I love these Instant Pot chipotle barbacoa beef cheeks for how super easy they are, while still being packed with amazing flavors. They're a great way to cook up your beef cheeks (or brisket, or even a roast works - rump or chuck!) for the ease and convenience we all know and expect from our instant pots or pressure cookers.
Try my fabulous Instant Pot beef stew for another great beef recipe that's fast, easy, and delicious.
Additionally, the fun and festive Cinco De Mayo holiday is just around the corner. My instant pot beef barbacoa is a fantastic dish to enjoy with friends and family.
Of course, if you're like me you certainly don't need an excuse to cook up some of your favorite Mexican-inspired meals.
My family never passes up taco night, and regularly debates tacos vs fajitas. Tacos won out tonight and we will be loading them up with this super tender, fall-apart, barbacoa beef cheeks.
🔪 How To Cook Barbacoa Beef Cheeks In An Instant Pot
Set your instant pot or pressure cooker to saute, add the olive oil, and allow both to warm before adding your chunked, cubed beef cheeks.
Add the beef cheeks once the pot has warmed, then cover with seasoning: salt, pepper, cumin, oregano, smoked paprika, and ground cloves. Stir to coat the meat with seasoning.
Allow the beef cheek cubes to brown on all sides and add the chopped cilantro and orange zest ( you can use dried orange peel and orange juice from concentrate, or limes as a substitute ).
Then add the chipotle pepper and adobo sauce. Stir to combine.
Add the tomato paste and orange juice, stir to combine.
Finally, add the beef broth then turn off the saute function and seal the instant pot or pressure cooker. Use the manual setting to set the time to 45 minutes.
When the cooking time has ended, turn your instant pot or pressure cooker off and allow it to do a natural release ( which will take 20 minutes, or more depending on how full your instant pot or pressure cooker is ).
Remove the meat from the juices, place it into a bowl or plate, and use a pair of forks to shred the beef cheeks. Stir some more fresh cilantro in, or sprinkle over the top to serve.
You can also pan-fry the shredded beef cheeks for some crispy ends and adds texture before serving. This is my family's absolute favorite way to add that final 'best' touch to our shredded taco meat!!
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📖 Recipe Card
Instant Pot Chipotle Barbacoa Beef Cheeks
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive oil (extra virgin)
- 2.5 lbs beef cheeks (fat trimmed, cut into 1 ½ - 2 inch chunks)
- 1 teaspoon salt (to taste)
- 1 teaspoon cumin
- 1 teaspoon oregano
- ½ teaspoon ground black pepper (to taste)
- ½ teaspoon smoked paprika (or regular paprika)
- ⅛ teaspoon ground cloves
- ¼ cup cilantro (fresh, chopped - more for garnish, if desired)
- 1-2 chipotle pepper(s) in adobo sauce (use more chipotle peppers with the adobo sauce for more heat, or use ½ teaspoon ground chipotle for less heat)
- 2 tablespoon tomato paste
- 1 medium navel orange (juice and zest, or use 2 limes)
- 2 cups beef broth
(Note: 2x or 3x only changes the ingredient list)
Instructions
- Set your instant pot or pressure cooker to saute, add the 1 tablespoon olive oil and allow both to warm before adding your chunked 2.5 lbs beef cheekseef.
- Add the 2.5 lbs beef cheeks once the pot has warmed, then cover with seasoning (1 teaspoon salt, ½ teaspoon ground black pepper, 1 teaspoon cumin, 1 teaspoon oregano, ½ teaspoon smoked paprika, and ⅛ teaspoon ground cloves). Stir to coat the meat with seasoning.
- Allow the beef cheek cubes to brown on all sides, then add the chopped ¼ cup cilantro and 1 medium navel orange (you can use dried orange peel and orange juice from concentrate, or limes as a substitute) along with the 1-2 chipotle pepper(s) in adobo sauce. Stir to combine.
- Add the 2 tablespoon tomato paste, 1 medium navel orange, and 2 cups beef broth then turn off the saute function and seal the instant pot or pressure cooker. Use the manual setting to set the time to 45 minutes.
- When the cooking time has ended, turn your instant pot or pressure cooker off and allow it to do a natural release (which will take 20 minutes, or more depending on how full your instant pot or pressure cooker is).
- Remove the meat from the juices, place into a bowl or plate and use a pair of forks to shred the beef cheeks. Stir some more fresh cilantro in, or sprinkle over the top to serve.
Sunny says
Really delicious outcome from this recipe, even though I only had a half of an orange, lol!
Thank you!
Josie Garza says
Hello, I'm trying to print this recipe, but somehow the print button it's not working. I just wonder why?
Angela @ BakeItWithLove.com says
Check your pop-up blocker. It can prevent the print dialog box from opening. Thanks!
Jasmine says
Perfect! This was really good, and I used some of the broth to make a salsa.
Barbara says
This was very good. Once the beef was removed from the broth, it was a little less spicy than I would have liked, so I will add another chipotle pepper or two next time.
There was about 3.5 cups of broth after I removed the meat. It was spicer than the meat. I used it to make a soup with chorizo, carrots, onions, garlic, tomatoes, green beans, and sweet potatoes. I diluted the broth with two cups of water. The soup was amazing and I felt better about not tossing it.