MeatHard

Cabrito al Pastor (Spit-Roasted Kid Goat)

Name: Cabrito al Pastor (Spit-Roasted Kid Goat)
Prep time: 60 min
Cook time: 240 min
Total time: 300 min
Cuisine: Mexican
Ingredients: 6 cloves Garlic; 4000 g Cabrito lechal entero; 330 ml Dark beer; 5 kg Lena de mezquite; 100 g Pork lard; 10 g Ground black pepper; 60 g Salt gruesa; 16 Flour tortillas

4.0(1 rating)

300 min (60 prep + 240 cook) Hard 8 servings Nuevo León

Edmond Bojalil

Recetas Mexas

Published: 20 Mar 2026 · Updated: 22 Jun 2026

Suckling kid goat slowly spit-roasted over mesquite coals in the style of Nuevo León.

About this recipe

Cabrito al pastor is the signature dish of Monterrey and all of northeastern Mexico. A young kid goat (under 40 days old) is skewered on an iron spit and slowly cooked beside mesquite embers, constantly turned to achieve even cooking. The meat turns out tender, juicy and with an incomparable smoky flavour. It is traditionally served with flour tortillas, charro beans and salsa borracha.

History & Origin

Cabrito al pastor is a culinary tradition that defines the gastronomic identity of northeastern Mexico, particularly Nuevo León, Coahuila and Tamaulipas. Its origins trace back to the colonisation of northern Mexico by crypto-Jewish Sephardic families who arrived fleeing the Spanish Inquisition in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. These families brought with them the tradition of raising goats and consuming their meat, as it was an animal permitted by Jewish dietary laws. The method of spit-roasting, with the animal skewered on an iron rod beside the embers rather than directly over them, is an adaptation of Middle Eastern cooking techniques filtered through the Iberian Peninsula. In Monterrey, cabrito became the centrepiece of family gatherings and celebrations, from weddings to patron saint festivals. Specialist cabrito restaurants, such as El Rey del Cabrito, became icons of the city. The preparation demands patience and skill: the kid must be suckling, between thirty and forty days old, fed exclusively on its mother s milk. It is roasted whole for three to four hours, periodically basted with its own fat and a mixture of salt and spices. The most prized cuts are the shoulder, the loin area near the kidneys, and the machito, a type of sausage made from the kid s offal.

Estimated cost

£75.74

Total cost

£9.47

Per serving

* Approximate prices based on UK supermarkets

Nutritional information per serving

520

Calories

42g

Protein

Carbohydrates

32g

Fat

0.5g

Fibre

580mg

Sodium

* Approximate values. May vary depending on ingredients used.

Method

1
Limpia the cabrito retirando exceso of fat and visceras. Season with salt and pepper generously for inside and for outside and leave to rest 1 hour at room temperature.
💡 Un cabrito of 30-40 days es ideal; the meat sera mas tender.
2
Prepare thes brasas with lena of mezquite until you get carbones to the red vivo without llama directa. Place the brasas a lado, not debajo of the cabrito.
💡 La clave es cocinar with calor indirecto for that not queme.
3
Ensarta the cabrito in the asador of iron asegurandolo well with alambre. Place the asador inclinado junto a the brasas a some 40 cm of distancia.
💡 If you don't have asador of pastor, you can usar a asador giratorio of carbon.
4
Roast the cabrito girando the asador each 20-30 minutes. Barniza with pork lard melted mezclada with garlic machacado each vez that it gires.
💡 La lard ayuda a that the skin is crispy and golden.
5
A half of coccion (some 2 hours), rocía the cabrito with cerveza oscura for aportar humedad and a ligero amargor that complementa the meat.
6
Continua asando until the skin this golden and crispy and the meat desprenda facilmente of the bone, between 3 and 4 hours in total.
💡 La temperatura interna should alcanzar at least 75°C in the parte mas thick.
7
Remove from the grill, leave to rest for 15 minutes and cut into pieces. Serve with flour tortillas, frijoles charros and salsa borracha.
💡 The most prized parts are the shoulder and the loin area.

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Edmond Bojalil

Founder, Recetas Mexas

Mexican from Puebla, IT professional and foodie. Author of 1000+ authentic Mexican recipes adapted for home kitchens worldwide. Based in Madrid since 2018.