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Slow Cooker Beef Barbacoa

I love beef barbacoa. The best I've ever had was from Cocina DeLeon in Brookfield, which is now closed.  I was inspired to experiment on my own, and I've combined about five different recipes from the Internet with some of my own tweaks (yes, I used a spreadsheet to compare ingredients).  The results were met with very positive responses, so much so, that I had no photos. [Update: added a new photo!  Also, make a double batch of the marinade, and freeze 1/2 so it's super easy to make next time.]

Slow Cooker Beef Barbacoa

2-3 lb. chuck roast
1 medium white onion, diced
3/4 c. chicken stock
4-6 avocado leaves (hojas de aguacate)*
3 tbsp. freshly squeezed lime juice (juice of 2)
1/2 c. cider vinegar
4 chipotle chiles and a little adobo sauce from the can
1 bunch of cilantro, chopped (remove big pieces of stem)
4 garlic cloves, minced
1-1/2 tsp. salt
1-1/2 tsp. ground black pepper
2 tbsp. ground cumin
2-1/2 tsp. Mexican oregano

Put the roast in the slow cooker with the onions and avocado leaves (you'll want to leave them whole so you can fish them out later). Put the remaining ingredients in a blender or food processor and blend together then pour over top of meat.  Cook on low 8-10 hours or high 4-6 hours until fork tender.  I removed the juices and used my gravy separator to get rid of some of the fat, and screen out some of the undesirables (i.e. avocado leaves) and then shredded the meat.   Add back some of the juice to keep moist.  We served it on tortillas with our green salsa, and it was REALLY GOOD.  Pico, queso fresco, fresh cilantro, diced white onion all would be good as condiments.

 *Locally, try Woodman’s - also found them on Amazon. 
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