Barbacoa Burger
Flavorful tender shredded beef barbacoa, smothered on top of a burger! This epic burger is stacked up high with guac, tomatoes, and crispy tortilla chips. Is it a big slider? Is it a small burger? Or somewhere in between. Who cares? It’s GOOD!
The inspiration for this barbacoa burger
You may have seen me making some tender shredded barbacoa for tacos this past weekend on Instagram stories. I had a bunch of leftovers and have been throwing the meat on everything this week. Putting it on these burgers was the best thing I did! I started with a smaller sized sourdough roll for the bun, topped it with a slice of roasted poblano, then the burger topped with pepper jack cheese. I stacked it high with the shredded barbacoa, a simple guac and pico, and tortilla strips. Amazing and just as messy as you would expect.
Make the burger patties
Form nice thick patties the same size as the bun and heavily season with salt and pepper. If you have ever read one of my burger recipes, or seen me make a burger, I am very serious about the bun to burger ratio. Measure your buns, then make the burgers the right size so that when they shrink a bit they fit perfectly on the buns. Make sure to make the burgers thin in the middle so when they plup up after cooking the barbacoa can still fit inside!
Crisp up the tortillas
Fry up some tortilla strips in a pan with oil. In the recipe, I did not give instructions for this because I think most people will probably buy these from the store already crispy. If you want to make them yourself though, just add about a half inch of oil to a pan and bring it to high heat. Add some sliced corn tortillas to the pan and cook them until they are brown and crispy.
The barbacoa
I didn’t include a recipe for the meat. I have a good recipe here for what I call “BeerBacoa” which is a beer infused twist on beef barbacoa. If you want to do a more traditional lamb version, I like this one. Or you can always go to a restaurant near you and buy some!
The toppings
The simple guac was just avocado, garlic, and lime, and the simple pico was just tomato, onion, jalapeno, and lime. Under the burger I put a slice of roasted poblano pepper. The cheese was pepper jack!
Serving the barbacoa burgers
Really great burgers! The juicy patty of just beef matched so well with the heavily seasoned tender barbacoa, and the guac and pico were a bit of much needed freshness on an otherwise heavy burger.
I like a burger with a smaller radius that I can stack high because I feel like it is more manageable to hold and you don’t feel like you need a nap after… Unless you eat 2 like me.
These would be awesome to make a double batch and serve some friends while watching the game!
Twists on this barbacoa burger
I mentioned some of the options for barbacoa above. You could also do it with some leftover birria instead, or pulled pork. I mean to be honest even just some pot roast would be great on these burgers, as long as all the ingredients and toppings are well seasoned!
Also as always, feel free to spice up each component the way you usually do. Make it your own! Store bought is always great if that is your best option.
If you love fun burger ideas, I don’t do many true sliders but here are my most slider sized burgers – Issan beef burgers, bun vermicelli burgers, pulled pork pineapple burgers, and brisket double bbq burgers!
Barbacoa Burger
Ingredients
- 1 poblano pepper
- 1 avocado
- 1 clove garlic
- 2 limes
- 1 small tomato diced
- 1 small jalapeno minced
- 1/2 small onion minced
- 1 pound ground beef
- 3 sourdough dinner rolls
- 3 slices pepperjack cheese
- 1 cup prepared beef barbacoa warmed up
- crispy tortilla strips
Instructions
- Broil the poblano to brown on all sides. Remove from oven and put into a bowl covered in plastic wrap. Allow to sit for 10 minutes.
- Mash the avocado and grate the garlic in. Squeeze in half a lime and season with salt and pepper. Set aside cover with plastic wrap tight to the surface of the guac if its gonna be longer than 15 minutes.
- Cut the tomato, onion, and jalapeno and mix together. Season with salt and pepper and some lime juice and set aside.
- Peel the poblano and cut into 3 pieces.
- Form the burgers same size as the buns. Season with salt and pepper. Cook in a hot pan about 5 minutes per side to medium doneness, topping with cheese after flipping.
- Put the poblano on the bottom bun, top with the burger. Top the burger with the warmed barbacoa, then add the guac, pico, and finally the tortilla strips.