Lamb Barbacoa

Name: Lamb Barbacoa
Yield: Serves 8
Cuisine: Mexican
Ingredients: 6 dried, guajillo chiles, stemmed, seeded and torn into ½-inch pieces (¾ cup); 1 (2½- to 3-pound), boneless leg of lamb, fat cap trimmed to ⅛ to ¼ inch; 6 , garlic cloves, peeled, divided; 5 teaspoons, kosher salt, divided; 2½ teaspoons, dried Mexican oregano; 2 teaspoons, cider vinegar; ½ teaspoon, pepper; 2 , whole cloves; ¼ teaspoon, ground cumin; 1 , (15-ounce) can chickpeas, undrained; 8 ounces, red potatoes, unpeeled, cut into ½-inch pieces; ½ small, white onion, halved through root end; 2 , carrots, peeled and halved crosswise; 2 , bay leaves; 2 , dried ancho chiles, stemmed, seeded and torn into ½-inch pieces (½ cup); 6 ounces, tomatillos, husks and stems removed, rinsed well and dried; 1 small, plum tomato; ¼ small, white onion, quartered through root end; 2 , garlic cloves, unpeeled; 1–2 dried, arbol chiles, stemmed (optional); 1¼ teaspoons, kosher salt; ½–1 teaspoon, cider vinegar (optional); Pinch to ½ teaspoon, sugar (optional); 24 (6-inch), corn tortillas, warmed; Finely chopped , white onion; Thinly sliced, radishes; , Fresh cilantro leaves; , Lime wedges

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Appears in Cook's Illustrated May/June 2023

Main Courses

Mexican

Lamb

Mexico's unctuously tender, slow-cooked meat is meant for wrapping in warm tortillas, serving with a chile-spiked broth, and sharing with loved ones.

SERVES8

TIME4½ hours, plus 30 minutes resting

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WHY THIS RECIPE WORKS

Barbacoa is a pit-cooking method traditional to Mexico that produces tender bites of meat and consomé de barbacoa that's flavored by the meat drippings. Our barbacoa began by coating 1½-inch-thick slabs of lamb or beef in a marinade made by...

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