Birria
Birria, a lamb recipe with simple ingredients and a clear step-by-step method. Home cooking from the Soumac recipe library.
Birria
Ingredients
One Day Ahead
- 2 Lamb shanks
- 1 Veal breast
- 1 Lamb breast
- 3 lb Loin of pork, rib or
- -shoulder end 2 tb Salt
- 6 Chiles anchos
- 3 Chiles guajillos
- 10 Chiles cascabel
Method
- Hot water to cover 18 Peppercorns 4 Whole cloves 1/4 ts Oregano 1/4 ts Cumin seeds, scant ts 1/4 c Vinegar 2 ts Salt 6 cl Garlic, peeled 1/2 sm Onion.
On Serving Day
- 1 1/2 c Water The meat Flour and water paste 2 lb Tomatoes, broiled -(see recipe) Meat juice 1 c Onion, finely chopped 1/2 ts Oregano The word birria means something deformed or grotesque, and it is used col- loquially in the northwest to mean a mess or failure.
- This certainly looks a mess when it is cooked, but it is a very savory one.
- It is a really rustic dish.
- Usually a whole goat or lamb, although in some places just the offal, is seasoned with a paste of ground spices and chilies and cooked in a pit barbecue.
- 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 350F.
- 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 3 1/2 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 1/2 cup of sauce over the meat and sprinkle with the chopped onion and oregano.
- Eat with tortillas.
- Makes 8 to 10 servings.
- From the Cuisines of Mexico by Diana Kennedy.
More Lamb recipes
- Ambila Chicken
- Another Gyros
- Arni Exohiko (“Surprise” Lamb, Country Style )
- Aziza Benchekroun’s Five-Day Preserved Lemon
- Banzai Peanut Sauce
- Beaumont Inn Burgoo