Órale, you jump out of bed, put on your chanclas and head over to your favorite meat market to pick up a couple of pounds of tatema, which is better known in greater South Texas as 'barbacoa', to provide breakfast for your family.
A Texas Monthly supplement entitled "BBQ Anatomy 101: Beef Head An Exploration of Texas Barbacoa" by Daniel Vaughn reaches way back in Texas history, Eagle Pass, Texas history in fact, which makes reference to several local establishments, and I use the word establishments specifically because those mentioned herein are veritable establishments in local lore.
Among those locales which are considered amongst the best barbacoa producers in the state is none other than the Piedras Negras Tortilla Factory, the labor of love which is still in operation under the watchful, caring eye of Heriberto Morales who began this business back in 1989.
"Mi orgullo siempre han sido mis hijos y mi esposa," said Morales on a cool Friday morning in downtown Eagle Pass, "Uno de ellos es abogado y mi hija es profesora, los dos graduados de UT. Y esto es cuestion de trabajo, trabajo, trabajo." <The ultimate pride and satisfaction for me comes from my children and my wife. One of them is an attorney and the other is an educator, both graduates of The University of Texas. But the basis for our success is work, work, work.> What not many people know though, is that Mr. Morales and his wife would personally deliver five hundred pounds (about forty heads of beef) barbacoa de pozo to homes on either side of main in Eagle Pass before heading off to follow their dream in Chicago when they got a call from brother Felipe who advised the couple that the Piedras Negras Tortilla Factory which then belonged to Coche Moreno was up for sale and the rest as they say is history. "Estabamos en Chicago. Ni esperabamos tenerlo. Es mucho trabajo," stated Mrs. Ana María Morales, "Y gracias a Dios mi hermano Felipe fue el que nos dijo del negocio." <We were in Chicago. We never even planned acquiring it. It's a lot of work. Thank God my brother Felipe told us about the business.> "De la noche a la mañana. Fue dificil al principio, pero gracias a Dios y al esfuerzo de todos salimos adelante." <From one day to the next we were in this business and it was hard at the beginning, but thank God and the efforts of everyone, we were successful.> The art of cooking it underground as by definition it is, beef heads cooked with wood coals in subterranean pits, is well documented throughout the article even stating that the technique is older than even the process to cook brisket. Vaughn's story which was published on July 8, 2015, highlighting barbacoa across South Texas, actually shows a fading Mancha Meat Market & Grocery sign announcing 'barbacoa de pozo los domingos desde 1942' and mentions how barbacoa was brought over from Piedras Negras in the 1930's. Their barbacoa de cabeza preparation, according to Vaughn's piece, is explained in detail in the documentary Smokestack Lightning, however, unfortunately, these establishments have been closed for years. One of the only five barbacoa establishment Vaughn considered 'great' included the Piedras Negras Tortilla Factory which is still located at 340 N. Pierce right here in Eagle Pass where you can still go and enjoy barbacoa to this day the way it was meant to be prepared. Piedras Negras Tortilla Factory is unique in that, according to son Eddie, his Mom came up with the buffet-style display of showing customers everything separately. "First of all the barbacoa takes twelve hours to cook so we begin our Saturday and Sunday heavy traffic day at 8:30 AM on Saturday to open at 8:30 PM where we remain open all night through Sunday afternoon selling everything from tamales, to menudo, tripas, mollejas, carnitas, different types of salsa and fresh tortillas de harina and maíz," added Heriberto, Jr. Although state regulations prohibit the traditional way of cooking the delicacy, the Morales Family in Eagle Pass continue the tatema tradition in a very big way.