Trying to incorporate Mexican flavors into a Swiss-based diet is virtually impossible (you can’t even find jalapenos here! The Gentleman/Husband and I joke something is Swiss spicy just because it’s red), but after our honeymoon, I was determined to continue to try. Barbacoa was on tap after realizing we’d brought back a pack of seasoning and dried chilis from Miami that I’d forgotten about.

I diligently watched Rick Bayless’s video on the process, I just can’t source the specific ingredients, so I made a “Swiss” version that was incredibly simple, delicious, and absolutely worth a redo when a trip to Mexico isn’t in budget. The meat (even his non recommended cut) shredded beautifully from the technique.

You know a recipe is good when the photo isn’t cute. We added sauteed white onion, chili peppers (from the UK), and some cheese for a gorgeous quesadilla.

Beef Barbacoa for Spicy Expats in Switzerland

For the Barbacoa:

• ~0.8 kg beef shoulder
• Kosher salt
• 2 T. neutral oil
• 4 dried chilis that you source from a vacation
• 4 garlic cloves, peeled
• 2 T. apple cider vinegar
• 1 tsp. salt
• 1 packet of Barbacoa seasoning, again sourced from holiday
• 1.5 c. water
• 1 12oz beer, something lager or IPA adjacent

For the quesadilla:

• 1 white onion
• 3 red spicy chilis, minced
• 3 cloves of garlic, minced
• 2 c. shredded “Tex-Mex” (Switzerland thing) cheese or any melty cheese
• 6 large tortillas

1. Pat the beef dry and liberally salt.
2. In a large pan, heat the oil over medium-high heat. Sear all sides of the beef shoulder until a lovely brown crust forms. Set aside to stop cooking.
3. Create your marinade- in a blender, combine, chilis, garlic, vinegar, salt, Barbacoa seasoning, and water. Blend until smooth as possible. Note: if your chilis are large, tear with your hands first.
4. Place beef in slow cooker.
5. Pour marinade through a strainer directly over the beef. Discard any pulpy bits.
6. Pour beer into the slow cooker.
7. Cook on high heat for about 6 hours.
8. Remove from slow cooker and shred with two forks.
9. Pour marinade into sauce pan and allow to come to a boil. Continue to boil until liquid reduces. Pour over beef.
10. While liquid is reducing, in a small nonstick pan, sauté an onion until translucent, about five minutes.
11. Quickly add garlic and chilis and sauté for just a moment more.
12. Preheat oven to 400F.
13. To assemble the quesadillas- prepare 2 large oven trays by greasing them. Place quesadillas half onto trays, with the other half over hanging the pan.
14. On each of the half quesadillas on the pan, place a bit of cheese, onion mixture, and meat. Top with additional cheese.
15. Fold the over hanging half of the quesadilla to cover the filling, lightly press to close.
16. Place trays in oven and bake about 7 minutes. Use a large spatula to press down on the quesadillas to ensure the “cheese glue” keeps them closed.
17. Bake another five minutes and remove from oven, flip each quesadilla over.
18. Bake another ten minutes or until edges of the quesadilla begin to get a little crispy.
19. Remove from oven and cool about five minutes then slice each quesadilla into three pieces.