Mutton barbacoa: the Hidalgo ritual underground wrapped in maguey

What is it?

Mutton barbacoa is one of the most ritual and representative dishes of the Mexican highlands, particularly Hidalgo, where it is made with a millennia-old method combining earth, fire, steam and maguey leaves. The whole or jointed mutton is wrapped in large green maguey leaves and cooked for many hours in an oven dug into the earth, resulting in meat so tender that it falls off the bone with a touch, scented by the maguey steam and the juices that drip into the bottom of the oven. These juices are collected and turned into consommé, served on the side with cooked chickpeas, rice, coriander and onion. Barbacoa is eaten in maize tortilla tacos with chopped onion, coriander, salsa borracha or green, and a touch of lime. It is a Sunday dish, a family ritual and a central feature of patronal festivities, weddings, baptisms 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 Fray Bernardino de Sahagún in the Florentine Codex and Bernal Díaz del Castillo describe similar methods of cooking meat — 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 that designated a lattice of sticks over fire to roast meat, and which the Spaniards brought to Mexico where it was applied to the Mexican earth-oven method. After the introduction of sheep by the Spaniards 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 extensively document this tradition. During the 19th and 20th centuries, barbacoa was consolidated as a Sunday dish throughout central Mexico, with travelling vendors and specialised restaurants that open only on Saturday and Sunday mornings. Today, in addition to Hidalgo, there are regional variants: pit barbacoa from Texcoco, casket barbacoa from a metal oven, and beef barbacoa from Tlaxcala and northern Mexico.

Characteristic ingredients

The traditional Hidalgo barbacoa oven is a pit one and a half metres deep, lined inside with volcanic stones. At the bottom, a fire of mesquite or oak wood is lit 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 pot or tray is placed to collect the juices. On top, the mutton is arranged in pieces (shoulder, leg, rib, belly, kidneys), wrapped in more leaves. The whole is sealed with earth on top and left to cook 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 collected consommé becomes a separate dish, served with cooked chickpeas, rice, onion, coriander and chipotle chilli to taste. Traditional salsa borracha accompanies the barbacoa: chile pasilla blended with pulque, crumbled queso añejo and oil. In the Texcoco region the pancita or belly stuffed with offal is preferred, while in some areas of Hidalgo mixiote is also eaten alongside 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 annually celebrates the Barbacoa Fair, a gastronomic event that attracts thousands of visitors. The Sunday consumption of barbacoa, with its ritual of getting up early, going to the town or stall, waiting for the oven to open and sharing tacos with the family, is one of the most characteristic features of Mexican gastronomic sociability. Traditional Mexican Cuisine, declared Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity by UNESCO in 2010, includes barbacoa among the emblematic culinary techniques. Economically, it supports barbacoyeros, sheep breeders, maguey producers 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 taken barbacoa to the international stage, while documentaries and reports 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 mutton 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 of beef head cooked in a pot or metal oven, without maguey, and focused on specific cuts such as cheek and tongue. Both are slow, but the result and the ritual are different.

What does mutton barbacoa taste like?

The meat is deeply juicy, tender and soft, with a characteristic mutton flavour but mellowed by the prolonged cooking that eliminates the fat. The maguey leaves bring a vegetal, slightly sweet aroma that impregnates all the meat. The enclosed steam concentrates the juices, generating 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 assemble tacos with hot maize tortillas, adding chopped onion, coriander, lime, salsa borracha or green salsa, and sometimes guacamole. It is traditionally accompanied by beer, pulque or agua de jamaica.

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 Spaniards introduced sheep, 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 Spaniards from the Caribbean.