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A margarita-drenched Cinco de Mayo celebration or a hot summer afternoon in the backyard would pair perfectly with a festive Mexican feast of tacos and grilled meats. With a menagerie of Spanish monikers from carnitas to carne asada, taco meat terminology can get a bit confusing. Here’s the breakdown of Mexican meats:
Carne Asada
Carne asada is grilled, marinated pieces of beef (typically sirloin or rib) served inside burritos and tacos. Get a recipe for carne asada tacos here.
Carnitas
Carnitas is shoulder of pork that’s been seasoned, braised until tender with lard and herbs (oregano, marjoram, bay leaves, garlic), pulled apart, and then oven-roasted until slightly crisp, then eaten alone or used as a filling for tacos, tamales, tortas, and burritos. Get a slow-cooker carnitas recipe here.
Al Pastor
Al pastor is crisp-thin shavings of vertical spit-roasted pork, marinated with guajillo chiles and achiote, then served on tortillas. Pastor means “shepherd,” the name given to Lebanese merchants who immigrated to Mexico City in the early 1900s, bringing the concept of shawarma with them. Get a recipe for spicy pork al pastor quesadillas here.
Cochinita Pibil
Cochinita pibil is whole suckling pig or pork shoulder that’s marinated in citrus with achiote, then wrapped in banana leaves and roasted. Historically, it’s buried in a pit with a fire at the bottom. Get a recipe for cochinita pibil tacos here.
Barbacoa
Traditionally, barbacoa is beef cheek and head that’s covered in leaves from the maguey plant, then slow cooked over a wood fire in a pit in the ground. In America today, it also refers to spicy, shredded, slow-braised beef that’s been made tender, then pulled apart. Get a recipe for slow-cooker barbacoa beef tacos here.
Got all that? Let’s get grillin’!
— Additional reporting by Tara Block
Image Source: POPSUGAR Photography / Anna Monette Roberts
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