Tacos de Barbacoa de Chivo de la Mixteca

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •Large deep roasting pot or 7-quart Dutch oven with lid
• •Wire rack or perforated pan insert that fits inside the pot
• •Cast iron comal or heavy skillet for toasting chiles
• •High-powered blender
• •Heavy-duty aluminum foil
• •Large mixing bowl for marinating

Instructions

1. 1

   Toast the chiles

   Heat a dry comal or cast iron skillet over medium heat. Toast the guajillo, ancho, and morita chiles separately, pressing them flat against the surface with a spatula for about 30 seconds per side. The guajillo will puff and change color slightly. The ancho is thicker and needs a few seconds more. The morita is small and dark and burns fast, so watch it. When the kitchen smells like a chile vendor's stall, they are ready. Transfer them to a heatproof bowl, cover with hot tap water (not boiling, never boiling), and let them soften for 20 minutes.

   The morita is a smoked chile related to the chipotle but smaller and darker. It gives the adobo a subtle smoke that echoes the charcoal of the horno de pozo. If you cannot find morita, a single chipotle meco will substitute, but use only one. Too much smoke buries the guajillo.
2. 2

   Build the adobo

   Toast the cumin seeds in a dry skillet until fragrant, about one minute. Drain the soaked chiles and transfer them to a blender with the toasted cumin, peppercorns, cloves, garlic, oregano, vinegar, salt, and the half cup of water. Blend on high until completely smooth, scraping down as needed. You want a thick, dark red paste with no chunks. Taste it. It should be assertive: earthy from the guajillo, sweet from the ancho, a whisper of smoke from the morita, and enough salt to carry across the meat. Adjust now, because once it is on the goat you cannot fix it.

3. 3

   Marinate the goat

   Place the goat pieces in a large bowl or deep roasting pan. Pour the adobo over every piece and use your hands to rub it into the meat, working it into the joints, between the ribs, under the bone. Every surface should be coated. Cover tightly with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight, at least eight hours and up to twenty-four. The vinegar and the chiles break down the surface of the meat while the spices penetrate. This is not a step you skip. No me vengas con atajos.

   Young goat is lean. The overnight marination is doing the work that fat would do in a pork dish: tenderizing, flavoring, and creating a barrier that holds moisture during the long cook. Without it, the meat dries out.
4. 4

   Prepare the maguey pencas

   If using fresh maguey pencas, pass each one over an open gas flame or under a broiler for two to three minutes per side until the surface softens and becomes pliable. They will darken and release a sweet, vegetal smell. Let them cool enough to handle. If using banana leaves, pass them briefly over the flame just until they turn darker green and become flexible, about 15 seconds per side. Cut away the thick central spine of the banana leaves. The maguey is the tradition. The banana leaf is the compromise. Both will hold the meat and trap the moisture.

   Maguey pencas can sometimes be found at Mexican grocery stores that serve Oaxacan and Pueblan communities, or ordered from specialty suppliers. Ask for pencas de maguey para barbacoa. If you live near a mezcal producer or agave grower, they may sell or give them away.
5. 5

   Assemble the consomé pot

   Place a deep oven-safe pot or Dutch oven (at least 7 quarts) on the counter. Add the quartered onion, halved garlic head, soaked and drained chickpeas, rice, two avocado leaves, epazote sprigs, and the six cups of water. Season with a teaspoon of salt. This pot goes on the bottom of your roasting setup. The drippings from the goat will fall into it as the meat cooks, building the consomé. The chickpeas and rice cook in the broth and give it body. This is the soul of the dish. Some families fight over the consomé more than the meat.

6. 6

   Line the rack and wrap the meat

   Set a wire rack or a perforated pan insert over the consomé pot, making sure there is space between the rack and the liquid below. Line the rack with overlapping maguey pencas or banana leaves, letting the edges drape over the sides of the pot generously. You need enough overhang to fold back over the top and seal the package. Layer half the dried avocado leaves across the bottom of the lined rack. Place the marinated goat pieces on top in a single snug layer. Tuck the remaining avocado leaves between and on top of the meat pieces. Fold the overhanging pencas or banana leaves back over the meat, sealing it completely. No meat should be exposed.

7. 7

   Seal and cook low

   Cover the entire pot tightly with a double layer of heavy-duty aluminum foil, pressing it against the rim to create a seal. Then place the lid on top. You are building a closed system. The goat will cook in its own juices and the trapped adobo, and those juices will drip down into the consomé below. Place the pot in an oven preheated to 325 degrees Fahrenheit. Cook for four and a half to five hours. Do not open the pot for the first four hours. The seal matters. Every time you open it, you lose moisture and heat and add time.

   In the Mixteca, the horno de pozo is sealed with earth and the barbacoa cooks overnight. Your oven cannot replicate the smoke or the mineral taste of the earth, but the low temperature and the sealed pot replicate the steam environment. Patience does the rest.
8. 8

   Check the meat

   After four and a half hours, carefully remove the lid and foil. Pull back the maguey pencas. The meat should be deeply bronzed from the adobo, tender enough that it pulls away from the bone with no resistance, and fragrant with the anise of the avocado leaves and the earthy sweetness of the roasted maguey. If the meat still clings to the bone, reseal and return to the oven for another 30 to 45 minutes. The goat tells you when it is done. You do not tell the goat.

9. 9

   Finish the consomé

   Carefully lift the rack with the meat off the pot. The consomé below will be a deep red-brown broth, rich with rendered goat fat and adobo drippings, the chickpeas tender, the rice swollen and soft. Taste it. Adjust the salt. Remove and discard the avocado leaves and epazote stems. Skim some of the fat off the surface if you like, but leave enough for the flavor. Ladle the consomé into small clay bowls or cups. This is served alongside the tacos, not poured over them. Some people drink it first. Some people drink it last. There is no wrong order.

10. 10

    Shred and serve as tacos

    Pull the goat meat from the bones, shredding it into rough pieces with two forks or your hands. Discard the bones, the spent avocado leaves, and the maguey pencas. Pile the shredded meat on a warm comal or clay platter. Serve with warm corn tortillas, lime wedges, diced raw white onion, chopped cilantro, and salsa de chile morita. Each person builds their own taco. The consomé goes in a cup on the side. Recetas probadas y garantizadas.

Chef Tips

• •Ask your butcher for chivo joven, young goat under a year old. If your butcher does not carry goat, find a halal butcher or a Mexican carniceria that serves the Oaxacan or Pueblan community. Mature goat (chivo viejo) has a stronger flavor and tougher connective tissue that needs even longer cooking. Young goat is leaner, milder, and more forgiving.
• •Avocado leaves are the ingredient most people outside Mexico will struggle to find. They are sold dried at Mexican grocery stores and online. Do not substitute bay leaves. Bay leaves taste nothing like avocado leaves. If you truly cannot find them, leave them out and accept the compromise. A substitution that changes the flavor profile is not a substitution, it is a different dish.
• •The consomé is not a byproduct. In the Mixteca, families serve it in clay jarritos before the tacos even reach the table. The chickpeas and rice give it enough body to be a meal on its own. If you want to stretch this for a larger gathering, double the consomé ingredients.
• •If you have access to mesquite charcoal and a grill, you can finish the shredded meat on a hot comal or flat griddle for two to three minutes before serving. The edges crisp and the adobo caramelizes. This is not traditional to the pit method, but it is how many taqueros in Huajuapan serve it, and it is worth the extra step.

Advance Preparation

• •The adobo must be made and the goat must marinate overnight, at least eight hours. This is not optional. Plan for it.
• •The assembled pot, with the consomé on the bottom and the wrapped goat on the rack, can be prepared the night before and refrigerated. Pull it out one hour before cooking to take the chill off, then place it in the oven cold and add 30 minutes to the cook time.
• •Leftover barbacoa keeps refrigerated for three days. Reheat the meat in a covered pan with a splash of the consomé to keep it moist. The consomé reheats well on the stove and improves overnight as the chickpeas absorb more flavor.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 350g)