Lamb Birria Broth Recipes

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.

QUESABIRRIAS

Steps:

• On a large skillet or comal, heat up the tortillas with the oil to make them crispy. Add the Chihuahua cheese and Birria meat, then let the cheese melt for 1 minute. Drop 2 ounces of the Birria broth on top of the quesabirrias, then fold and let them get crispy on one side, about 2 minutes. Flip and let them get crispy on the other side, another 2 minutes, then remove to a plate.
• Put the onion and cilantro in a 6-ounce soup cup and fill with the remaining 6 ounces Birria broth. Serve on the plate with the quesabirrias, then add the Mexican grilled onion, grilled serrano pepper, the lime wedge and the Salsa Birriera to complete the dish.
• The best way to eat them is by putting some salsa inside the quesabirria, and some in the broth. Squeeze the lime in the broth as well, then roll your quesabirria, dip it in and enjoy.
• Cut the meat into big chunks, then put them in a pot with 1 gallon of water and put it on the heat.
• In a small pot, make an adobo, using the peppers, garlic, tomatillos, tomatoes and 1/2 gallon water. Boil for 10 minutes, then blend and add to the pot with the meat. Add the vinegar, oregano, salt, cumin, pepper and bay leaves. Bring to a boil, then lower the heat, cover the pot and let simmer until the meat is tender, 1 hour 30 minutes. Separate the meat and the broth for easier handling.
• Roast the arbol chiles, tomatillos, tomatoes and garlic on a comal or skillet, turning occasionally, until they look almost burnt; the peppers and garlic take about 5 minutes, and the tomatillos and tomatoes take 10 minutes.
• Transfer to a blender, then add the salt and blend them together.
• In a pot, heat up the lard for 2 minutes, then add the salsa. Bring it to boil for 3 minutes, then stir and check the seasoning. Remove from the heat and let it cool down to enjoy with your favorite birria preparation.

BIRRIA TACOS WITH CHILE BROTH

Steps:

• Place the meat in a large bowl and cover with cold water. Add the vinegar and 2 teaspoons salt, and let sit for 20 to 30 minutes. Drain, then rinse well with cold water.
• Place the rinsed meat in a Dutch oven or other ovenproof pot, cover with water (at least 3 quarts), add 4 teaspoons salt and stir. Bring to a rolling boil over high heat, then reduce the heat to low and skim foam from the surface. Cover and cook for 2 hours.
• Meanwhile, heat a medium saucepan over medium-low. Once hot, toast the avocado leaves, flipping them as they cook, until fragrant, about 1 minute. Remove from the saucepan.
• Place the chiles in the saucepan, cover with water and bring to a simmer over medium-high heat. Simmer until the chiles are completely rehydrated and plumped, about 10 minutes. Transfer the chiles to a blender, add 1 cup of the cooking liquid and purée until completely smooth.
• Uncover the meat, stir in the guajillo chile purée and drop in the toasted avocado leaves. Cover again and continue to simmer until the meat is so tender it falls apart when a fork is inserted, 1 1/2 to 2 more hours. Discard the avocado leaves and season the broth to taste with salt. (At this point, the birria can be cooled to room temperature, then covered and chilled for up to 3 days. If you'd like, you can remove and discard the solidified fat from the broth before reheating on the stovetop.)
• Transfer the meat from the broth to a platter, discard the bones, shred the meat and moisten with some broth. Season the meat to taste with salt and divide the remaining broth among serving bowls or cups. If you'd like, you can skim the fat from the surface of the broth.
• To serve, set out the tortillas, onion, cilantro and lime wedges to assemble tacos with the meat and to season the broth. Eat the tacos and drink the broth as a chaser.