Traditional

Barbacoa de Borrego

Name: Barbacoa de Borrego
Prep time: 2 h 5 min
Cook time: 3 h 54 min
Total time: 6 h
Yield: 14 tacos
Cuisine: Mexican
Ingredients: 4 lb Bone-in lamb shoulder; 3 Guajillo chiles, stemmed and seeded; 4 Garlic cloves; 2 tbsp Apple cider vinegar; 1/2 tsp Ground cumin; 3 Avocado leaves (optional); 2 large Banana leaves, thawed if frozen; 2 tbsp Kosher salt; 1 cup Cooked garbanzos; 1/4 cup White rice; 1 Carrot, diced; 1/2 White onion, diced; 1 Chipotle in adobo; 4 cups Water; to taste Salt; 1 White onion, finely diced; 3/4 cup Cilantro, chopped; 1 cup Salsa borracha or salsa verde; 3 Limes, cut into wedges; 14 Corn tortillas

Hidalgo-style lamb rubbed with a gentle guajillo adobo and steamed for hours over a pan of garbanzo consommé — banana leaves standing in for the maguey and the earthen pit. The meat collapses into shreds; the drippings become the soup.

Time: 6 hr
Heat
Yield: 14 tacos
Region: Hidalgo

Ingredients

Lamb & wrap

Consommé

To build

Per-100g nutrition (14 ingredients verified)

Ingredient	kcal	Protein	Fat	Carbs
Garlic cloves	100	0 g	0 g	20 g
Apple cider vinegar	33	0 g	0 g	0 g
Ground cumin	500	0 g	0 g	50 g
Avocado leaves (optional)	0	0 g	0 g	0 g
Kosher salt	0	0 g	0 g	0 g
White rice	370	8.7 g	0 g	82.6 g
White onion, diced	29	1.2 g	0 g	7.1 g
Chipotle in adobo	643	21.4 g	53.6 g	21.4 g
Water	42	0 g	0 g	10.8 g
Salt	0	0 g	0 g	1330 g
White onion, finely diced	29	1.2 g	0 g	7.1 g
Cilantro, chopped	23	2.1 g	0.5 g	3.7 g
Salsa borracha or salsa verde	489	17.9 g	32.1 g	32.1 g
Corn tortillas	188	3.1 g	1.6 g	40.6 g

Values are per 100 g of the listed ingredient. Nutrition data: USDA FoodData Central (snapshot 2026-09-11). Ingredients without a verified match are omitted.

Method

Toast the guajillos on a dry comal until fragrant, soak until pliable, then blend with the garlic, vinegar, cumin, and a pinch of salt into a light adobo.
Salt the lamb shoulder all over and rub it with the adobo, tucking the avocado leaves against the meat if using.
Pour the water, garbanzos, rice, carrot, onion, and chipotle into a deep roasting pan and set a rack over it — the drippings will build your consommé.
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Line the rack with banana leaves, set the lamb on top, wrap the leaves over it, and seal the whole pan tightly with foil.
Steam in a 300°F oven for about 5 hours, until the lamb falls off the bone — resist opening the seal before the 4-hour mark.
Rest the package unopened, then unwrap, shred the lamb, and season the consommé below with salt.
Warm the tortillas, pile on the barbacoa with onion, cilantro, salsa, and lime, and serve each plate with a cup of consommé.