Barbacoa, or asado en barbacoa in Mexico, is the indigenous variation of the method of cooking in a pit or earth oven. It generally involves slow-cooking meats or whole sheep, whole cows, whole beef h
Barbacoa
The Taíno term barbacoa means "framework of sticks" and it was applied to a wide range of wooden structures, including a raised wooden grill for roasting and smoking foods.
In Mexico, the term barbacoa was applied to the pit or earth oven used by the local indigenous people for cooking food.
A Barbacoa de Cabeza recipe from 1836, from the Mexican cookbook Nuevo y Sencillo Arte de Cocina, Repostería y Refrescos by Antonia Carrillo
In Mexican cuisine, cabeza, from barbacoa de cabeza, is the meat from a roasted beef head, served as taco or burrito fillings. It typically refers to barbacoa de cabeza or beef-head barbacoa, an entir
Barbacoa
…the indigenous variation of the method of cooking in a pit or earth oven. It generally involves slow-cooking meats or whole sheep, whole cows, whole beef heads, or whole goats in a hole dug in the ground, and covered with agave (maguey) leaves, although the interpretation is loose, and in the present day (and…
Beef heads, wrapped in aluminum foil, cooked in barbacoa.
A taco stand advertising tacos de cabeza in Tijuana, Mexico
Boiled calf’s head and tongue, from the American cookbook “The American Home Cook Book” (1854). Beef head, tongue, sweetbreads, and brain, used to be a mainstream and highly prized dish in American cuisine.