Mexico Birria
Originally from Jalisco in Western Mexico, birria is a spicy stew made from goat or mutton, and less often from beef or chicken. It is the kind of dish often served at celebrations such as weddings, or on special holidays like Christmas. Birria can be made as a stew, but is also a very popular taco filling at street vendor stands. Some like it for breakfast, possibly because it is supposed to be a cure for a hangover.
Recipe Servings: 6–8
Prep Time
45 minutes
Cook Time
2 hours 55 minutes
Total Time
3 hours 40 minutes
Vegetarian
Vegan
Gluten Free
Dairy Free
Kosher
Halal
Ingredients
- 1 dried guajillo chile, stemmed
- 1 cup (240 g) boiling water
- 5 cloves garlic, unpeeled
- 8 tomatillos, husked and cored
- 1 serrano chile, stemmed
- 1 medium white onion (one-half minced)
- ¼ cup (60 ml) cider vinegar
- 2 tsp (10 ml) dried oregano
- ½ tsp (2.5 ml) ground cinnamon
- ½ tsp (2.5 ml) ground cumin
- ¼ tsp (1.25 ml) ground black pepper
- 1 2-in (5-cm) piece ginger, peeled and thinly sliced l
- 3 lb (1.5 kg) bone-in goat shoulder, cut into 3-in (7.5-cm) pieces
- Coarse salt, to taste
- 2 Tbsp (10 ml) canola oil
- 1½ cups (360 ml) chicken stock
- ½ cup (25 g) roughly chopped cilantro
- Corn tortillas, warmed, for serving
- Lime wedges, for serving
Directions
- In a 6 qt (1 L) Dutch oven, lightly toast the guajillo chile over medium-high heat.
- Put the guajillo chile in a small bowl. Add water and soak until soft for about 30 minutes. After removing from water and discarding stem and seeds, set aside.
- In the same pot, cook garlic (unpeeled), tomatillos, serrano chile, and half onion over medium-high heat until blackened.
- Peel garlic and put in a blender, along with the tomatillos, serrano chile, half onion, and guajillo chile. Add cider vinegar, oregano, cinnamon, cumin, pepper, and ginger. Purée and set aside.
- Season goat with salt. In a large oiled pan, cook the goat over medium-high heat for about 20 minutes. Set aside.
- In the same pan, add the minced onion, and cook until soft, about 3 minutes. Add the puréed chile sauce and simmer for about 6 minutes until thickened.
- Return the goat to the pan and add the chicken stock. Bring the liquid to a boil, and then reduce heat to medium. Cover the pot, stir occasionally and simmer until tender, for about 2 hours.
- Remove the goat and after letting cool, shred meat and put it back into the pan to heat up again. Add cilantro.
- When the meat is hot again, serve with tortillas and lime wedges.
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