You've Probably Never Had Traditional Cochinita Pibil Tacos

Coming from Mexico's Yucatán Peninsula, cochinita pibil is a popular recipe that is mainly served as a taco topping (not to be confused with carnitas, another pork-based Mexican dish). To prep cochinita, a suckling pig is rubbed with spicy achiote paste (made with ground annatto seeds, and various herbs and spices), and marinated with Seville orange juice. This gives the meat a fabulously unique flavor that is both spicy and sour. But what makes cochinita pibil special is its cooking method — which is also the reason that you've probably never actually tasted the dish.

"Pib" is a Yucatecan Mayan word that has many meanings, the most common of which is "underground oven." This refers to the traditional ovens that the people in the peninsula have used to roast foods since before Hispanic colonization. The word can also be a verb for "cooking underground," or a specific tamal that is made in this oven during the region's Day of the Dead celebrations. "Cochinita pibil" is a combination of Spanish and Mayan for "suckling pig roasted underground" or, more specifically, "suckling pig roasted in a pib." Traditionally, dishes cooked in the pib are wrapped in banana leaves, lowered into the ground over charred wood and hot stones, then covered with fragrant dried leaves, and buried under a layer of soil. They're left to roast there for hours. The result is a mouthwatering juxtaposition of deep, smoky flavors, and tender, juicy meat that has made dishes like cochinita universally loved. 

Although about one in ten US restaurants serve Mexican food, it's safe to say most don't have enough space to make an underground oven. By definition of its name, however, real cochinita pibil can only be made in a pib. Outside of the Yucatán Peninsula, the dish is usually cooked in a modern oven, and pork shoulder or butt often replace the suckling. The dish is delicious, but it's an imitation of the original recipe, since there's no substitute for the complex flavors produced by the mix of leaves, charred wood, and hot stones. Still, in the absence of options, you can opt for marinading your pork, wrapping it in banana leaves, and roasting it for 3 to 4 hours in the oven.

If you're lucky enough to travel to Yucatán, don't neglect to try this delectable dish in the place that still uses the authentic recipe and cooking method. In Mérida, the capital of Yucatán state, you'll find the dish at restaurants like La Tradición or Manjar Blanco. Some hotels in the area also offer it. Chablé Yucatán, for example, serves pib dishes at its high-end restaurant, Ixi'im, and at its traditional Maya casitas, where guests can see a real pib oven before digging in. It might seem excessive to travel somewhere just for food, but we'd argue that when it comes to cochinita pibil (and other Yucatecan dishes like marquesitas), it's very much worth it.