I love dishes that cook long, low and slow — barbecue, braises and stews.
And I love dishes that require me to work for only a few minutes at a time, then cook largely unattended.
Birria, the classic dish from Jalisco in Mexico, fits both those bills.
Traditionally made with goat, lamb or mutton, birria can also start with beef or pork. In my house, it’s usually beef, and a big pot roast cut of chuck or round can be birria’s beginnings.
How I go about cooking it depends on a variety of things.
Sometimes I want the oven on, because I plan to roast or bake something alongside the birria or because I want the stovetop clear so I can make homemade tortillas to go with it.
Other times, simmering the birria atop the stove is a good solution.
If I expect to be out and about while the birria cooks, a slow cooker is the best choice.
There are occasions where the day didn’t go as planned, and putting the birria in the Instant Pot gets the meal on the table when it would otherwise have needed to wait to cook the next day.
The one step that can’t be hurried or skipped is the marinating time. Make the chile paste and the rub, get the meat marinating, and figure out your cooking method according to your needs. If you’re using a big cut of meat, like a chuck roast, cut it into smaller pieces so the marinade can penetrate the meat more fully. You’re going to chop or shred it when it’s cooked anyway.
Usually I eat a bowl of birria, garnished with chopped cilantro and onion and perhaps dressed with a squeeze of lime juice, for supper the night that it’s cooked. Of course I want warm tortillas to go with it.
Over the following days, I may eat it by the bowl or fish some of the meat out of the broth to fill tacos or burritos. However I eat it, though, it never fails to please me. I hope it will please you as well.
BEEF BIRRIA
Makes 6 to 8 servings
Marinate the meat Friday, then cook the birria for Saturday’s supper or eat it for breakfast on Sunday morning. Like many stewed dishes, this tastes better the day after cooking.
I’ve provided stovetop, oven, slow-cooker and electric pressure-cooker instructions to suit your schedule. While this looks like a lot of work, each step takes only a few moments’ labor.
FOR THE CHILE PASTE
4 dried guajillo chiles
3 dried ancho chiles
3 dried pasilla negro or chipotle chiles
2 tablespoons vinegar
FOR THE MEAT
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
¼ teaspoon cloves
1 teaspoon dried Mexican oregano
¼ teaspoon cumin
¼ teaspoon cinnamon
3 to 4 pounds beef chuck, round, short ribs or a combination
FOR THE COOKING
1 cup water
1 onion, peeled and coarsely chopped
2 bay leaves
6 cloves garlic, minced
FOR THE GARNISH
1 cup fresh cilantro, chopped
1 cup chopped onion
PREPARATION
Make the chile paste: Toast the chiles on a hot griddle or skillet over medium heat until browned, but not burned, turning to toast all sides, about 3 minutes. They will be fragrant.
Remove the stems, seeds and veins from the chiles and place the chiles in a bowl; cover them with very hot water for 15 to 20 minutes.
When chiles have rehydrated, drain them. Process chiles and vinegar in a blender to make a paste.
Make the rub, and marinate the meat: In a small bowl, mix together all of the rub ingredients. If the meat is all in one piece, cut it into smaller pieces. Rub the meat well with the rub mixture. Coat the meat with half of the chile paste.
Cover loosely with plastic wrap and let it marinate overnight in the refrigerator.
Cook the meat: Pour 1 cup of water into a Dutch oven or deep casserole dish, or the inner pot of an electric pressure cooker. Add the coarsely chopped onion, bay leaves, garlic, and the remaining chile paste. Place meat on a rack that sits just above the water mixture.
For stovetop: Bring to a boil, cover, reduce heat and simmer for four to six hours; shred meat and return to stove to simmer for an additional one to two hours.
For oven: Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Cover Dutch oven and bake for four hours.
For slow cooker: Cook on low heat for eight to 10 hours or on high for five to six hours; shred meat and return to pot. Go ahead and serve or allow to cook an additional one to two hours.
For Instant Pot: Close the lid and cook on high pressure for 45 minutes. Allow pressure to release naturally.
Remove the meat, shred it and return to pot.
Serve with broth (as a soupy stew), garnished with chopped cilantro and onion, or as a taco filling with tortillas. If you are planning to use the birria to fill tacos, you may want a thicker sauce. After removing the meat from the Dutch oven, remove the bay leaves from the liquid and discard. Reduce broth by boiling to thicken. Break the meat into chunks and coat them with the reduced liquid. Fill warm corn tortillas with the birria and top with chopped onions and cilantro.
