Wild Game Barbacoa Street Tacos
This one-pot barbacoa is easy to make and provides ample meat for countless meals or freezing for future use.
There’s a little food truck that sits in a used tire shop’s parking lot off of Nolensville Rd in Nashville, Tennessee. You can tell they’ve solidified their position as one of the best authentic Mexican spots in the area by the tires of the food truck being replaced by cinder blocks. They are there for good, and I’m glad that they aren’t going anywhere anytime soon.
This is my go-to spot if I’m looking for street tacos. They serve up everything from carnitas, chorizo, al pastor, pollo, lengua (my personal favorite), carne asada, cabeza, tinga and the inspiration for today’s recipe, barbacoa.
If that sounds like "barbecue," it’s because we got the American word from this Spanish style of slow cooking over an open fire, or more traditionally, in a pit dug in the ground covered with agave leaves.
I’m made this recipe possibly the easiest wild game recipe there is to make, at least top three easiest. This is a one-pot slow-cooker method, so there is minimal preparation and most definitely minimal clean up. The great thing about this is you’ll be left with pounds of meat you can eat for days or freeze for future meals. The long slow cooking process with a tougher cut of meat and the addition of chiles, spices, citrus and onion make this dish a perfect way to utilize roasts or whole shoulder cuts from your wild game.
I’ve adapted this recipe using a venison roast but you can use any wild game animal such as elk, moose, antelope or wild turkey. Just keep in mind the bigger the roast, the longer the cooking time to let the meat break down and tenderize.
Make these tacos the traditional way on a corn tortilla piled high with meat, fresh chopped onion, cilantro, queso fresco and plenty of lime. These tacos are so good you won’t even need hot sauce. But if you do, then I recommend a good tomatillo verde or smoky chipotle.
Ingredients
- 2-4 pound wild game roast.
- 3 chipotles in adobo sauce (canned) or more if you’d like more spice.
- 1 onion, chopped.
- 5 garlic cloves, minced.
- 2 bay leaves.
- 1 teaspoon paprika.
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin.
- 1 teaspoon ground clove.
- 1/2 cup of lime juice.
- 1/2 cup of apple cider vinegar.
- 4 cups of venions, beef or chicken stock.
- 1 1/2 tablespoon salt.
Instructions
- Place everything in a slow cooker, oven-safe pot or Dutch oven.
- Set your crockpot to “high,” or your oven to 300 degrees if you’re using a Dutch oven or pot, and cook the meat until it is easy to shred. (This takes anywhere from 4-7 hours, so just be on the lookout when yours is ready.)
- Remove the meat from the pot — keeping the liquid for later — and shred with two forks or your fingers.
(Mind you it’ll be hot so give it a minute if you’re using your hands.) - Add the meat back to the pot, give it a stir and serve.
- Enjoy!