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Cabrito al Pastor (Spit-Roasted Kid Goat, Monterrey Style)

Lamb · Cabrito

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
What to ask for
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Ingredients & method

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

  1. 1Pat the goat dry. Sprinkle generously with rock salt on both sides; let stand at room temperature 30 minutes.
  2. 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.
  3. 3Mount the goat on the spit, skin-side toward the heat first. Position about 50 cm from the fire.
  4. 4Roast slowly for 2 to 3 hours, rotating every 20 minutes for even cooking. Maintain steady moderate heat.
  5. 5When the skin is golden and crisp and the meat pulls easily from the bone, lift onto a board.
  6. 6Carve into chunks. Serve in warm flour tortillas with charro beans, salsa borracha, lime, onion, and cilantro.

Cook this well

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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.

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