Barbecue is extremely popular in many parts of Mexico and the United States. States near the border know barbecue as a delicious meat item, available only on weekends as a special Sunday breakfast meal. Others eat barbecue regularly, enjoying it any time or any day.
So what exactly is barbecue? It is not “barbacoa” in Spanish, as many believe. In central Mexico, it means goat or lamb meat wrapped in large leaves and roasted over hot coals. In Texas, Mexican ranchers used cattle for this roasting method. Basically, they wrapped the heads in the leaves (later it was aluminum foil) and buried them in the ground with hot coals. Restaurants had even adopted similar methods of cooking these cabezas (heads).
Over the years, restaurants had to stop burying their heads due to health codes. Now, they roast and steam the heads in ovens, which has actually been beneficial for restaurants. A much larger group of fans have taken a liking to this type of cooking method.
To cook authentic barbecue at home, you will need a very good relationship with your butcher or slaughterhouse manager. But lucky for you, a cow’s head is often thrown away in many parts of the United States. Your relationship with your butcher will prevent this and allow you to buy the heads at very low prices, or even free in some cases.
So once you’ve secured a good source of cattle, how will you cook this at home? One of the best methods of cooking a cow’s head for barbecue is to steam or roast it on a large electric turkey roaster. It works perfectly and will produce one of the best barbecues since the “bury in the ground” days.
Follow these techniques for perfect barbecue results. This will make about 2 pounds of meat, or enough to feed 6 to 8 hungry diners for breakfast. Now feel free to use these techniques. You will do this because of your love of interesting foods, and barbecue is just one of them.
Ingredients:
A 20 to 25 pound cow head, skinned and cleaned
1 cup dry dressing (recipe below)
2 onions, cut in half
18″ Heavy Duty Aluminum Foil
Rinse the head well with a hose. Cut out the tongue (if it’s still there) and reserve for another interesting meal. Sprinkle the dry rub all over the head and place it, forehead down, in an 18-quart toaster. If it doesn’t fit well, tilt it to fit.
Add 8 cups of water and the onions, then cover. If the grill lid will not fit, place two sheets of wide aluminum foil over the top of the grill and seal.
Turn broiler oven to 350 degrees F. and heat for about an hour, until water boils rapidly. Reduce the heat to 250 degrees and allow the head to steam for about 12 hours or overnight. The cheek meat should fall easily off the bone when done. At this time, remove all the meat and discard the jaw bones. You will then find another large piece of meat inside. Remove that meat and any other meat still attached to the bones.
Trim off excess fat, gristle, or blackened meat, but don’t clean the meat too much. It’s the little bits of fat that give the barbecue its unique texture.
Chop the meat and put it in a bowl. Moisten it with a little of the cooking liquid to keep it moist. Serve immediately as a filling for warm flour or corn tortillas. Decorate with your choice of the items below, or add your own.
Dry Rub Recipe:
3 tablespoons of salt
1/4 cup chili powder
1 tablespoon garlic powder
1 tablespoon onion
Mix all the ingredients together.
Garnishes:
lime quarters
chopped onion
fresh cilantro, chopped
your favorite sauce