Authentic Mexican Birria

A dish I would have never discovered if it weren’t for the trending posts on Instagram (initially, from a couple of my fellow Instagrammers)

According to viable sources, birria is a spicy Mexican spicy stew from the state of Jalisco.  The dish is often served at celebratory occasions, such as weddings and baptisms, and holidays, such as Christmas and Easter.  Birria is traditionally made with lamb or beef, followed by detailed preparation. However, with the help of today’s technology, an electric multi-cooker will help do the trick of speeding up the process, yet achieving the flavorful authenticity of the dish.

Today I experimented with birria in various ways: cooking it with pork, and chicken, as well as, serving it over rice, and topping it over crisps tortilla chips. They were all equally delicious. Hands down, however to the taco version dipped in that ‘magical’ birria sauce!

The meat(s) I used for this recipe is pork (for the tacos), and chicken (for the nachos)

Ingredients

For the Meat

  • 1 Lb Bone-In Lamb Ribs
  • 1 Lb Beef shank
  • 1 Lb Beef loin
  • 1 1/2 Tbsp Salt
  • 1 Tbsp Pepper
  • 1 Tsp Ground Cumin

For the Sauce/Broth

  • 4 Dried Ancho Chiles
  • 4 Dried Guajillo Chiles
  • 1 Chipotle Pepper
  • 8 Peppercorns
  • 2 cloves
  • 1 Tsp dried thyme
  • 1 Tsp Marjoram
  • 1 Tsp Dried Oregano
  • 2 Bay Leaves
  • 1/2 Tsp Ground Cumin
  • 1/2 Tsp Ground Ginger
  • 1/2 Cinnamon Stick
  • 8 Cloves Garlic
  • 1/2 Large Onion
  • 1 1/2 Tbsp Salt
  • 4 Red Tomatoes
  • 1/4 cup Apple cider vinegar
  • 2 cups Water

Instructions

Preparation (all methods)

  1. Season the meat with salt, pepper, and cumin
  2. Cut open the dried chiles with scissors and remove the seeds
  3. 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
  4. Add the chiles from the previous step to a small pot with boiling water for about 10 minutes, or until softened.
  5. 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.
  6. 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.
  7. 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.
  8. Follow the cooking instructions according to your preferred method

Electric Pressure Cooker *Preferred Method

  1. 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.
  2. 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.

How to Serve

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.

Original Source: My Latina Table