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Barbacoa, or asado en barbacoa () in Mexico, refers to the local indigenous variation of the method of cooking in a pit or earth oven. It generally refers to slow-cooking or whole sheep, whole cows, whole Cabeza, or whole goats in a hole dug in the ground, and covered with Agave americana ( maguey) leaves, although the interpretation is loose, and in the present day (and in some cases) may refer to meat steamed until tender. This meat is known for its high fat content and strong flavor, often accompanied with onions and cilantro (coriander leaf). Because this method of cooking was used throughout different regions by different ethnic groups or tribes in Mexico, each had their own name for it; for the Nahuatl it was called nakakoyonki; for the Mayan people it was called píib; for the Otomi it was called thumngö.
Similar methods exist throughout Latin America and the rest of the world, under distinct names, including pachamanca and huatia in the Andean region; curanto in Chile and southern Argentina; berarubu in Brazil; cocido enterrado in Colombia; or hāngī in New Zealand.
Although it is speculated that the word "barbacoa" may have originated from the Taíno language, this method of cooking in an earth oven has nothing to do with the original Taíno definition of the word.
But in Mexico, for some unknown reason, the term barbacoa was applied by the Spaniards to the pit or earth oven used by the local indigenous people for cooking or roasting all kinds of foods. As a result from this discrepancy, a new hypothesis has been proposed that argues that the term barbacoa, as used in Mexico, originates not from the Taíno term but from the Mayan languages term Baalbak'Kaab, which supposedly means "meat covered with soil", although there is no evidence to support this.
The asado en barbacoa (roasting in barbacoa) was widely prepared in Mexico at countryside festivities, such as rodeos (cattle roundups), herraderos (cattle branding celebrations), jaripeos and bull-fights, patron saint festivities of the hacienda, or family picnics. According to two articles published by Mexican writer Domingo Revilla in 1844 and 1845, respectively, the "banquet" at the herraderos was reduced to barbacoas and asados al pastor (spit roasting barbecues) of whole calves (veal), bull or sheep, and wrote that while barbacoa was more common in the Mezquital Valley valley -particularly from Actopan-, and Apan valleys and surrounding areas, asados al pastor were more common in Tierra Adentro or the Bajío region and beyond.
In her book Life in Mexico (1843), Scottish noblewoman Frances Erskine Inglis, wrote about her experiences attending the rodeos and herraderos in central Mexico, near the town of Santiago in Hidalgo, in 1840, and describes how at the end of an herradero a whole bull was cooked in barbacoa:
The last day of the herraderos, by way of winding up, a bull was killed in honour of Calderón, and a great flag was sent streaming from a tree, on which flag was inscribed in large letters, "Gloria al Señor Ministro de la Augusta Cristina!" a piece of gallantry which I rewarded with a piece of gold. The animal, when dead, was given as a present to the toreadores; and this bull, cut in pieces, they bury with his skin on, in a hole in the ground previously prepared with fire in it, which is then covered over with earth and branches. During a certain time, it remains baking in this natural oven, and the common people consider it a great delicacy, (in which I differ from them).
In the cities, though, barbacoa was very rarely prepared in homes, rather, it was sold and bought in the public markets, as it was a tedious and difficult process. In her book — Face to Face with the Mexicans (1889)— Fanny Chambers Gooch Iglehart, wrote:
Barbacoa de cabeza, also known as Cabeza guateada in Argentina and Paraguay, consists in roasting an entire cow head, including tongue and brains, in an earth oven. After being cleaned and seasoned, the beef-head is wrapped either in maguey or banana leaves, or in a burlap sack. Then it is traditionally buried in a hole in the ground that had been previously prepared and heated with fire. The head will remain cooking in this natural oven for up to 15 hours.
Barbacoa de cabeza was prepared in Mexico and South America out of the need to use every part of the cow after slaughtering it for tasajo. In 18th and 19th century Mexico, and Latin America, most of the beef consumed was dried salted beef known as "tasajo". After slaughtering a cow, most of the flesh was salted and dried, with the exception of the lomo (loin, ribs), organs, and head. Typically, the lomo, ribs, and the organs, like the tripas, were roasted al pastor style (spit roasted), while the head was cooked in barbacoa.
Restaurants or street food that serve birria are known as birrieriasRafael Hernández, "Birria," in Celebrating Latino Folklore: An Encyclopedia of Cultural Traditions, Vol. 1 (2012, ed. María Herrera-Sobek). and exist throughout Mexico, especially in Michoacán and Jalisco. However, neighboring Mexican states have their own variations of the dish, including Aguascalientes, Zacatecas, and Colima.
Barbacoa was later adopted into the cuisine of the southwestern United States by way of Texas. The word transformed in time to "barbecue".
In the Philippines, the Visayans dish balbacua (also spelled balbakwa) is named after barbacoa, probably for the similar length of cooking time and tenderness of the meat. It is a completely different dish. Unlike Latin American versions, it is a stew made from beef, oxtail, cow feet and skin boiled for several hours until and extremely tender.
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