Representative photo: Lamb Barbacoa Tacos with Mango Salsa and Cilantro Rice by Eugene Kim, CC BY 2.0

Lamb Barbacoa Tacos (Oven-Style Barbacoa de Borrego)

Name: Lamb Barbacoa Tacos (Oven-Style Barbacoa de Borrego)
Prep time: 30 min
Cook time: 5 h
Total time: 5 h 30 min
Yield: 8
Cuisine: Mexican
Ingredients: 2 kg boneless leg of lamb, cut into 4 large pieces; 2 cups beef bone broth; 4 guajillo chiles and 2 ancho chiles, seeded; 4 garlic cloves and 1/2 onion; 1 tsp cumin, 1 tsp dried oregano, 3 cloves, 4 allspice berries; 2 tbsp apple cider vinegar and 2 tsp salt; 8-10 dried avocado leaves (hojas de aguacate); Banana leaves, lightly toasted (or parchment and foil); 1 onion, 2 carrots, 1/2 cup chickpeas and 1/2 cup rice for the consomé; Corn tortillas, chopped onion, cilantro, salsa borracha or salsa verde, limes

Barbacoa de borrego is Mexico's Sunday breakfast: lamb slow-cooked in an underground pit, wrapped in maguey leaves, served in tacos with a cup of consomé. You can get very close at home by wrapping the meat tightly and cooking it low in the oven. Organic, grass-fed lamb has a clean, mild flavor that's ideal here, and our boneless leg is ready to go with no butchery.

Prep30 min
Cook300 min
Total330 min
Servings8

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Ingredients

2 kg boneless leg of lamb, cut into 4 large pieces $560
2 cups beef bone broth $215
4 guajillo chiles and 2 ancho chiles, seeded
4 garlic cloves and 1/2 onion
1 tsp cumin, 1 tsp dried oregano, 3 cloves, 4 allspice berries
2 tbsp apple cider vinegar and 2 tsp salt
8-10 dried avocado leaves (hojas de aguacate)
Banana leaves, lightly toasted (or parchment and foil)
1 onion, 2 carrots, 1/2 cup chickpeas and 1/2 cup rice for the consomé
Corn tortillas, chopped onion, cilantro, salsa borracha or salsa verde, limes

Instructions

Toast and soak the chiles, then blend them with the garlic, onion, spices, vinegar and salt into a thick adobo.
Rub the lamb all over with the adobo and marinate for at least 4 hours or overnight.
Line a deep roasting pan with a rack. Pour the bone broth, 3 cups of water, the onion, carrots, chickpeas and rice into the bottom: this becomes the consomé.
Line the rack with banana leaves, add half the avocado leaves, put the lamb on top, cover with the rest of the avocado leaves and fold the banana leaves over to wrap it.
Cover the pan tightly with foil and bake at 160 °C for 4 1/2 to 5 hours, until the meat falls apart.
Unwrap, shred the lamb and season with salt. Skim the fat from the consomé and season it.
Serve the barbacoa in warm tortillas with onion, cilantro, salsa and lime, and a cup of consomé on the side.

Tips

Any juices from the lamb that drip into the consomé are pure flavor; don't skip the drip pan.
Leftover barbacoa makes excellent quesadillas the next day.