Issue #220: Birria

A Favorite Mexican Braise That’s Good for Breakfast, Lunch, or Dinner

Tacos trend like social-media memes. The two are not unrelated.

For several years now, birria has been one of the most popular tacos in taquerias around the world and on the internet. Succulent beef braised in a richly spiced broth that’s served with fresh tortillas dipped in the braising liquid along with chopped onion and cilantro is not a hard sell. It is super delicious and it photographs well. Even more to the point, once you have the right chiles on hand, birria couldn’t be easier to make.

The Birria-Landia truck in Williamsburg, Brooklyn.

With a history that likely began in 17th century Spain, took root in Jalisco, Mexico, where goat was the focus, moved to Tijuana, where beef became the star, landed in Los Angeles, where it ended up on a taco truck, and then became a social media sensation, birria is a dish that keeps on giving.

My first birria, from Birria-Landia. Not shown: dipping sauce.

After drooling over images of birria online, I tried my first birria taco several years ago from NYC’s popular Birria-Landia, which operates trucks in Brooklyn, Queens, and Manhattan. It didn’t disappoint. I sought out recipes to try to recreate birria at home, settling on a traditional recipe that is easy make if you have the three common chiles you need—quajillo, ancho, and árbol.

A Mexico City institution, Birria Santa Barbara, established 1980.

This week I am writing to you from Mexico City, where I ate birria for breakfast at a local favorite since 1980 called Birria Santa Barbara. Like so many Mexican dishes we love for dinner, it is common here to eat birria in the morning. It’s thought to be a hangover cure.

The birria at Santa Barbara.

Last weekend I drove from New Hampshire to northern Ontario to visit my sister at her cottage on Grandview Lake. When I asked if she wanted me to cook anything special while I was there, she suggested Mexican. Because I could make the birria base at home and bring it with me, I told her that’s what I’d do. For dinner one night on the lake, I braised chicken thighs in the style of birria and served it with fresh corn tortillas. I bet we were the only people in cottage country eating so well.

Chicken thighs braising in birria cooking liquid.

As I noted above, the only challenge is finding the right chiles, which isn’t that hard. Guajillo, árbol, and ancho chiles are pretty standard. If you can’t get them at a shop near you, they are readily available online. They keep a very long time. Buy more than you need for one recipe. All but the árbol Chiles are quite mild; add more or less depending on how much spice you like.

I don’t strain my chile purée, so my birria broth is thicker than some to start, but it thins as it cooks.

The last step of the any birria recipe is to shred the meat so it swims in the broth. If you cook the meat long enough, it almost falls apart on its own. This recipe makes plenty of braising liquid, which is the point and the fun of birria. You are supposed to dip the tortilla or taco you make from the shredded meat in the liquid before you stuff it into your mouth, so be sure to serve some broth on the side. You should also provide plenty of napkins. I save and freeze excess braising liquid and reuse it for future meals, sometimes cooking chicken in it (as I did at my sisters’ cottage) for a quick-cooking variation.

Homemade birria on a homemade tortilla, ready to be dipped. Try it and you’ll understand why it’s such a popular dish.

You can be sure I’m bringing some chiles home with me from Mexico for birrias to come.

RECIPE: Birria

Serves 8 to 10, depending on what else your ar serving with it.

• 12 guajillo chiles

• 5 ancho chiles

• 4 or 5 árbol chiles

• 2 large, ripe plum or Roma tomatoes, or two canned tomatoes with about ¼ cup juice, or ¾ cup crushed tomato

• 1 small white or yellow onion

• One 4-inch stick Mexican (aka Ceylon) cinnamon

• 3 bay leaves

• ½ teaspoon whole black peppercorns

• 2 cups beef or chicken broth or water, in a pinch

• ¼ cup apple cider vinegar or white vinegar

• 5 large cloves garlic

• 1 teaspoon ground cumin

• 1 teaspoon oregano

• ½ teaspoon ground cloves

• 4 or 5 pounds boneless beef chuck, or lamb or goat leg meat, cut into large cubes (about 3 to 4 inches)

• 1 ½ teaspoons kosher salt

• 1 ½ teaspoons freshly ground black pepper

• 2 tablespoons olive oil or other vegetable oil

Rinse the dried chiles. With kitchen shears or scissors, snip off the stems of the guajillo, ancho and árbol chiles. Cut slits lengthwise to remove the seeds and any ribs. Place the cleaned peppers in a small saucepan along with the tomato, onion, cinnamon, bay leaves, and black peppercorns. Cover with cold water and set over high heat to bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer or 10 minutes. Turn off the heat and let cool.

Using a slotting spoon, transfer the now soft chiles, onion, and spices to a strong blender. Add 1 cup of the cooking liquid, along with the beef or chicken broth, vinegar, garlic, cumin, oregano, and ground cloves. Pulse to start the process of puréeing this mixture, and then let the blender run on high until smooth. Add more liquid if necessary to get the blender going.

Meanwhile, prepare the meat. Season the large cubes with the salt and ground black pepper. Heat the olive or other oil in a large Dutch oven over high heat. Sear the meat in the hot pan so that it is browned on all sides. Work in batches if necessary to get good color.

When all the meat is browned, return it to the pan along with the puréed spice mixture. Use some additional broth or water to get everything out of the blender. Stir to combine. Bring the mixture up to a boil, reduce the heat to a simmer, cover, and cook 3 to 3 ½ hours for beef (2 ½ hours for lamb) until the meat is fall-apart tender. Taste and adjust the seasoning with more salt and pepper, if necessary.

To serve, transfer the meat to a bowl and use 2 forks to pull it apart into shreds. Douse with the cooking liquid. Serve with warm corn tortillas, diced onion, cilantro, and cheese, if desired, along with plenty of braising liquid on the side for dipping.

To store, I divide up any leftover meat and sauce in small containers to freeze.