Birria
Submitted by geoff_ok
Authentic Mexican birria with lamb, veal, and pork rubbed in a toasted ancho-guajillo-cascabel chili paste, marinated overnight, and slow-roasted until falling off the bone. Served with tomato broth, onion, and oregano.
YIELD
10 servingsPREP
1 daysCOOK
5 hrsREADY
1 daysBirria is not fast food. It’s a labor of love, a two-day commitment that rewards you with meat so tender it practically sighs off the bone.
Three types of dried chilies, ancho, guajillo, and cascabel, get toasted on a comal until fragrant, then blended with garlic, vinegar, cumin, cloves, and peppercorns into a thick, rust-colored paste. That paste gets rubbed deep into slashed lamb shanks, lamb breast, veal breast, and pork loin. Eighteen hours of marinating lets the chili paste work its way into every fiber.
The next day, the meat steams in a sealed Dutch oven for nearly four hours. The juices get skimmed, mixed with blended broiled tomatoes, and poured over each bowl of shredded meat. Chopped onion, dried oregano, and warm tortillas finish it off.
This is the kind of cooking that fills a house with the smell of chilies and spice and brings the whole family to the kitchen asking, “Is it ready yet?"
Kitchen Tips
- Toast the dried chilies just until fragrant and pliable; burnt chilies turn bitter fast
- Slash the meat deep so the chili paste penetrates beyond the surface
- Seal the Dutch oven lid with a flour-and-water paste to trap every bit of steam inside
- Skim the fat from the cooking juices; the lean broth underneath is pure gold
Ingredients
Directions
One day ahead: There will be approximately 6 to 7 pounds of meat. Slash the meats in several places down to the bone and rub the salt well into it. Meanwhile, prepare the chili paste. Heat the comal (or griddle) and toast the chilies lightly, turning them from time to time so that they will not burn. Remove the veins and seeds. Put the chilies to soak in hot water for abt. 20 minutes, then transfer with a slotted spoon to the blender jar, add the rest of the ingredients, and blend to a smooth sauce. Cover the meat thickly with the paste and set it aside to season for about 18 hours.
On serving day: Preheat the oven to 350℉ (180℃). Put the water in the bottom of a large Dutch over or casserole with a tightly fitting lid and place the meat on a rack so the it is just about the water. Seal the lid with a paste of flour and water and cook for about 3½ to 4 hours, by which time the meat should be almot falling off the bones.
Strain off the juices from the bottom of the pan, cool, and skim off the fat. There should be about 2 cups of juices left-if not, make it up with up to 2 cups of water. Blend the tomatoes to a smooth sauce. Put the sauce and the skimmed juices from the meat into a saucepan and bring to a boil.
Serve each portion of mixed meats in a deep bowl. pour ½ cup of sauce over the meat and sprinkle with the chopped onion and oregano. Eat with tortillas. Makes 8 to 10 servings.
Comments