Coahuilan cuisine: cabrito, pulque bread and the northern desert

What is it?

Coahuilan cuisine is the gastronomic tradition of the state of Coahuila, in northern Mexico, on the Texas border, characterised by its desert and semi-arid climate and a strong tradition of goat ranching and wine. Its emblematic dishes are cabrito al pastor (roasted over open fire), pulque bread, machaca and northern machacado, frijoles charros, flour gorditas, northern pork roast, the discada (meat and sausages roasted on a plough disc), northern menudo and cortadillo. Coahuila is the cradle of American viticulture: Parras de la Fuente, 'the Bordeaux of Mexico', has vineyards cultivated since 1597 and there Casa Madero was founded, the oldest winery in the Americas. It is consumed daily in Saltillo, Torreón, Monclova and Piedras Negras, reaching its splendour at the Parras vintage festivities and Sunday family dinners with cabrito.

Origin and history

Coahuilan cuisine inherits from the Chichimec groups (Laguneros, Irritilas, Tobosos, Kikapu) who inhabited the northern desert, scarce in agriculture and hunter-gatherers. Spanish colonisation began in 1577 with the arrival of Alberto del Canto to the vicinity of Saltillo. The city was formally founded in 1577 and became the capital of Nueva Vizcaya. Don Lorenzo García planted the first Mexican vines in Parras in 1597 by founding the San Lorenzo Hacienda, today Casa Madero, the oldest wine cellar in continental America. Cabrito al pastor came with Tlaxcalan missionaries in the 17th century who settled in San Esteban de la Nueva Tlaxcala (today Saltillo) after pacifying the Chichimec north. According to Larousse Cocina, pulque bread is a colonial legacy of the pulque haciendas and bakeries of Saltillo of the 18th century. The Laguna region (Torreón, Gómez Palacio) developed dairy and orchard cooking thanks to cotton and the Nazas river basin in the late 19th century. Piedras Negras, on the border with Eagle Pass (Texas), was the birthplace in 1943 of nachos, according to the legend attributed to chef Ignacio 'Nacho' Anaya at the Victory Club. The grape and wine fair in Parras, held since 1947, sustains the wine tradition.

Characteristic ingredients

Cabrito is the emblematic meat: a milk-fed goat under 35 days old, slaughtered and skewered on crossed rods that are slowly roasted over wood fire until the skin browns and the meat stays juicy. It is served with flour tortillas, frijoles charros, grilled potatoes or spring onions, molcajete salsa and lime. Beef machaca (sun-dried and shredded meat) is basic in burritos and northern huevos rancheros. Frijoles charros carry bacon, chorizo, tomato and chile serrano. Northern pork roast cooks pork in its fat with dried red chilli. The discada arose at ranches as an 'end-of-day' stew: all available sausages and meats (longaniza, chorizo, ham, sausage, bacon, beef, pork) are roasted on a tractor plough disc with onion, tomato and chilli. Pulque bread, fluffy and semi-sweet, carries dough fermented with traditional pulque. Parras wines (Casa Madero, Don Leo, Vinos Rivero González) cover Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Chardonnay, Chenin Blanc. Carta Blanca beer and Tecate beer are produced in Monterrey and are widely consumed. The burnt-milk sweets, pumpkin-seed jamoncillos and cajeta wafers are typical of Saltillo.

Cultural significance

Coahuilan cuisine is the identity of the northern ranching and wine-producing Mexico. Parras de la Fuente has been a Magical Town since 2004 and celebrates the grape and wine fair every August, where thousands of visitors stomp grapes, taste wines and eat pulque bread, gorditas, roasts and northern enchiladas. Casa Madero, founded in 1597, is the oldest wine cellar in continental America and produces internationally awarded wines. Saltillo is famous for its sarapes, its milk sweets and its cabrito; restaurants such as El Principal and Cabrito de Don Cuco are a reference. Piedras Negras annually celebrates the anniversary of nachos as a local invention of 1943 attributed to Ignacio Anaya García, with festivals and a Guinness World Record for nachos. Coahuilan cuisine forms part of the UNESCO dossier of traditional Mexican cuisine inscribed in 2010. The state government promotes the Coahuila Wine Route and the Cabrito Route as tourist attractions. The Tlaxcalan-Coahuilan cuisine of Saltillo preserves the syncretism of the 17th century.

Frequently asked questions

What is the difference between cabrito and birria?

Coahuilan and Nuevoleonese cabrito is a young milk-fed goat (under 35 days) roasted whole on an open fire on a rod, with browned skin. Jalisco birria is mature goat or sheep marinated in dried chillies and steam-cooked in maguey leaves, shredded, served on a plate with consommé. Cabrito has a more tender and soft texture; birria is more spiced and spicy.

What is northern discada?

It is a convivial stew typical of northern Mexico (Coahuila, Chihuahua, Durango): all available meats and sausages (chorizo, longaniza, ham, sausage, bacon, beef skirt, pork) are roasted on a disc (plough cover) with onion, tomato, green chilli and sometimes beer. It is eaten outdoors at family gatherings, on flour tortillas as tacos.

What does Coahuilan cuisine taste like?

It has intense, carnivorous flavours: grilled beef, lard, red chilli, chiltepín and cumin. The cabrito brings lactic sweetness and milky flavour; pulque bread has fermented and buttery notes. Laguna cuisine brings freshness from cotton and melons of the Nazas basin, and Parras wines add oenological complexity that few Mexican regional cuisines have.

Where does Coahuilan cuisine originate from?

It originates from the state of Coahuila, in northern Mexico on the Texas border. Its roots are in 16th-century Spanish colonisation, the Tlaxcalan migration to San Esteban de la Nueva Tlaxcala (Saltillo) in 1591, the viticulture of Parras since 1597, and the goat and cattle ranching developed at colonial semi-desert haciendas.