Barbacoa using the 'cooler method'?

Special occasion at work and we're making shredded beef tacos/burritos. Dude at work says he can make fork-tender shredded beef from tritip by charring on a grill for ~15-20 min and then wrapping in foil and placing in a cooler surrounded by towels for 45 min. Seems too short of a time to get fork tender to me but I've never done it. We've already bought the tritip so no turning back now.

Anybody experienced with this method? I'm curious as to what the internal temp of the roasts should be before putting in the cooler and how long in the cooler? Seems there needs to be enough residual heat to finish the job but not so much as to overcook. Seems too much/too hot and it won't be tender or juicy and not enough heat won't be enough to break it down to fork tenderness. The meat needs to spend time in the 140*-150* F for some time in order to break it down properly, is that correct?

Nobody likes a tough, dry taco. Any help appreciated.

I'm with you. The one time I made barbacoa I did it just like I would a pork butt - smoked/cooked for about 8 hours at 200, then FTC'd (Foil, towel, Cooler) it for another 2 hours or so until it was time to shred and serve.

This may produce a tender piece of beef, but what does the guy mean by fork tender?

Thanks.

jrfuda said:

I'm with you. The one time I made barbacoa I did it just like I would a pork butt - smoked/cooked for about 8 hours at 200, then FTC'd (Foil, towel, Cooler) it for another 2 hours or so until it was time to shred and serve.

Click to expand...

Oooooh careful with Pork Butt in Texas. I think it's a crime in 29 counties. But it's sooooo much more forgiving than brisket.

arturo7 said:

This may produce a tender piece of beef, but what does the guys mean by fork tender?

Click to expand...

Maybe this is it. I remember him saying you couldn't lift it with a fork/tongs, it would just break apart. Which is subjective to some degree but I took that as pretty damn tender.

SpanishCastleAle said:

...Oooooh careful with Pork Butt in Texas. I think it's a crime in 29 counties. But it's sooooo much more forgiving than brisket.

Click to expand...

I'm a Carolina Boy (and am moving back in August), so bbq'd pork holds a special place... I've intro'd many texans to carolina-style bbq. But I love it all, you can't go wrong slow-smoking a piece of meat no matter what state you're in/from.

I'm sure when I get back to NC, I'll be introducing brisket and barbacoa to a bunch of east coast folks.

SpanishCastleAle said:

you couldn't lift it with a fork/tongs, it would just break apart.

Click to expand...

After one hour?

Ain't no way.

What about grilling then just putting it in the crock pot? I've never heard of the cooler method, but I like it. If you do it, report back. I wanna know how it turns out. What cut of beef/roast do you use for yours?

The cooler method, or more specifically foil, towel, cooler method will hold the meat close to its last temperature for several hours, this lets the meat "rest" and equalize its temp (since the exterior is usually a bit warmer than the interior while it's in the oven/cooker), it limits loss of moisture and promotes equal distribution of moisture since the foil makes a mostly air/water tight seal, and it lets the rendering of fat and breakdown of the tough tissue continue a while longer without overcooking/drying out the meat. It also holds it at serving temperature until you're ready to serve.

To do it:
- Wrap meat itghtly in foil, you can toss in a little liquid (apple juice is good for most bbq) before you seal it up if you like.
- Wrap the foil/meat package in as several towels
- Place the towel/foil/meat package in a cooler
- Wait 1-2+ hours until it's time to eat, reverse the process and carve/shred

My guests are always a bit confused when I tell them we're having bbq something, and by the time they arrive, there's no bbqing occurring, then I pull some foil and towel-wrapped meat out of a cooler and start carving/shreding it up for them.

Works great for just about any kind of slow cooked meat, even ribs.

jr, not to blatantly disagree but...

Resting the meat for an hour or so in the cooler allows fat, which was liquefied during smoking, to absorb into the meat.

Using foil is a sin. This ruins the bark and tends to make the meat soggy. A towel is all that is needed.

I agree with the addition of the fat re-absorption statement.

However, on the foil ruining the bark part, I can only partially agree. For ribs, barbacoa and the afformentioned pork butt, I've not had any soggy bark syndromn, but I could see this being an issue for a brisket and will keep that in mind.

Pork butt and barbacoa are typically shredded, at least when I serve them, so if the bark were to be soggy, it wouild be a non issue in the end product.

The rub I use for my ribs has so much brown sugar in it that by the time they come out of the smoker the bark is rather durable and is not affected negatively by the foil (maybe not positively either since the bark may keep the liquids in on its own)... The bark is so thick, firm and flavorful that no sauce is ever required (thought the sauce thing is defineately one of those that can start an argument in some places).

Now, I must confess that I have not made a brisket in a while, not since I've discovered the foil/towel/cooler (or towel/cooler for you) method (3 years, maybe). Someone feeds me brisket at least twice a month around here (office parties and other gatherings) so I have not had the need to make some myself in quite some time. I'm sure that will change once I get back to NC, where I'll be force-fed pork bbq and have to start making my own brisket.

arturo7 said:

jr, not to blatantly disagree but...

Resting the meat for an hour or so in the cooler allows fat, which was liquefied during smoking, to absorb into the meat.

Using foil is a sin. This ruins the bark and tends to make the meat soggy. A towel is all that is needed.

Click to expand...

Even if it's all going to be pulled/shredded?

FWIW, we are using this method to reduce amount of tended cooking time. We plan to do the grilling/charring during a break (or perhaps before work) and let it rest in the cooler during work hours.

Heavybrew,
We are using tritip here. IIRC it's part of the sirloin, between top and bottom. Tritip is just tender enough to grill it as a roast and slice it up, but it's about the same magnitude of tenderness as sirloin (i.e. not the tenderest cut, but good flavor imo). If I wanted to ensure a really tender product I might use chuck roast.

SpanishCastleAle said:

Even if it's all going to be pulled/shredded?

Click to expand...

Those bits of crunchy bark are glorious tidbits in your sammich.

What kind of roast do u guys use for barbacoa?

In San Antonio, the po' folks use the Cabesa de Vaca, Cow's head. That's what traditional barbacoa is. At least there.

I agree with arturo on the towel only thing...the beautiful bark is a horrible thing to waste. If done right every sammich gets a nice mixture of inside meat and some crusty bark. Mmmm...mouth watering.

Dwain said:

In San Antonio, the po' folks use the Cabesa de Vaca, Cow's head. That's what traditional barbacoa is. At least there.

Click to expand...

This is also what I always thought barbacoa was but have never made any so I dont know...according to wiki it looks like it is traditionally cows head but now is found being goat or lamb.

Dwain said:

In San Antonio, the po' folks use the Cabesa de Vaca, Cow's head. That's what traditional barbacoa is. At least there.

Click to expand...

This is what I've read too. I was too young when we lived in Austin to know such things. I've also read this is where we get our word 'barbeque' from.

I was using the word like the Chipotle restaurant does. I really like their barbacoa and tomatillo-red-chile sauce.

Meat is resting right now. Eat in ~2.5 hours.

This is the recipe I used when I made it: http://www.lomexicano.com/barbacoa.htm which calls for a chuck roast. I think you should find the cheapest cut of beef you can that meets your size criteria, the chuck will likeluy be jucier than say, a round roast, but I'm sure, if done right, both will yield tasty results.

However, those of y'all saying it's supposed to be made from cows head are absolutely correct. I've had barbacoa dozens of times and I never been able to tell if it was made from cow's head or another cut, all I know is it was good. The link I posted above has a little history on barbacoa as well as the "South Texas Style Barbacoa" recipe and another for yucatan style pulled pork.

The one time I made this, I had about 15 folks over and also made fajitas in case people did not like the barbacoa. The barbacoa was a HUGE hit - everyone loved it.

jrfuda said:

...and another for yucatan style pulled pork.

Click to expand...

I recently found a latin restaurant (carribean/cuban) that has fantastic carnitas (not sure if that's what they call it in cuba/caribbean). They use scissors to cut through the skin/fat and then use tongs to pull the fork-tender meat out and plop it into a bowl with lots of juice. A big pile of yellow rice, a bowl of black beans, and fried plantains = awesome!

Anyone know the difference between barbacoa and lechon asado? I mean other than barbacoa is usually beef and lechon is usually pork.

My wife makes lechon all the time but I've only had barbacoa once at a restaurant.

In Mexico, it is goat or lamb. Slow cooked, not coated with sauce.

Quite tasty.

Meat was fork tender but was 'foiled' for several hours. Pico I made was gone quick. I need a cervesa and a siesta.