How to cook cabeza on the grill

[texnosh]

Any suggestions for cooking beef cheek (just the cheek, not the whole darn head), preferably on a charcoal grill?

[MPH]

I guess the neighbors wouldn’t like it if you dug a pit in the ground and threw in a whole burlap-covered cow’s head to slowly cook for hours? That seems downright un-Texan.

Anyway, this is more of a general guide than an exact recipe since I’m doing this from memory and trying to adjust the amount of seasoning needed for just the cheeks.

Season the beef cheeks with (more or less) a few cloves of garlic, one small to medium onion, salt, a squirt of vinegar, a small bunch (like a bouquet) of hiervas de olor, or fragrant herbs: in this case, marjoram and thyme. Some people add a few celery stalks and carrots for flavor. If you do, you’ll need to throw them out when they’re cooked (sometime during the cooking process) so they won’t completely disintegrate.

Slowly steam-roast the beef cheeks, wrapped in foil, on a charcoal grill until they’re cooked through and tender. This method approximates the moisture you’d get from cooking them in a traditional pit set-up.

Serve with corn tortillas—or flour, if you prefer. Red and green salsas, pico de gallo, and/or a mixture of chopped onions and cilantro go nicely with barbacoa.

Enjoy!

[texnosh]

Thanks for the recipe. What would happen if you cooked it in the grill, indirect heat, uncovered? If you're using foil, seems you may as well cook it inside the house in the oven.

[MPH]

That's true. You may as well make use of the smokiness provided by the grill. The meat might not be quite as moist, but it will have other advantages.

Let me (and everyone else) know how it turns out!

MPH

[metalhed06]

Ive Never made Cabeza before but want to. I have been looking for recipes but cant find any. Can u tell me how to go about making it. (the whole head) i do not have a pit...but have a grill
PLZ HELP!
THX

[alanbarnes]

Ain't gonna happen. You need low, slow, moist heat. A grill just can't do that.

[texnosh]

On a kettle grill using charcoal, would you say cook beef cheeks the same temp and same number of hours as brisket, or do anything different?

[MPH]

I seem to have responded in the wrong spot, metalhed06. Low and slow cooking is the way to go. I'm sorry that I can't remember more details than what I wrote above to texnosh. The last time a group of us tried this, we cooked the whole head in a pit.

However, I've also been looking recently for recipes on Mexican barbacoa. Amongst the English-language discussions, this one looked helpful to me:

http://forums.chef2chef.net/showflat....

Best,
MPH