Author Topic: A Mexican Family Fiesta in Baja - Lamb Barbacoa  (Read 2876 times)

Camadile

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A Mexican Family Fiesta in Baja - Lamb Barbacoa
« on: January 17, 2016, 04:42:55 PM »
Hey guys!

It's been a long time since my last post here but I couldn't help thinking about you folks when I witnessed a Mexican family prepare a holiday meal of Lamb Barbacoa!

Over the holidays, my buddies Kris and Brian and son, John went to San Quintin in Baja for five days. Awesome trip! We acquired and cooked a lot of different same day fresh sea foods – lobster, oysters, Yellow Fin, Rock Cod and Pismo Clams! The highlight of the trip, though, was that we were invited to attend a large family celebration of New Years Eve AND New Years day. The fiesta was being held at the hotel where we were staying and hosted by one of the employees who also owned a small ranch. His name is Haviar. For the celebrations (fiestas), Haviar slaughtered a pig and a lamb from his ranch. I was able to watch as family members butchered the pig and prepared it to become carnitas for New Years Eve. YUM!

Several days earlier, family members dug a cylindrical pit three feet wide and three feet deep. They kept a fire burning in it for three days. On New Years Eve, they placed the butchered lamb on a metal grate that was tied to a very large pot. The lowered it into the pit and covered lamb and pot with previously roasted agave leaves. Then they covered the pit with sheet metal and then covered the sheet metal with about a foot of dirt to fully insulate the pit. The next day, the family removed the amazing lamb from the pit and we all had tacos together. The pot under the lamb contained all the juices from the lamb and the agave and we were served the most amazing consume in a glass to sip with our tacos!

What an incredible cultural experience! This is barbeque Mexican style!

I took video of the family's multi-day preparation of Lamb Barbacoa for the New Year's Day feast and made a YouTube video. Here's the video:

https://youtu.be/NAmAVy4VhwY

Cam