Birria

 

If you haven’t seen it all over the internet yet, let us fill you in on a little not so secret, secret: Birria is all the rage right now! Birria originates from Jalisco, Mexico. Traditionally, it is a soup or stew made with a dried chili base that can also be used in tacos, quesadillas, and more. Keep reading to see how this delicious beef broth combination is made.

 
 
 
 
 
 

Cube the beef

Birria can be made with really any type of beef. For this recipe, we used our chuck eye roast. You’ll want to cube the cut up into smaller pieces. We also had leftover smoked brisket, so added that as well. Use whatever you have in your freezer! The main focus of this recipe is the broth.

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Roast the chilis and make base of broth

To make the broth, you must first roast the chilis. This is what gives the birria all it’s flavor. After deseeding and completing steps 3-7, you will add all the ingredients to a blender and blitz on high until smooth. Strain and reserve. This will be used later.

 
 
 

Simmer Beef

The next steps are to cook your beef. A very important step is to make sure you start with cold water. This will help the beef release any impurities that will then be skimmed off. Afterward, add bouillon, MSG, and salt and simmer for 2 hours, or until meat is tender. Once the beef has cooked, add the reserved blended chili paste to the beef and simmer for one hour.

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Consumé

After removing the beef from the broth, check the intensity of the broth to see if you need to add water (for this recipe, we added 4 additional cups). Bring back to a boil, strain, and store in an air airtight container.

 
Birria

Birria

Ingredients

  • 3 arbol chilis
  • 4 ancho chilis
  • 2 pasilla chilis
  • 2 guajillo chilis
  • 1 stick Mexican cinnamon
  • 2 yellow onions
  • 1 head roasted garlic
  • 1 tbsp toasted cumin seed
  • 1 tbsp marjoram
  • 1 tbsp Mexican oregano
  • 2 fresh bay leaves
  • 1 avocado leaf
  • 2 tbsp MSG
  • 2 tbsp tomato bouillon
  • 2 tbsp kosher salt
  • 1 tbsp cider vinegar
  • 10 cups water

Instructions

  1. Trim beef and remove any excess fat and cut into medium size pieces (reserve a small amount of the fat)
  2. In a cast iron pan, dry toast all your chilis then de seed and stem
  3. Place garlic in a sauté pan and cook cloves with paper still on until brown and slightly soft
  4. Peel garlic and add to dutch oven
  5. Add onions to dutch oven and some of the trimmed beef fat, then cook until fragrant and sweet
  6. Add all dry spices except MSG, salt and bouillon
  7. Add toasted chilis and cook for 2-3 minutes then add 2 cups of the water
  8. Once simmered for 10 minutes, add to blender and mix on high until smooth
  9. Strain through a fine mesh strainer and reserve
  10. In the dutch oven, add your trimmed and cubed brisket, cover with remaining water (cold), bring to a simmer
  11. As meat comes to a simmer, skim off any impurities
  12. After skimming, add bouillon, MSG and salt and simmer for 2 hours
  13. At the 2 hour mark, add in the the puréed mixture and cook until the meat is shreddable and tender. Pull meat and shred
  14. Add a small amount of the liquid to the shredded beef and reserve
  15. For the consomé taste and check the intensity of the broth, if you need to add water, (added 4 more cups), bring back to a boil and then adjust salt level.
  16. Strain and store in an airtight container
     
     
    Rachael Holman1 Comment