Mexican Stew Birria Recipes

BIRRIA RECIPE

Steps:

• Place Anaheim and guajillo peppers in a saucepan and cover with water; bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer until tender, about 15 minutes. Remove saucepan from heat and cool for 5 minutes.
• Pour chiles and water into a blender; add onion, mixed spices, and salt. Blend until sauce is smooth.
• Mix stew meat, sauce, and bay leaves in a large pot; cook over medium-low heat until meat is very tender, 3 to 5 hours.

AUTHENTIC MEXICAN BIRRIA RECIPE

Steps:

• Season the meat with salt, pepper, and cumin
• Cut open the dried chiles with scissors and remove the seeds
• Fry the dried chiles with a small amount of oil in a frying pan for 2-3 minutes, moving constantly so they don't burn. Set aside
• Add the chiles from the previous step to a small pot with boiling water for about 10 minutes, or until softened.
• In the same frying pan where you fried the chiles, add 1 tablespoon of oil and cook the onions and tomatoes until they are browned. Add the garlic, peppercorns, bay leaves, cinnamon stick, and all of the remaining spices except for the ground cumin and ginger. Continue cooking for about 5 minutes, moving it around often.
• Add the chiles (including the water), the ingredients from the previous step, and the ginger, cumin, apple cider vinegar and water to a blender and blend until smooth. It will still be pretty thick, but that is fine. Strain and set aside the resulting sauce for the next step.
• Pour the sauce over the meat in a large bowl and cover. If using the oven or stovetop methods, you will want to marinate for at least 2 hours or overnight. If using the electric pressure cooker option, you can marinate it, but it isn't necessary.
• Follow the cooking instructions according to your preferred method below.
• Add the meat with the marinade to a large stockpot and cook over medium heat, covered, for about three hours, or until the meat falls off the bones and is easy to shred.
• Add the meat with the marinade to a large oven-safe dish and cover with aluminum foil and cook at 350 degrees fahrenheit for 2 hours or until the meat is easy to shred.
• Add the meat with the marinade (or just the meat and the marinade separately if you chose not to marinate it) to the pot of the electric pressure cooker.
• Follow instructions for your electric pressure cooker to bring it to high pressure and cook for 45 minutes. Release pressure naturally for 5 minutes and then use the quick pressure release option to release the rest of the pressure. Remove the lid per instructions and the meat will be tender and ready to shred.
• Remove the meat and shred it. You can then serve it over the soup made from the sauce that the meat cooked in or you can serve it with tortillas as tacos with cilantro, lime, onions, and salsa.

BIRRIA DE BORREGO (MEXICAN LAMB STEW) RECIPE - (4.2/5)

Steps:

• Pre-heat the oven to 392°F. Place lamb onto a roasting tray and brown for 20 minutes. In the mean time bring the stock to the boil and peel / slice onion and garlic. When browned, add lamb to the stock pot, along with garlic and onion and bring back to the boil. Skim any scum that floats to the surface, then simmer rapidly for the next hour / hour and a half, or until the meat and marrow can easily be removed from the bone. Meanwhile, heat a skillet over a medium heat. When hot, add the ancho, chipotle and guajillo chillies whole, and toast for several minutes until they release their aroma. Next remove stalks and seeds, and submerge chillies in the boiled water to soften for 20 minutes. It is advisable to wear gloves when doing this, and to avoid touching your eyes, nose, genitals, etc. as this will burn! Next, reduce chillies & their water to a pulp in the bowl of a food processor, and then strain through a fine sieve, discarding solids. When your broth is done, strain into a clean pan. Discard onion, garlic and bones (you can use a chopstick to poke out any tasty marrow) and shred meat with your fingers before adding back into the stock. Next add your chilli paste and all remaining ingredients, before seasoning well with salt and pepper and simmering for a further hour to allow flavours to develop and meld. Skim fat from the surface. Finally, remove from heat and discard bay leaves and herb stalks. Using a slotted spoon remove and divide meat between bowls, then ladle the liquid over. Garnish with finely chopped onion and coriander, and serve with guacamole, tortillas and if you want to be a real badass - extra hot sauce. I used Mellow Habanero's Smoky Chipotle Sauce, which added great umami to the dish. Not just a rich and delicious stew, you can also fold the soft braised meats up in your tortillas for seriously sublime tacos!

BIRRIA DE CHIVO ESTILO JALISCO (MEXICAN BRAISED GOAT)

Steps:

• Bring a pot of water to a boil; add ancho chile peppers and cook for 5 minutes. Remove from heat and let chiles soak in the hot water until soft, about 10 minutes; drain.
• Blend softened chiles, 1 cup vinegar, 15 peppercorns, ginger, 2 garlic cloves, 3 cloves, 1 pinch marjoram, 1 pinch cumin, and 1 pinch thyme in a blender until marinade is smooth. Strain marinade into a bowl.
• Place goat in a bowl and pour in marinade, coating goat completely. Cover and refrigerate for 8 hours.
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Transfer goat and marinade to a baking dish; cover with a lid or aluminum foil.
• Bake in the preheated oven until goat is very tender, about 3 1/2 hours. Remove lid or foil and cook until goat is browned, about 15 minutes. Pour meat juices into a container and reserve. Cover the goat to keep warm.
• Bring a large pot of water to a boil; add tomatoes and boil until soft, 5 to 10 minutes. Drain and let tomatoes cool until easily handled.
• Peel tomatoes and place in blender with reserved goat juices, 2 cups water, 3 peppercorns, 2 garlic cloves, 2 cloves, 1 pinch marjoram, 1 pinch thyme, and 1 pinch cumin. Blend until meat sauce is smooth.
• Pour meat sauce into a small saucepan and season with salt; bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer over low heat.
• Bring a pot of water to a boil; add chiles de arbol and boil until soft, about 5 minutes. Drain.
• Blend softened chiles with 1/4 cup vinegar, 10 peppercorns, 1 garlic clove, and salt until hot sauce is smooth. Strain into a glass.
• Cut goat into bite-sized pieces and serve with a generous amount of meat sauce and hot sauce on the side. Sprinkle onion over goat.

MEXICAN BIRRIA RECIPE (GOAT OR BEEF STEW)

Steps:

• Heat a large pan to medium heat and add the dried peppers. Dry toast them in the hot pan 1-2 minutes per side, until the skins darken.
• Remove from heat and add the toasted peppers to a large bowl. Cover with hot water and steep 20 minutes, or until softened.
• While the peppers are rehydrating, heat the olive oil in the same pan to medium heat.
• Add the onion and tomatoes and cook for 5 minutes to soften.
• Add the garlic and cook another 1 minute, stirring.
• Add the cooked onion, tomatoes and garlic to a food processor.
• Remove the softened chilies and add to the food processor, but reserve the soaking liquid.
• Add the seasonings to the food processor along with the vinegar and 1 cup beef stock. Process until smooth. It should be fairly thick. You can strain if you'd like for a smoother sauce. See the RECIPE NOTES below.
• Cut the lamb (or beef) into large chunks and add to a large bowl.
• Pour the birria sauce over them and rub it into the meat. Cover and marinate the meat in the refrigerator for 2 hours minimum. Overnight is better.
• When you're ready to cook, add the meat with all of the marinade, the chopped roasted tomatoes and remaining 3 cups beef broth to a large pot. Cover and cook at medium heat for 3 hours, or until the meat is fork tender and easy to shred. Add more beef stock or some of the reserved soaking liquid if needed for a soupier birria.
• Serve the braised birria into bowls as a soup, or shred the meat and serve it up onto tortillas as birria tacos, with the reserved liquid consome from the pot as a side soup/broth.

BIRRIA DE RES

Steps:

• Heat the oven to 325 degrees.
• Prepare the chiles: Use tongs to place the poblano chiles directly over the open flame of a gas burner set to high. Cook the poblanos until totally charred all over, turning as needed, about 2 minutes per side. Transfer to a small bowl and cover with plastic wrap so the poblanos can steam. After 10 minutes, use your fingers to pull the blackened skins away from the poblanos, then remove the stems and seeds. Roughly chop the poblanos and set aside.
• While the poblano chiles steam, place a large skillet over medium heat. Working in batches to cook the guajillo chiles evenly in one layer, flatten the chile halves on the hot skillet and toast them for about 15 seconds, turning once. Put the chiles in a bowl and add 2 cups hot water to help soften them. Set aside.
• Prepare the meat: Season the meat all over with the salt. Heat the oil in a large, oven-proof pot over medium-high. Working in batches, sear the meat on all sides until well browned, 2 to 3 minutes per side, transferring the browned meat to a large bowl as you work.
• After you've seared all the meat, add the onion to the pot and cook, stirring occasionally, until golden, about 5 minutes. Return all the meat to the pot.
• Meanwhile, add the tomatoes, vinegar, garlic, ginger, oregano, sesame seeds, cumin, cloves and a few grinds of black pepper to a blender, along with the chopped poblanos, toasted guajillos and the chile soaking liquid. Purée until smooth, scraping down the edges of the blender as needed.
• Pour the blended mixture into the pot with the meat. Add the cinnamon stick and bay leaves, along with about 4 to 6 cups of water, enough to amply cover the meat.
• Cover and cook in the oven until the meat is fork-tender, about 2 hours.
• Divide among bowls and sprinkle with cilantro. Serve with lime wedges for squeezing on top, and a side of warm tortillas.

CHICKEN BIRRIA

Steps:

• In a small saucepan over high heat, combine the dried chiles and 1 cup of the broth, and bring to a boil, stirring to submerge the chiles. Remove from heat and let stand for 3 minutes. In a blender, combine the chiles and the liquid, the tomatoes and their juices, vinegar and garlic, then season with salt and pepper, and purée until smooth.
• In a large Dutch oven, heat 2 tablespoons of the oil over medium-high. Season chicken with salt and pepper, and add half to the pot. Cook, turning once, until lightly browned and no longer pink, about 3 minutes, then transfer to a plate. Repeat with remaining chicken.
• Add remaining 1 tablespoon oil, onion, oregano, cumin, cloves and bay leaf and cook, stirring, until fragrant, 30 seconds to 1 minute. Stir in the remaining 2 cups broth and the puréed sauce (carefully, as it may splatter), scraping up browned bits on the bottom of the pot. Add chicken (and any accumulated juices), and bring to a boil. Simmer briskly over medium, partially covered, until sauce is thickened and chicken is cooked through, 25 minutes. Taste and season with salt.
• Divide birria among 4 bowls, and top with onion and cilantro. Serve with lime wedges and rice, if using.