In honor of National Hispanic Month, I decided to make Barbacoa.   When I googled some Barbacoa recipes, I noticed that almost of them used butt roast but that isn’t how we make it.   We use Cacheta de Res, aka, Beef Cheeks and this is the only way I’ve known how to make it.  And in actuality, we make Barbacoa de Cabeza (a cow head) and make barbacoa out of that but for this, we are just using the beef cheeks.

Before I get to the very easy barbacoa recipe, I thought I’d share with you a tidbit about us.  My real dad’s side of the family is Mexican, which makes me half.   My husband and his family is Spanish.  They all speak Spanish, sing Spanish, and often talk in Spanish when together.  My kids who very much look white, call themselves Hispanic because that’s what they are and how we live.   I’ve always considered myself Mexican because 1) you’re supposed to go by your Dad and 2) I just feel it.

We cook Mexican food all the time with homemade tortillas being a staple around here.  We haven’t had homemade barbacoa in a long time so I thought the timing was perfect for it.  One of the things I love about our Walmart is that I can find those unique cuts that I need, in this case, cacheta de res (beef cheeks).  They also carry other parts of the beef head like tongue which we would have also put in this but they were sold out.

Barbacoa is probably one of the easiest foods to make.  While many might dress it up, we prefer an original, plain version.

So if you want to be truly Authentic with this, buy a cow head and cook it in the ground, shred all the cheeks, tongue, eyes, etc and you’ll have barbacoa.  We think is easier and for me, slightly more appealing than the other…….

Have you ever tried Barbacoa? 

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This recipe was submitted by Chef Jake of emealsforyou.com.  Thanks!

INGREDIENTS:

• 2 Tb oil, olive
• 0.5 cup soy sauce
• 2 Tb Worcestershire sauce
• 2 medium scallions, sliced
• 5 cloves garlic, chopped
• 1 tsp thyme
• 1 medium lemon, juice of
• 1 tsp pepper, fresh cracked
• 8 medium chicken thighs, boneless

PREPARATION:

Place all ingredients in a large plastic bag. Squeeze the lemon juice into the bag then put the whole lemon in as well. Seal bag and place in refrigerator for at least 1 hour, turning several times.
Remove chicken thighs and place on a grill or under a broiler, cook until done, about 10-15 minutes. Serve with rice, salad and some crunchy bread.

Recipe Summary Complexity: Easy
Serves: 4

A few of the comments I read in my previous post stated that more cultural food recipes are wanted.  Of course I absolutely want to try and do a little more of what everyone requested but today, I’m gonna start with this Japanese cuisine.  If you’ve never been to a sushi restaurant before, you MUST go to one.  According to my 12 year old, it was the coolest place ever.  He got to sit close to the chef that cooks in front of everyone and taste samples the whole evening.  He thought the egg was really neato.  The chef tossed an egg from one spatula to another, then broke the egg over the pan and cooked it.  For the record, they have much more than Japanese cuisine so don’t be skeered to try it;)

There is one place that’s quite popular that does this very thing.  It’s called Benihana and can be found all over.  In fact, they are not just in the United States.  They have restaurants in Thailand, Russia, England and more! You really should visit one near you

Okay, now let’s move on to the recipe.  This recipe is a sushi roll.  I have never rolled any myself but would love to hear your experiences if you have.

INGREDIENTS:

• 4 sheets dried seaweed (nori)
• 4 cups sushi rice
• 1 avocado
• 1/2 lb imitation crab
• 1 tbsp mayonnaise
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 2 tsps sesame seeds

PREPARATION:

1. Peel an avocado and cut it into strips.
2. Put imitation crab in a bowl and mix with salt and mayonnaise.
3. Place cellophane on the maki-su (bamboo mat).
4. Put a sheet of dried seaweed on top of the mat.
5. Spread sushi rice on top of the seaweed and press firmly. Do not pack the rice. It should be less than 1/4 inch thick.
6. Sprinkle sesame seeds over the sushi rice.
7. Turn the sushi layer over so that the seaweed is on top.
8. Place avocado and crab lengthwise on the seaweed.
9. Slowly fold the mat over, tucking the end of the nori to start a roll. Lift the mat as you go. Lessen the pressure slightly to straighten out the roll, if needed. Then continue rolling with medium pressure.
10. Remove the mat.
11. Place the sushi roll on a cutting board.
12. Slightly wet the blade of your knife and cut in the middle of the sushi roll. Bring the two halves side by side and cut the two sections into fourths.

This will make 8 pieces.