Barbacoa vs Birria
Barbacoa tacos are lamb or goat pit-cooked wrapped in maguey/agave leaves; birria tacos are goat or beef slow-stewed in a chile adobo until it shreds. Same corn tortilla, different meat and different technique, so they taste and eat nothing alike. Order barbacoa when you want onion and a richer bite, birria when you want the lighter one.
The difference is the filling: Barbacoa uses lamb or goat, Birria uses goat or beef.
What are barbacoa? · What are birria?
Questions
What is a barbacoa taco?
Meat (traditionally whole sheep, goat, or a cow's head) wrapped in maguey (agave) leaves and cooked slowly in a covered earth pit until it falls apart, then shredded onto corn tortillas with onion, cilantro and salsa. Many US kitchens reproduce it by steaming or braising beef cheek or chuck.
What is the difference between barbacoa and carnitas?
Barbacoa is steamed or pit-cooked, moist, and seasoned simply. Carnitas is simmered in fat and then crisped. Barbacoa is beef, lamb or goat; carnitas is pork. Barbacoa is tender and savoury; carnitas has crisp edges and tastes of pork fat.
What is the difference between birria and barbacoa?
Birria is stewed in a chile-and-spice liquid and served with consommé; it is saucy. Barbacoa is steamed or pit-cooked with little or no chile sauce; it is not. If there is a red broth for dipping, it is birria.
What kind of meat is barbacoa?
Traditionally lamb, goat, or beef head (cabeza). Most US restaurants use beef cheek or beef chuck, steamed until it shreds.
Is barbacoa spicy?
Not usually. It is seasoned simply (salt, sometimes bay, garlic, cumin) and cooked low and slow. The heat comes from the salsa served with it.
Last updated August 31, 2026. Venue details refresh with each data import.