LOS ANGELES — It is said that LA is the most Mexican city outside of Mexico, and one of the many wonderful results of this is the thriving barbacoa scene, said to be the best in the entire world. Not because we have better barbacoa, but because of the sheer diversity of so many regional preparations we have in one city — something you’d be hard-pressed to find even in Mexico.
Barbacoa is a Sunday morning tradition, typically served after a raucous Saturday night out. It’s as much a community builder as it is a hangover cure, and being a barbacoyero — a pit master — is a deeply significant role. They are the keepers of centuries and generations of tradition. Meat is steamed underground (typically goat, lamb, beef and sometimes chicken), and the drippings from the meat create a flavorful consomé that is served on the side. The base preparations for the barbacoa are always the same, but the accoutrements differ region to region.
Street food expert and author of the cookbook “LA Mexicano,” Bill Esparza wrote an article for Eater LA in which he catalogues what he calls The Barbacoa Trail — “a loose trail of stands that represent different cultures.” The trail is figurative, but it maps out the movements and lineage of Mexican immigrants across the state of California through where their hyper-regional barbacoa preparations landed. So, in Fresno and Bakersfield, you’ll find lots of barbacoa from Estado de México. In the bay area, there is mostly barbacoa that comes from Hidalgo. But in LA, you can find nearly every regional variety.
“Los Angeles is probably the most amazing barbacoa city on the planet,” Esparza said. “You can find barbacoa from different parts of Puebla, Hidalgo, Northern Mexico, Chihuahua, Oaxaca, the list goes on. And it’s not just the state style, but from specific towns.”
“It’s kind of like buying a car,” Esparza explains, of the different regional barbacoa styles. “Everyone buys more or less the same car, but it’s the accessories in the car and the paint on the outside that really define the kind of drive, the kind of style you’re going to have.”
Spectrum News joined Esparza on two stops of the LA branch of the Barbacoa Trail (it runs all the way up to the Bay area) which took us to two different regional preparations — Puebla, and Oaxaca.
Petra Zavaleta is the matriarch of Barbakush, a family run barbacoa business in Baldwin Park that operates from the backyard of the family home. She and her husband Felix Rodriguez come from a small town just outside of Tepeaca, Puebla, where their barbacoa preparation comes from. Zavaleta learned the art of being a barbacoyero from her father.
“I feel good because I know that the tradition from my town, from Tepeaca, that we’re bringing it to another country,” Zavaleta said.
Zavaleta and her husband serve their barbacoa the Tepeaca way, with a side of mole de panza that typically only exists in their specific town.
“You’d have to go to Tepeaca — or here in Baldwin Park — to get this style of barbacoa,” Esparza said, one of the reasons he listed Barbakush on the Barbacoa Trail.
In Mid-City, Esparza chose brick-and-mortar classic Gish Bac to represent the Oaxacan tradition of barbacoa, which differs from all other barbacoa because of the marinades and spices used only in that region. The smell that greets you at the door is immediately different from any other barbacoa.
David Padilla owns and operates Gish Bac with his wife, who is the third generation keeper of a secret family recipe.
“We marinate it with chile guajillo and all the Oaxacan spices,” Padilla said, declining to expand on the spices they use. “This recipe been for three generations. Maria Ramos, my wife, is a third generation barbacoa master,” he continued, noting that he learned the trade from his wife.
In his coverage of the Barbacoa Trail, Esparza makes a point to highlight the cultural significance of being a barbacoa pit master. “In other cultures, they give out property, mutual funds, but in their community, it’s about the recipes,” Esparza said. “That’s one of the most sacred things that they can pass along.”
The entire Barbacoa Trail is listed in great detail on Eater LA’s website.