Pressure Cooker Barbacoa Beef Tacos

Note: I was sent a Cosori Premium 6qt multicooker in order to write this post. Opinions are mine alone.

I’m not going to lie, pressure cookers have always kind of intimidated me. I was under the impression that they were difficult to use, and easy to mess up.

Well, after trying out the Cosori Premium 6qt pressure cooker over the past couple of weeks, I’m here to tell you they are actually quite easy to use!

Pressure cookers are definitely having a moment right now, but they’ve actually been around since the 1600’s in some form or another. Pressure cookers use steam pressure to help cook food faster. When cooking tough meat, pressure cookers help tenderize the meat and cook it surprisingly quickly in the process.

The Cosori Premium 6qt pressure cooker is actually a multicooker – it’s a pressure cooker, hot pot, steamer, slow cooker, food warmer, sauté pan, yogurt maker, and rice cooker – all in one! The unit has 17 smart cooking programs, but you can also adjust the cooking time, temperature, and pressure cooking levels to customize your cooking.

I couldn’t wait to test the pressure cooker out! I immediately thought of barbacoa – super tender and shredded meat (typically lamb or beef) with seasonings, so it’s time to try making Pressure Cooker Barbacoa Beef Tacos!

We eat a lot of tacos in my house, so I knew this would be a perfect test of the pressure cooker’s ability. This recipe actually uses two of the features available -” sauté/brown” and “meat/stew” pressure cooking. The Cosori premium pressure cooker is quite large (6 quarts!), so I decided to make a huge batch for future dinners. (It’s always helpful to have a full freezer for busy fall weeknights.)

Note: If you’ve been considering purchasing the Cosori Premium 6qt pressure cooker, click on this link and use code UCS9PK3K to receive 10% off! (The code is only good through October 31, 2018, so be sure to purchase before then!)

Ingredients: (makes 12 servings)

• 6 garlic cloves
• 1 medium onion, peeled and quartered
• 1 chipotle in adobo, plus 3 tablespoons chipotle in adobo sauce
• 2 tablespoons ground cumin
• 2 tablespoons ground oregano
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• ½ teaspoon ground cloves
• zest and juice of 1 lime
• 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
• 2 cups beef broth, plus a tablespoon or two, divided
• 6 lbs boneless chuck roast, trimmed of excess fat
• Salt and pepper, for seasoning
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 bay leaves
• 12 corn tortillas
• 1 small white onion, finely chopped
• Cilantro, for garnish
• Lime wedges

Note: if using your Cosori pressure cooker for the first time, I suggest watching this video to make sure you’re all good to go!

Add the garlic, onion, chipotle in adobo and sauce, cumin, oregano, cinnamon, cloves, lime juice and zest and apple cider vinegar to a blender. Add in the beef broth and puree until smooth.

Cut the meat into large chunks. Season with salt and pepper.

Press the “saute” function on your pressure cooker. Press the “cook time” button and increase the time to 25 or 30 minutes (it took me about 25 minutes to brown up all of my meat.) Press the “adjust” button and choose “more/high.” Press “on/start.” The pressure cooker will beep five times when it is preheated.

Carefully add the olive oil, and then add some meat to the pressure cooker (without crowding the beef).

Brown the meat on all sides. Remove from the pressure cooker and continue with the remaining beef.

When done browning the last batch, remove the final pieces and set aside. Press “stop/cancel” to turn off the saute function. Add a little bit of beef stock (1 or 2 tablespoons) to the pressure cooker and scrape the browned bits from the bottom of the pressure cooker using a wooden or plastic spoon.

Add back in all of the beef to the pressure cooker, as well as any juices from the beef.

Pour in the pureed mixture from the blender and the bay leaves, evenly covering the beef.

Close the lid, ensuring that the steam valve is closed. Select the meat/stew pressurized cooking function. Press “cook time” to adjust the cooking time to 1 hour. Press “on/start” to begin cooking.

Once the unit has reached optimal cooking pressure (~15 minutes), the unit will beep once and start counting down from 1 hour. You’ll notice that the pressure release valve (red) rises up during this time.

The pressure cooker will beep 3 times to alert you when cooking has finished. It will automatically go on to “keep warm” mode for up to 6 hours. Once cooking is complete, turn off the pressure cooker by pressing “stop/cancel” and unplugging the power cable.

Let the unit cool down for 15 to 20 minutes, or until the float valve drops down. Using an oven mitt, move the pressure release value to the “release” position to let out any remaining pressure in the unit. Wait again for the float value to drop down before opening the pressure cooker.

The meat should be really tender. Remove the meat from the pot, keeping the liquid in the pot, and shred with two forks. Add to a large bowl.

Measure out ~3 cups of the cooking liquid, discarding the bay leaves. Pour over the shredded beef. Add more if you’d like; the beef will soak up a lot of the liquid. Taste, and season with salt or pepper if needed.

Serve in corn tortillas with finely chopped white onion, cilantro, and a lime wedge.

There is some heat to this recipe from the chipotle in adobo, but it’s not over powering. There is a lot of flavor from the blender mixture. The beef is so tender too!

There are recipes using a pressure cooker that would be great for a weeknight meal. This recipe though is probably best for a weekend. Luckily this can be made ahead of time and eaten during the week, or even frozen for a later date!

I think I’ve found a top cooking tool in my kitchen. Weeknight meals are tough for me, so I try to prepare as much as I can over weekends. Being able to make such a tasty meal (especially with a pretty tough cut of meat) in a couple of hours is awesome! I could knock out a few different recipes on a Sunday and be set for the week!

As a reminder, if you are considering purchasing the Cosori Premium 6qt pressure cooker, click on this link and use code UCS9PK3K to receive 10% off! (The code is only good through October 31, 2018, so be sure to purchase before then!)