Goat Barbacoa Tacos (slow cooker or Instant Pot)

Our family loves eating tacos and other Mexican food. One of our favorite ways to eat goat meat is in a taco. This recipe was also inspired by a local Mexican restaurant, that occasionally offers goat meat tacos, and works well with a slow cooker, one of my favorite kitchen tools. More recently, I cooked the meat using the slow cook function in my Instant Pot (modifications are listed in the recipe).
 
Goat Barbacoa Tacos
Ingredients
3 lb.  goat roast (contact me to purchase meat)
 
Rub Ingredients
1 tbs smoked paprika
1 ½ tsp oregano
¼ tsp ground cloves
1 ½ tsp cumin
1 tsp sea salt  
¼ tsp black pepper
Optional: ¼ tsp cayenne pepper
 
2 tbs divided butter
1 tbs liquid smoke
1 c goat or beef bone broth
2 large onions quartered
2 tbs adobe sauce from a can of chipotle peppers in sauce
2 chipotle peppers from same can of chipotle peppers in sauce
1 tbs minced garlic, from a jar
1-2 – 6 oz can tomato paste
¼ cup apple cider vinegar
 
Tortillas or taco shells of your choice
Toppings of your choice: chopped avocado, shredded cheese, lettuce, tomato, salsa, sour cream, lime juice
 
Directions

1. Mix the rub in a small bowl: smoked paprika, oregano, cumin, salt, pepper and cloves. For more kick, add cayenne pepper (optional). Rub over all sides of the roast. Keep any leftover rub.
2. Sear roast in pan with 1 tbs butter on all sides. If using an Instant Pot, use the sauté setting. I prefer to use a pan even if I’m using my Instant Pot.
3. Remove roast from Instant Pot, if it was used to sear the meat. Mix the following ingredients in your slow cooker (or Instant Pot): bone broth, onion, peppers, adobo sauce, garlic, liquid smoke and 1 tbs butter.
4. Put roast into slow cooker (or keep in the Instant Pot). For the slow cooker, set to low, for 8-10 hours.  For the Instant Pot, set to slow cook/more setting for 7 hours.
5. The roast is done when it is tender enough to pull the meat apart with two forks. If it is still tough, cook for another hour and check the meat again. Cooking time will vary based on your appliance and roast size.  If you haven’t cooked goat before, know that it often takes longer to cook than other kinds of meat, like beef or chicken. If cooked properly, it’s a delicious meat!
6. Once cooked, pull out the roast to shred on a plate. In the slow cooker (or Instant Pot), add one can of tomato paste and the apple cider vinegar. Blend with an immersion blender until smooth (you can also use a regular blender). If the sauce is too thin, add more tomato paste from the second can until it reaches your desired thickness.
7. Add shredded meat back into sauce and stir. Now it’s ready to eat or keep on warm until meal time.

 
Makes about 6 servings of tacos.

Recipe is inspired by a local Mexican restaurant, DJ's, and some of the cooking concepts are also loosely based of Barbacoa-Style Beef in the Instant Pot Miracle cookbook.