Barbacoa: what it is, how it's made and why it's buried

What is it?

Barbacoa de borrego (mutton barbacoa) is one of the most ritual and representative dishes of the Mexican highlands, particularly of Hidalgo, where it is made with a millennia-old method combining earth, fire, steam and maguey leaves. The whole sheep, or pieces of it, is wrapped in large green maguey leaves and cooked for many hours in an oven dug into the ground, resulting in meat so tender it falls off the bone at the slightest touch, scented by the maguey steam and the juices that drip to the bottom of the oven. These juices are collected and turned into consommé, served separately with cooked chickpeas, rice, coriander and onion. Barbacoa is eaten in maize-tortilla tacos with chopped onion, coriander, salsa borracha or green salsa, and a touch of lime. It is a Sunday dish, a family ritual and a central feature of patron-saint feasts, weddings, christenings and graduations throughout central Mexico.

Origin and history

The underground cooking method is pre-Hispanic and is documented from before the Conquest in Mesoamerica. Colonial sources such as Friar Bernardino de Sahagún in the Florentine Codex and Bernal Díaz del Castillo describe similar methods of cooking meats —mainly deer, rabbit, turkey and armadillo— wrapped in leaves and cooked in earth pits. The word barbacoa comes from the Taíno barabicu, a Caribbean term for a lattice of sticks over the fire to roast meat, which the Spanish brought to Mexico where it was applied to the Mexican earth-oven method. After the introduction of sheep by the Spanish in the 16th century, barbacoa adopted this animal as its protagonist, especially in regions where the maguey grew wild, such as Hidalgo, the State of Mexico, Tlaxcala and parts of Puebla. The Actopan region in Hidalgo is considered the cradle of modern Hidalgo barbacoa, and publications such as Relatos e Historias en México and México Desconocido amply document this tradition. During the 19th and 20th centuries, barbacoa became established as a Sunday dish across central Mexico, with street vendors and specialist restaurants that open only on Saturday and Sunday mornings. Today, besides Hidalgo, there are regional variants: the pit barbacoa of Texcoco, the 'coffin' barbacoa cooked in a metal oven, and the beef barbacoa of Tlaxcala and the north of the country.

Characteristic ingredients

The traditional Hidalgo barbacoa oven is a pit a metre and a half deep, lined inside with volcanic stones. At the bottom a fire is built with mesquite or oak wood for several hours, until the stones are red-hot. Most of the embers are removed and the stones are covered with large green maguey leaves, on which a dish or tray is placed to collect the juices. On top is arranged the sheep in pieces (shoulder, leg, rib, belly, kidneys), wrapped in more leaves. The whole is sealed with earth on top and left to cook for between six and twelve hours, depending on the size of the animal and the oven. The traditional meat is hair sheep or pelibuey, a breed adapted to the highland climate, fed on natural pastures that give the meat a characteristic flavour. The seasonings are minimal: salt and, in some regions, avocado leaves. The consommé collected becomes a separate dish, served with cooked chickpeas, rice, onion, coriander and chipotle chilli to taste. The traditional salsa borracha accompanies the barbacoa: pasilla chilli blended with pulque, crumbled aged cheese and oil. In the Texcoco region the pancita or belly stuffed with offal is preferred, while in some areas of Hidalgo the mixiote is also eaten alongside the barbacoa.

Cultural significance

Barbacoa is a social ritual and intangible heritage of central Mexico, especially of Hidalgo, where it forms part of the state's identity. The Actopan region calls itself the cradle of barbacoa and holds the annual Barbacoa Fair, a gastronomic event that draws thousands of visitors. The Sunday consumption of barbacoa, with its ritual of getting up early, going to the village or the stall, waiting for the oven to be opened and sharing tacos with family, is one of the most characteristic features of Mexican gastronomic sociability. Traditional Mexican Cuisine, declared an Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity by UNESCO in 2010, includes barbacoa among the emblematic culinary techniques. Economically, it sustains barbacoyeros, sheep breeders, maguey growers and tortilla sellers, in a rural-urban ecosystem that connects the highland countryside with the Sunday tables of Mexico City. Cooks such as Enrique Olvera and chef Margarita Carrillo Arronte have brought barbacoa onto the international stage, while documentaries and features have portrayed legendary barbacoyeros such as those of the Hernández family in Actopan.

Frequently asked questions

What is the difference between Hidalgo barbacoa and northern barbacoa?

Hidalgo barbacoa is whole sheep wrapped in maguey leaves and cooked in an earth oven for hours, with consommé included. Northern barbacoa, popular in Coahuila, Nuevo León and Texas, is usually beef head cooked in a pot or metal oven, without maguey, and focused on specific cuts such as cheek and tongue. Both are slow-cooked, but the result and the ritual are different.

What does mutton barbacoa taste like?

The meat turns out deeply juicy, tender and soft, with a flavour characteristic of mutton but tempered by the prolonged cooking that removes the fat. The maguey leaves provide a vegetal, slightly sweet aroma that permeates all the meat. The trapped steam concentrates the juices, giving a silky texture. The consommé that accompanies it is deep, savoury and comforting.

How is barbacoa served?

The meat is served shredded or in pieces on plates, accompanied by a bowl of consommé with chickpeas, rice, onion and coriander. Diners build tacos with warm maize tortillas, adding chopped onion, coriander, lime, salsa borracha or green salsa, and sometimes guacamole. It is traditionally accompanied by beer, pulque or hibiscus water.

Where does barbacoa come from?

The underground cooking technique is pre-Hispanic and Mesoamerican, documented by Sahagún in the 16th century. Modern mutton barbacoa wrapped in maguey was born after the introduction of sheep by the Spanish, becoming established in Hidalgo, the State of Mexico and Tlaxcala. Actopan, Hidalgo, is considered the main cradle. The name comes from the Taíno barabicu, introduced by the Spanish from the Caribbean.