The signature dish of Nuevo León — a whole milk-fed kid goat butterflied and roasted slowly on a vertical spit beside a wood fire. Served with charro beans, salsa borracha, and warm flour tortillas.
Serves 8 to 10Prep 30 minCook 3 hr
Affiliate links — CarneAtlas may earn a commission at no extra cost to you.
Ingredients
- 1 milk-fed kid goat (5 to 6 kg), butterflied at the spine, or 1 hindquarter
- 100 g coarse rock salt
- Mesquite wood or charcoal
- —
- To serve:
- Warm flour tortillas
- Frijoles charros
- Salsa borracha (chile pasilla, beer, garlic, oregano)
- Lime wedges
- Onion and cilantro
Method
- 1Pat the goat dry. Sprinkle generously with rock salt on both sides; let stand at room temperature 30 minutes.
- 2Build a hardwood fire and let it burn down to embers. Set up a vertical spit (asador) beside the fire — the heat is radiant, not direct.
- 3Mount the goat on the spit, skin-side toward the heat first. Position about 50 cm from the fire.
- 4Roast slowly for 2 to 3 hours, rotating every 20 minutes for even cooking. Maintain steady moderate heat.
- 5When the skin is golden and crisp and the meat pulls easily from the bone, lift onto a board.
- 6Carve into chunks. Serve in warm flour tortillas with charro beans, salsa borracha, lime, onion, and cilantro.
Chef's tip
If you don't have a vertical asador, butterfly the goat flat and roast on a rack at 160 °C (320 °F) for 2.5 hours, finishing under a hot broiler.