once the sauce has simmered down, I blend it until smooth, and pour it all over the lamb when it goes in the slow cooker. This keeps the meat moist and infuses that robust chile flavor throughout the lamb leg.

Pickled Onions

Only five minutes of prep work! I keep these quick and simple because there’s truly no need to make a fuss over them. These pickled onions really perk up the tacos and help to balance out the rich meat. You can definitely add extra herbs to the vinegar solution, but I don’t think it’s necessary because the flavor will just be drowned out by the tacos. These are definitely a worthwhile addition – don’t skip these!

Other Toppings

Queso Freso: Cool and creamy, I love this fresh flavor which is a perfect accompaniment to the pickled onions and shredded lamb.

Radishes: Fresh and crunchy!

Lime juice: A requirement for all tacos, in my opinion.

Cilantro: Are you on team cilantro? These aromatic leaves are traditional for birria tacos, and I’ve captured all those same flavors here.

Optional Toppings (still delicious!): Refried beans, blistered corn (or maybe pickled corn??), avocado slices.

The next time you need to feed a group, I urge you to try this recipe! Or if it’s just for your family, the meat actually freezes extremely well. I think the leftovers would go really well on a Mexican-inspired pizza. Might have to make that this week. Enjoy!

Print

Smoked Barbacoa Lamb Tacos

The ultimate taco filling! Lamb leg is smoked and then braised, to infuse it with incredible flavor. Earthy, slightly spicy, and with a hint of cloves, this tender meat completely falls apart. 

Cook time: 7 hours

*See recipe note for how to make this without a smoker.*

Prep Time 20 minutes

Servings 10 people

Ingredients

• 1 5 lb boneless lamb leg

Rub for Lamb:

• 2 tbsp salt
• 1 tbsp ancho chile powder
• 1 tbsp guajillo chile powder Can sub regular chile powder if you can't find it.
• 1 tbsp cumin
• 2 tsp oregano
• 2 tsp onion powder
• 1 tsp chipotle chile powder
• 1/2 tsp cloves
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon

Sauce for Slow Cooker:

• 3 tbsp avocado oil
• 3 whole dried guajillo chiles, stemmed and coarsely chopped Can sub whole dried chipotle peppers
• 1/2 cup sweet yellow onion, chopped
• 5 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 tsp oregano
• 1 tsp cumin
• 1/2 tsp cloves
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 4 cups low sodium chicken broth
• 1/3 cup apple cider vinegar
• 3 tbsp chipotles in adobo sauce, chopped
• 1 tbsp sauce, from chipotles in adobo sauce
• 2 whole bay leaves
• 1/4 cup lime juice

Extras:

• 20-30 corn tortillas
• 10 oz Cacique Queso Fresco, sliced or crumbled
• 1 cup chopped cilantro
• 2 cups refried beans
• 1 cup sliced radishes
• 1 recipe pickled onions (See recipe below)
• 2 limes, sliced

Instructions

To smoke lamb:

1. In a small bowl, combine all ingredients for lamb rub. Coat the entire lamb leg with spices. Let lamb sit at room temperature while setting up smoker. Preheat smoker to 250 degrees. Make sure there are plenty of wood pellets to produce smoke.

2. Place lamb leg in center of smoker (fat side up), and smoke for 3 hours at 250 degrees. Check periodically to make sure wood pellets are stocked and temperature remains constant. While lamb is smoking, begin making braising sauce.

Braising sauce for slow cooker:

1. Heat large dutch oven (or large cooking pot) over medium heat. Add onion, dried guajillo chiles, and garlic, and sauté until mostly soft and fragrant, about 10 minutes. Add in oregano, cumin, cloves, and cinnamon. Sauté until fragrant, about 30 seconds. 

2. Add in broth, vinegar, chipotles in adobo sauce, and additional tablespoon of adobo sauce. Stir well to release onions from the bottom of the pan. Bring to a boil, then reduce to simmer and cook uncovered until it reduces by half. Once reduced, blend until smooth.

To slow cook lamb:

1. Add smoked lamb to slow cooker. Set heat to high, and add in both bay leaves. Top with sauce, and cook on high until meat is falling apart, approximately 4 hours. Be sure to rotate meat halfway through, and occasionally spoon sauce over top of meat. 

2. Once meat is falling apart, remove leg from slow cooker and place on a large cutting board. Using a large spoon, try to scoop excess fat off the top of the sauce in the slow cooker. Discard. (Or, mix some into your dog’s dinner and he will love you forever.)

3. Shred lamb meat and then put back into slow cooker with remaining chile sauce. Pour lime juice over top, mix everything together.

To serve:

1. With gas stove, toast tortillas directly over the flame on low heat until warm and with slightly charred edges. Then top with the toppings of your choice! Enjoy!

Recipe Notes

I used a boneless lamb leg because it's what I could find at the store. I'm sure a shoulder would also work great. 

Inspiration from this recipe, this recipe, and delicious street tacos from Puerto Vallarta.

To make this without a smoker: Instead of the smoking step, heat a large skillet over medium high heat and drizzle with about 2 tablespoons of oil. Take seasoned lamb leg and sear in pan, rotating occasionally, until richly brown on all sides. This should take about 10 minutes. Then, set lamb in slow cooker and follow the rest of the recipe as written. Total slow cooker time should be about 6 hours.