Carnitas vs Barbacoa
Carnitas Tacos are pork, confit: simmered for hours in its own lard, then crisped. Barbacoa Tacos are lamb or goat, pit-cooked wrapped in maguey/agave leaves. Both arrive on corn tortillas; the meat and the method are what separate them.
Side by side
The difference is the filling: Carnitas uses pork, Barbacoa uses lamb or goat.
Which one to order
Carnitas usually comes with onion, cilantro, salsa verde, lime; barbacoa with onion, cilantro, salsa borracha, consommé on the side.
Carnitas is associated with Michoacán, barbacoa with Hidalgo / Texcoco.
In the US you will find carnitas most in Chicago, Los Angeles, Dallas, and barbacoa in San Antonio, Houston, Rio Grande Valley.
Neither is the better taco in the abstract — they are different dishes that happen to share a tortilla. Order by which method you are in the mood for.
Which is easier to find in the US
Across this directory, 44 venues name carnitas and 12 name barbacoa. Carnitas is the easier of the two to track down. These are counts of venues that say so in their name or listing, so both undercount.
Read up on each
Carnitas vs Barbacoa: common questions
What is the main difference between carnitas and barbacoa?
Confit: simmered for hours in its own lard, then crisped for carnitas (pork), versus pit-cooked wrapped in maguey/agave leaves for barbacoa (lamb or goat). The method is what changes the texture most.
What is on a carnitas taco?
Pork shoulder simmered slowly in its own fat until tender, then crisped, chopped or shredded onto a corn tortilla with white onion, cilantro, a squeeze of lime and salsa. Sometimes a little pickled onion or a slice of pineapple.
What is the difference between carnitas and asada tacos?
Carnitas is pork, slow-cooked in fat and then crisped. Carne asada is beef (skirt or flank steak) marinated and grilled hot and fast, then chopped. Carnitas is soft and rich; asada is charred and beefy.
How are carnitas traditionally cooked?
In a wide copper pot (cazo) over a flame, the pork submerged in lard with a little milk, orange, bay and salt, cooked low for a couple of hours until it falls apart, then the heat is raised to crisp the outside. It comes from Michoacán.
What does carnitas mean?
"Little meats", a reference to the small pieces the crisped pork is chopped into.
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.
Last updated September 29, 2026. Venue details refresh with each data import.