Pit barbacoa: underground cooking in an earth pit with maguey leaves

What is it?

Pit barbacoa or hole barbacoa is a pre-Hispanic cooking technique that consists of cooking meat (typically mutton, goat, beef or chicken) in a pit dug in the earth, over embers and hot stones, wrapped in maguey or plantain leaves depending on the region. It is the oldest and most emblematic Mexican cooking technique, still alive in Hidalgo, the State of Mexico, Tlaxcala, Puebla and parts of Oaxaca, Guerrero and the Huasteca. The cooking lasts between 8 and 12 hours and produces extraordinarily tender meat, with a deep smoky flavour from mesquite or oak wood, and the aromas of maguey. The consomme that drips during the cooking is collected in a pot at the bottom of the pit and seasoned with chickpeas, rice, coriander and onion. Sunday barbacoa is a social ritual in central Mexico, where thousands of people consume it every Sunday as a family and community tradition.

Origin and history

Pit barbacoa is of pre-Hispanic origin, already described by Fray Bernardino de Sahagun in the General History of the Things of New Spain (16th century) as a technique used by the Mexica to cook deer, rabbits and meats with maguey leaves in hot pits. The word 'barbacoa' is of Taino (Caribbean) origin and means a wooden structure or grill; the Spanish brought the term to the mainland from the Antilles. Before the conquest, Mesoamericans used the technique with game meats and poultry; after the Spanish introduction of mutton and goat from the 16th century, the technique was massively applied to these ruminants, especially mutton, which adapted to the altiplano. According to Larousse Cocina and Mexico Desconocido, the regions that perfected barbacoa are Hidalgo (the national epicentre), the State of Mexico (with Capulhuac as the capital of barbacoyeros), Tlaxcala, Puebla and Oaxaca. The technique varies regionally: in Hidalgo and the State of Mexico mutton is mainly used with maguey leaves; in Oaxaca (especially in the sierra) goat is preferred; in Guerrero, beef barbacoa is made in plantain leaf; in Yucatan there is pib, a peninsular variant with achiote, sour orange and plantain leaf. Weekend Sunday barbacoa is a consolidated 20th-century tradition, when the pulque haciendas of Mezquital and Apan supplied mutton to Mexico City.

Characteristic ingredients

The pit barbacoa process has precise steps: 1) A pit approximately 1.5 m deep and 1 m in diameter is dug, with walls lined with adobe bricks or stones. 2) Mesquite, oak or any hardwood logs are burnt for 3 to 4 hours until they become embers and the stones are red hot. 3) Most of the embers are removed, leaving hot stones at the bottom. 4) A pot or pan is placed in the centre with water, salt, chickpeas, rice, onion, garlic and coriander to collect the consomme. 5) The pit is lined with fleshy maguey leaves (Agave salmiana or A. mapisaga) that have been cleaned and pounded. 6) The meat (whole or jointed mutton, approximately 30 to 50 kg) is placed on the leaves, sometimes marinated with chile ancho, guajillo and spices. 7) It is covered with more leaves, jute or ixtle sacks, and sealed with earth and clay to close completely. 8) It is cooked for 8 to 12 hours, without opening. 9) When uncovered, the meat shreds easily and the consomme is ready. The maguey leaf imparts a distinctive herbal-vegetable flavour, the wood provides the smokiness, and the natural pressure of the hermetic seal cooks in the style of a natural pressure cooker.

Cultural significance

Sunday barbacoa is a deep social ritual of central Mexico: thousands of families in Mexico City, the State of Mexico, Hidalgo, Puebla and Tlaxcala eat barbacoa on Sundays as a consolidated tradition. Capulhuac, in the State of Mexico, is the national capital of professional barbacoyeros, supplying the best barbacoa restaurants of the metropolitan area. Actopan, Mineral del Chico and other towns in Hidalgo gather thousands of visitors from Mexico City at weekends. Barbacoa forms a central part of the UNESCO inscription of traditional Mexican cuisine in 2010 as Intangible Cultural Heritage. Festivals such as the Capulhuac Barbacoa Fair and the Actopan Fair recognise master barbacoyeros. The movement to protect the pulque maguey (endangered by the tequila agave monoculture) is essential for preserving the technique, because without maguey leaves there is no traditional barbacoa. Mexico City restaurants such as Barbacoa El Hidalguense and contemporary proposals such as Pujol with its lamb barbacoa in mole madre have brought the technique to international fine dining. Barbacoa has also been part of Mexican cultural migration to the United States, present in taquerias in Los Angeles, Chicago and Texas.

Frequently asked questions

What is the difference between pit barbacoa and steamed barbacoa?

Pit barbacoa is cooked underground wrapped in maguey leaves for 8 to 12 hours with deep smoky flavour from mesquite wood. Modern steamed barbacoa is made in a large pot with a rack over boiling water for 4 to 6 hours; it is quicker and more sanitary but lacks the smokiness and maguey flavour. Today many restaurants use steam for convenience and urban regulations.

Why is maguey leaf used?

The maguey leaf serves several functions: 1) It insulates the meat from direct contact with the earth for hygiene. 2) It provides moisture due to its fleshiness, preventing the meat from drying out. 3) It imparts a characteristic herbal-vegetable flavour (aniseed, slightly bitter notes). 4) It maintains a natural pressure atmosphere that tenderises the meat. 5) It is a symbolic pre-Hispanic ingredient of central Mexican altiplano cuisine and an ancestral heritage.

What does pit barbacoa taste like?

It has complex flavours: the meat (mutton, goat, beef) becomes extraordinarily tender, almost falling apart, with deep smoky notes from mesquite or oak, herbal aromas from maguey, the saltiness of mutton and the sweetness of its caramelised fat. The consomme that drips during the cooking is one of the most intense broths in Mexican cuisine, with mineral notes, deep and comforting.

Where does pit barbacoa come from?

It is of Mesoamerican origin, with the pre-Hispanic technique documented from the 16th century by Fray Bernardino de Sahagun. It was used for deer, rabbits and birds before the conquest. After the Spanish introduction of mutton, it was massively applied to this animal, especially on the central altiplano. Hidalgo, the State of Mexico, Tlaxcala and Puebla are the regions where pit barbacoa reached its highest expression and survives alive today.