Barbacoa

Barbacoa or Asado en Barbacoa (Spanish: [baɾβaˈkoa] ^ⓘ) in Mexico, refers to the local indigenous variation of the primitive method of cooking in a pit or earth oven.^[1] It generally refers to slow-cooking meats or whole sheep, whole cows, whole beef heads, or whole goats in a hole dug in the ground,^[2] and covered with agave (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;^[3] for the Mayan it was called píib; for the Otomi it was called thumngö.^[4]

Being that it is not unique to Mexico, similar methods exist throughout Latin America and the rest of the world,^[5] under distinct names, including: pachamanca and huatia in the Andean region; curanto in Chile and southern Argentina; berarubu^[6][7] in Brazil; cocido enterrado^[8] 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.^[9]