When it comes to Mexican food the question often comes up about barbacoa vs carnitas and what’s the different between the two?
I love just about any type of Mexican food. While there are lots of different meat options the one I see people ask about the most is the difference between barbacoa and carnitas.
They do look alike and are often used in the same dishes….tacos, burritos, etc. Let’s take a look at how they are alike as well as different.
Barbacoa vs Carnitas
Don’t be fooled by the picture above. You might think that the difference between the two is that barbacoa is made from beef while carnitas is made from pork. That’s only half right.
What is Carnitas?
The word carnitas means little meats. Most likely it is used to describe the finished dish as a larger piece of pork is cut into large chunks and cooked until it is tender and then is shredded or cut into smaller pieces.
Carnitas is made from pork. Usually the cut used is pork shoulder or pork butt also called Boston butt. These types of pork roast are perfect for the cooking method to make carnitas.
To make the dish, the pork roast can be cut into a couple of larger pieces. It’s then slow cooked in the oven or in a pot over low heat so the meat becomes fall apart tender. Once it is done being slow cooked it’s then pan fried or broiled in the oven to make it crispy.
These days we have the benefit of using a crockpot or slow cooker to make this dish. It makes it so much easier as you don’t have to carefully watch the meat to keep it from drying out or burning.
If you’d like to try making your own carnitas try this slow cooker pork carnitas recipe.
What is Barbacoa?
The word barbacoa means barbeque in English. The traditional way of making this dish was to slow cook the meat in a barbeque pit.
You’ve probably seen videos or movies where large pieces of meat are wrapped in leaves and cooked over hot coals in a BBQ pit or an underground oven. Well you don’t need a BBQ pit to make your own barbacoa.
You can make barbacoa on the stove in a pan or in the crockpot. The method that I prefer is the slow cooker because you don’t have to watch the meat to keep it from drying out. It’s made in a similar was as the Slow Cooker Carnitas recipe shown above.
If you are looking to make your own barbacoa, as shown below, then check out this recipe for slow cooker beef barbacoa.
While carnitas is made with pork meat, barbacoa can be made with a variety of meat such as beef, including beef tongue, lamb and goat. I often see it listed on the menu at local restaurants as beef barbacoa as it is being made with beef.
We don’t see it made with lamb or goat locally in my area. I can find lamb at my local grocery store and, occasionally, goat. If you are able to get either of these types of meat swap out the beef in the above recipe and follow the remaining instructions. It will taste delicious no matter which type of meat you use!
What’s The Difference Between Barbacoa And Carnitas?
The main difference between barbacoa and carnitas is the type of meat and how they are cooked.
Carnitas is made with pork. Barbacoa can be made with different types of meat such as beef, lamb or goat.
The other difference is the cooking process. While both start out being slow cooked either on the stove top in a large pot or dutch oven, in a slow cooker or steamed over a barbeque, carnitas is finished by pan cooking or broiling in order to give the pieces a crispy texture. Barbacoa is not finished this way.
If you look at the pictures above you can see that the barbacoa is tender and juicy. The carnitas, while also tender is a bit crispy at the edges from being pan fried before serving.
Is pulled pork the same as barbacoa or carnitas?
Pulled pork, or shredded pork, is cooked using a similar method found with barbacoa and carnitas. Depending upon your recipe the seasonings used will be a bit different.
Pulled pork is often cooked with BBQ sauce (see the photo above). Once it’s shredded the pork is mixed back into the sauce before being served. If you’d like to try making your own BBQ pulled pork then check out this recipe.
They all are slow cooked. Pulled pork is more similar to carnitas as they are both made from pork. Once the pork is finished cooking it is shredded or pulled. The difference between pulled pork and carnitas is that carnitas are pan fried to make the pieces crispy at the edges.
Is barbacoa the same as carne asada?
No the two are different.
Barbacoa is more a cooking method while carne asada is typically made from some type of beef steak such as flank steak or skirt steak which is then cut into slices. Check out this great recipe for carne asada here (see the picture below).
What can you make with barbacoa or carnitas?
You can use both to make the same types of meals including tacos, burritos or in burrito bowls. Use the shredded meat to top your salad greens. Serve it up with corn tortillas and your favorite sides such as refried beans, white rice, fajita veggies such as peppers and onions and salsa. Add a bit of sour cream and a squeeze of lime juice and you’ve got a delicious meal no matter which one you make.
Can you eat barbacoa or carnitas on a keto diet?
Yes you can!
While made with different kinds of meat both barbacoa meat and carnitas are low in carbs. Usually there aren’t high carb ingredients added to the cooking liquid such as BBQ sauce. This means that both of the slow-cooked meats will be low in carbs. Either one would be a better option than other another type of barbecue meat that has added sauce. They are perfect to use in your favorite keto Mexican dishes.
Try one of the recipes above to make your own crockpot or slow cooker pulled pork, carnitas, beef barbacoa or even carne asada. They are all delicious and so tender from cooking in the crockpot.
Looking for some recipes to make with any of these slow cooked meat? Check some of these out:
Check out these delicious 50 Chicken Cinco De Mayo recipes.
Swap out the shredded chicken for any of the meat recipes above and make these delicious Enchiladas.
Don’t forget some delicious side dishes to go with your barbacoa or carnitas. Check out some of these great sides:
Homemade Refried Beans Using Canned Beans
Spicy Salsa (shown below)
Want to get new recipes sent directly to your inbox? Then subscribe to our newsletter (see below) and be the first to know when we post a new recipe as well as get weekly shopping, cooking and meal planning tips. Follow me on Pinterest where you can find links to our recipes as well as other recipes you and your family will enjoy.
This post may contain affiliate links. Please see our disclosure policy. If you click on the banner below you will be taken directly to my Etsy shop to see the digital items currently listed.
