Narrator: Every weekend, Saúl Torres and his crew
make and sell 500 pounds of lamb barbacoa
to nearly 1,200 people.
Narrator: Wrapped inside long maguey leaves
and slow roasted for 11 hours,
this lamb barbacoa is legendary for its tenderness
and its sweet and smoky flavors.
We visited Saúl at his restaurant, El Pica 1,
in Texcoco, Mexico, to see how this dish is prepared
and what it takes to make such big batches.
Narrator: Making enough barbecue for the weekend
begins at 8 a.m. on Friday.
Saúl and his team begin preheating the 11 pit ovens
by adding large cuts of wood into the bottoms
and stripping pieces of cardboard for kindling.
Using a lighter, they set the pieces of cardboard on fire
and place them into the center of the wood.
When the flames reach the top of the oven,
they start off-loading fresh maguey leaves
and placing them across the ovens.
The agave leaves are roasted
until they become more flexible.
Meanwhile, another team off-loads 500 pounds of lamb
and places it into the meat-prep area.
Using a machete, they cut down the larger pieces
so the meat can better fit inside of the 3-foot-wide oven.
All of the ovens El Pica 1 uses
are preheated for seven to eight hours.
But knowing when the oven is ready
is based entirely on feel.
Narrator: When the oven is ready,
the remaining pieces of wood are removed
and a smoldering pile is left at the bottom.
Workers then take the preroasted maguey leaves
and line the ovens.
These leaves contain a sap,
which will infuse the meat with a sweet, smoky flavor
when combined with the wood embers.
Narrator: Once the oven has been wrapped,
a large steel pot filled with chickpeas,
guajillo chilies, secret spices,
and water is lowered into the bottom.
Narrator: They then place a metal grill on top of that pot
to hold the stack of meat inside the oven.
Narrator: When the oven is full,
the maguey leaves are folded over the meat
and a large metal lid is placed on top
and sealed using wet mud and sand.
Narrator: The barbecue is left to cook overnight
for 11 hours, braising in its own juices and fat.
Underneath, the consommé helps steam
and infuse the meats with flavor
while collecting fat drippings.
By morning, the team at El Pica 1
will have a rich consommé to serve alongside
the smoky, sweet lamb barbacoa.
Narrator: They start serving the barbacoa
at 7:45 a.m. the next day.
Narrator: Using two plates,
workers dive headfirst into the oven,
scooping large pieces of tender lamb
into plastic-lined boxes.
The meat is sold for about $10 per pound,
and customers can choose the cuts they want.
Narrator: The word "barbecue" originated
with the Taíno people of the Caribbean,
who used a wooden platform set over a fire
to cook their meat.
And barbacoa, which directly translates to barbecue,
has been cooked in pit ovens in Mexico
for more than 500 years.
Narrator: Inside El Pica 1,
customers buy the consommé to dip their meats into,
and vendors sell other condiments
and tortillas to complement the barbecue.
Narrator: Even though El Pica 1 usually sells out
of its lamb barbacoa every weekend,
the restaurant has no plans to cook more than 500 pounds.