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. Same corn tortilla, different meat and different technique, so they taste and eat nothing alike. Order carnitas when you want onion and a richer bite, barbacoa when you want the lighter one.
The difference is the filling: Carnitas uses pork, Barbacoa uses lamb or goat.
What are carnitas? · What are barbacoa?
Questions
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 August 31, 2026. Venue details refresh with each data import.