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Cabeza
In Mexican cuisine, cabeza (lit. 'head'), 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 entire beef-head traditionally roasted in an earth oven, but now done in steamer or grill.
When sold in restaurants, customers may ask for particular parts of the body meats they favor, such as ojo (eye), oreja (ear), cachete (cheek), lengua (tongue), sesos (brains), or labios (lips).
Barbacoa in Mexico, refers to the local indigenous variation of the primitive method of cooking in a pit or earth oven. 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 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).
The most common barbacoa prepared and consumed all across Mexico is barbacoa de res (beef barbacoa). In many regions, specially in southern Mexico and along the Gulf Coast, entire cow barbacoa is prepared. But the most common, and one of the oldest, is barbacoa de cabeza, or beef-head barbacoa.
Barbacoa de cabeza, also known as Cabeza guateada in Argentina and Paraguay and berarubu (or “cabeça de boi assada no chão”) in Brazil, 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.
Although now considered by many as "offal", eating beef or calf’s head was once a mainstream and highly prized dish all across the Western World up until the early 20th century. This typical dish made its way to the Americas, including the United States, and to Mexico where it was done in the traditional barbacoa.
Besides being a highly prized, mainstream dish, another reason why Barbacoa de cabeza was prepared in Mexico and South America was 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” (or cecina). 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. Mexican folklorist and historian, Leopoldo Bello López, explains the process:
“. . . an unbranded bull, about four years old, preferring death than losing its freedom, choked itself to death when it was lassoed. Without saying anything, three of the young vaqueros went to it to remove the hide, dismember it and bring it to camp. That night there would be a great feast: pieces of liver, kidneys and the loin on the spit over an open fire and the rest would be sliced and salted, and the head cooked in "barbacoa" in a hole made in the ground, that the next day would become a meal fit for kings.”
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Cabeza
In Mexican cuisine, cabeza (lit. 'head'), 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 entire beef-head traditionally roasted in an earth oven, but now done in steamer or grill.
When sold in restaurants, customers may ask for particular parts of the body meats they favor, such as ojo (eye), oreja (ear), cachete (cheek), lengua (tongue), sesos (brains), or labios (lips).
Barbacoa in Mexico, refers to the local indigenous variation of the primitive method of cooking in a pit or earth oven. 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 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).
The most common barbacoa prepared and consumed all across Mexico is barbacoa de res (beef barbacoa). In many regions, specially in southern Mexico and along the Gulf Coast, entire cow barbacoa is prepared. But the most common, and one of the oldest, is barbacoa de cabeza, or beef-head barbacoa.
Barbacoa de cabeza, also known as Cabeza guateada in Argentina and Paraguay and berarubu (or “cabeça de boi assada no chão”) in Brazil, 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.
Although now considered by many as "offal", eating beef or calf’s head was once a mainstream and highly prized dish all across the Western World up until the early 20th century. This typical dish made its way to the Americas, including the United States, and to Mexico where it was done in the traditional barbacoa.
Besides being a highly prized, mainstream dish, another reason why Barbacoa de cabeza was prepared in Mexico and South America was 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” (or cecina). 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. Mexican folklorist and historian, Leopoldo Bello López, explains the process:
“. . . an unbranded bull, about four years old, preferring death than losing its freedom, choked itself to death when it was lassoed. Without saying anything, three of the young vaqueros went to it to remove the hide, dismember it and bring it to camp. That night there would be a great feast: pieces of liver, kidneys and the loin on the spit over an open fire and the rest would be sliced and salted, and the head cooked in "barbacoa" in a hole made in the ground, that the next day would become a meal fit for kings.”