A great thing about understanding the science behind cooking is that I can adapt recipes for the Instant Pot (or whichever pressure cooker, instructions below assume an electric pressure cooker) with great results. One important thing to remember is that because it's a sealed environment, you don't get much evaporation like you would with a slow cooker or traditional long braise, so you'll want to concentrate flavors and use less liquid than you might be used to. My favorite trick for this is to use Better than Bouillon paste and half or less of the usual amount of water – since the paste is reduced stock in the first place, it works out perfectly.
In this case, we had a 4 pound sirloin tip roast hanging out that needed to be used and only the morning to prep lunch, so with some taco fixings and basic, easily sourced ingredients we had amazing shredded beef "barbacoa" tacos done in about 1.5 hours with just one dirty pot (and the blender). You can also use the meat for burritos, huaraches, etc. or even just eat it in a bowl with some rice and beans.
Ingredients
- 4 pounds of beef roast (sirloin tip roast, chuck roast, or you can go with brisket or short ribs if you're feeling fancy)
- 4 chipotle chilis in adobo sauce (can adjust up or down for spice level, a small can usually has about 6)
- 1½ tsp beef bouillon paste
- ½ cup water
- 6 garlic cloves, peeled
- 1½ Tbsp ground cumin
- 1 Tbsp dried oregano, preferably Mexican
- 1 Tbsp salt
- ½ tsp ground black pepper
- ¼ tsp ground cloves
- ¼ cup lime juice
- 2 tsp soy sauce or fish sauce (optional, deepens flavor)
Directions
- Combine all ingredients except the meat in a blender or food processor and blend until smooth.
- Preheat the pressure cooker on the sauté setting with some oil. While it heats up, cut beef into large chunks (1½–2 inch cubes) and season with salt and pepper. Working in batches, brown all of the meat.
- Combine meat and sauce in the pressure cooker, seal it, and set to cook on high pressure (meat/stew setting) for 60 minutes.
- Allow pressure to come down naturally for about 15 minutes before releasing and opening the pot. Remove the meat to a bowl and shred with two forks; add some of the liquid with more salt if necessary to taste.
Recipe adapted from The Recipe Critic, likely originally sourced from elsewhere. I put "barbacoa" in quotes because I'm pretty sure this is not exactly traditional/authentic, but since many English speakers are familiar with the term thanks to places like Chipotle, it helps with expectations.