Why I Will Never Be A Vegetarian

There are two reasons why I will never be a vegetarian: carnitas and barbacoa. Yes, both are Mexican meat dishes!  

Carnitas is Mexico's favourite way of eating pork and barbacoa is how you eat lamb if you live in Mexico.

Homemade Carnitas. Photo credit: Mexico In My Kitchen

Real barbacoa cannot be made at home, but an excellent carnitas substitute is entirely feasible, and you will find the recipe here: https://www.mexicoinmykitchen.com/pork-carnitas-mexican/

Please ignore any recipe that contains anything else - trust me, this is the real mccoy.  In fact, having lived in Mexico for over 20 years, I can assure you that all Mely's recipes are absolutely what you would be served if you had the good fortune of having friends like mine in Mexico. If you like authentic Mexican food, you should subscribe to her blog (it's in English).

Homemade Mixiotes

As for barbacoa, I'm sorry that she does not give a recipe for my favourite alternative, mixiotes. They are little parcels of lamb and seasoning in parchment paper tied with string that are steamed for a couple of hours. You can make a decent substitute as long as you have access to latino ingredients like dried chiles.

Here is a recipe that I might use: https://www.tvazteca.com/aztecauno/cocineros-mexicanos/recetas/notas/receta-mixiotes-de-borrego

I have not found one in English that I would recommend, so if you want to try this, write me in the Comments section and I will provide a translation.

Buen provecho!