Barbacoa

Barbacoa is a Mexican meat dish of whole cuts, most often lamb or beef, slow-cooked until the meat falls apart. The name is the source of the English word "barbecue".

What it really is

Classic barbacoa is made from a whole animal head or a large cut such as lamb (often the whole carcass or leg and shoulder) or beef cheek and brisket, seasoned with a paste of dried chillies, cumin, garlic, cloves and oregano, and cooked for many hours. In the traditional method the meat is wrapped in maguey (agave) leaves, set on a pit of heated stones or in a deep hole in the ground, and covered with earth so that it steams slowly. Cooking pits are dug in the ground in central Mexico, and the meat is often taken out in the early morning.

The dish is often confused with American barbecue, which is smoked over wood at lower temperatures and usually uses pork or beef ribs and a sweet tomato sauce. Barbacoa is steamed rather than smoked, is seasoned with chillies and spices, and is usually served without a barbecue sauce. The version sold in many taquerias and restaurants today is braised beef cooked in a pot, and it is often called barbacoa de res.

How it's served

• Served as tacos, with corn tortillas, chopped onion, coriander and salsa.
• Often eaten at weekend breakfasts with the cooking broth, consommé, served in a bowl on the side.
• Traditionally offered by weight, with diners choosing their cut of meat from the pit or pot.
• Served with lime wedges and a small bowl of the cooking juices for moistening the meat.

How to write it on the menu

• Name the meat in the dish title, for example "Barbacoa de borrego" for lamb or "Barbacoa de res" for beef, and say whether it is cooked in an earth pit or a pot.
• List the chillies and spices used in the marinade, such as dried chilli, cumin, garlic, cloves and oregano.
• State that the dish is served with corn tortillas and is gluten-free when the tortillas are made from corn.
• Name any sauce or salsa served alongside, and mention if the consommé is made with meat stock.