Pit barbacoa: what it is and how it's cooked underground

What is it?

Pit barbacoa, or hole barbacoa, is a pre-Hispanic cooking technique that consists of cooking meat (typically lamb, goat, beef or chicken) in a hole dug in the ground, over embers and hot stones, wrapped in maguey or banana 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 an extraordinarily tender meat, with a deep smoky flavour from the mesquite or oak wood, and the aromas of the maguey. The consommé that drips during cooking is collected in a pot at the bottom of the hole and seasoned with chickpeas, rice, coriander and onion. Sunday barbacoa is a social ritual of central Mexico, where thousands of people eat it every Sunday as a family and community tradition.

Origin and history

Pit barbacoa has a pre-Hispanic origin, already described by Fray Bernardino de Sahagún in the Historia general de las cosas de Nueva España (sixteenth century) as a technique used by the Mexica to cook deer, rabbits and meats with maguey leaves in hot holes. The word 'barbacoa' is of Taino (Caribbean) origin and means a wooden structure or grill; the Spaniards brought the term to the continent from the Antilles. Before the conquest, the Mesoamericans used the technique with game meats and birds; after the introduction of sheep and goats by the Spaniards from the sixteenth century, the technique was applied on a large scale to these ruminants, especially the sheep that adapted to the highlands. According to Larousse Cocina and México Desconocido, the regions that perfected barbacoa are Hidalgo (the national epicentre), the State of Mexico (with Capulhuac as the capital of the barbacoa makers), Tlaxcala, Puebla and Oaxaca. The technique varies regionally: in Hidalgo and the State of Mexico mainly lamb with maguey leaves is used; in Oaxaca (especially the sierra) goat is preferred; in Guerrero beef barbacoa is made in banana leaf; in Yucatán there is the pib, a peninsular variant with achiote, sour orange and banana leaf. Weekend Sunday barbacoa is a consolidated twentieth-century tradition, when the pulque haciendas of the Mezquital and Apan supplied lambs to Mexico City.

Characteristic ingredients

The pit barbacoa process has precise steps: 1) A hole about 1.5 m deep and 1 m in diameter is dug, with walls lined with adobe or stones. 2) Mesquite, oak or any hardwood logs are burned for 3-4 hours until they turn to embers and heat the stones 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 consommé. 5) The hole is lined with fleshy maguey leaves (Agave salmiana or A. mapisaga), cleaned and beaten. 6) The meat (whole or jointed lamb, about 30-50 kg) is placed on the leaves, sometimes marinated with ancho and guajillo chillies and spices. 7) It is covered with more leaves, jute or ixtle sacks, and sealed with earth and clay to close it completely. 8) It is cooked for 8-12 hours, without opening. 9) On uncovering, the meat shreds easily and the consommé is ready. The maguey leaf adds a distinctive herbal-vegetal flavour, the wood provides the smokiness, and the natural pressure of the airtight seal cooks like 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 the professional barbacoa makers, supplying the best barbacoas of the metropolitan area. Actopan, Mineral del Chico and other towns of Hidalgo draw thousands of visitors from Mexico City at weekends. Barbacoa is a central part of the UNESCO dossier of traditional Mexican cuisine inscribed in 2010 as Intangible Cultural Heritage. Festivals such as the Barbacoa Fairs of Capulhuac and Actopan honour master barbacoa makers. The movement to protect the pulque maguey (endangered by the monoculture of the tequila agave) is indispensable for the conservation of the technique, since without maguey leaves there is no traditional barbacoa. Restaurants in Mexico City such as Barbacoa El Hidalguense, and contemporary offerings such as Pujol with its lamb barbacoa in mole madre, have taken the technique to the level of international fine dining. Barbacoa has also been part of Mexican cultural migration to the United States, present in the taquerías of 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 8-12 hours with a deep smoky flavour from the mesquite wood. Modern steamed barbacoa is made in a large pot with a rack over boiling water for 4-6 hours; it is faster and more hygienic but lacks the smokiness and the flavour of the maguey. Today many restaurants use steam for convenience and urban regulations.

Why is the maguey leaf used?

The maguey leaf serves several functions: 1) It insulates the meat from direct contact with the earth for hygiene. 2) It adds moisture through its fleshiness, preventing the meat from drying out. 3) It imparts a characteristic herbal-vegetal 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 the highland Mexican cuisine and an ancestral heritage.

What does pit barbacoa taste like?

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

Where does pit barbacoa come from?

It originates in Mesoamerica, with a pre-Hispanic technique documented since the sixteenth century by Fray Bernardino de Sahagún. It was used for deer, rabbits and birds before the conquest. After the introduction of the Spanish sheep, it was applied on a large scale to this animal, especially in the central highlands. Hidalgo, the State of Mexico, Tlaxcala and Puebla are the regions where pit barbacoa reached its highest expression and survives alive today.