Rick Bayless is chef of Frontera Grill and Topolobampo in Chicago, creator of Frontera gourmet foods, cookbook author and host of Mexico - One Plate at a Time.

Barbacoa and Cochinita Pibil: Television

From the Kitchen of Chef Rick Bayless

Barbacoa and Cochinita Pibil

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MEXICO–ONE PLATE AT A TIME WITH RICK BAYLESS
Episode 17: Barbacoa and Cochinita Pibil: Down to Earth Cooking



Succulent meat, slowly cooked in pits lined with smoldering embers is the stuff of barbecue dreams. Rick takes us for a “pit stop” at Arroyo, the sprawling three thousand-seat outdoor restaurant in the heart of Mexico City, where we see the dramatic all-day pit-cooking process that transforms hundreds of pounds of lamb into succulent “Barbacoa.” At La Capilla, another outdoor family restaurant in Oaxaca, Rick reveals the mysteries of Oaxacan Barbacoa made with chile-marinated lamb buried in a pit. Back in Chicago, he shows us his favorite way to do pit-cooking at home–without lifting a shovel. It’s all done on the grill using indirect heat and Rick’s foolproof leaf-wrapping technique. He prepares fork tender Cochinita Pibil–Yucatecan-style Achiote-Rubbed Pork Cooked in Banana Leaves, served with a fiery Habanero Salsa.