Hispanic Heritage · México

Jalisco

Guadalajara · Zapopan · Tlaquepaque · Tonalá · Cocula · Tequila

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Birria de chivo estilo Jalisco

Birria, a serving variation. Presentation may differ from this recipe. Janeefun · CC BY-SA 4.0. Resized source thumbnail; display may crop to fit.

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Jalisco’s birria is an invitation to explore slow cooking. Dried chiles, vinegar, and warm spices season goat before it cooks until tender, producing both richly flavored meat and a broth worth serving alongside.

La Gente

Recipes vary between cooks and towns. Here, the useful lesson is how a marinade and a covered pot work together: acid and spice establish the flavor, while time develops tenderness. Finish at the table with onion, cilantro, lime, and tortillas.

Sabor

Jalisco's birria is chile and spice in balance: guajillo and ancho for color and fruit, a little árbol for heat, and the warm spices of the cupboard, clove, cinnamon, cumin, ginger, laid underneath. Vinegar sharpens it. Long cooking rounds it. The taste is deep and red and a little sweet.

Spice DNA · Smoke medium · Heat medium · Sweet low · Herb medium · Acid medium

Seasonings to explore

Minced Garlic in Olive Oil. Into the adobo. Start here.
Guajillo Pepper, whole dried. The color and the body.
Ancho Pepper, whole dried. The fruit and the depth.
Arbol Pepper, whole dried. The heat. Start with two or three and adjust to taste.
Cumin, ground. Essential.
Cloves, whole. Three.
Cinnamon Sticks. A short piece, toasted.
Ginger, ground. The Cocula touch that other regions leave out.
Black Pepper, whole. Ground with the spices.
Bay leaves, whole. In the pot.
Oregano, whole. In the marinade and on the table. Mexican oregano is the tradition; ours is Mediterranean, use a lighter hand.
Thyme leaves. A pinch.
Hulled Sesame Seed. A tablespoon, toasted, ground into the paste for body.

From your market: four pounds of bone-in goat (or lamb shoulder, or beef chuck and short rib if goat is not to be found), white vinegar, ripe tomatoes, garlic, white onions, cilantro, limes, and corn tortillas. Badia does not sell the goat. A Latin or halal butcher does.

Cocina

Birria de chivo estilo Jalisco

Goat in red chile and spice, cooked until it falls apart, with its own consomé on the side. Overnight marinade. Long, sealed cooking. Do not rush either.

Serves 8

The adobo

6 Badia Guajillo Peppers, stemmed and seeded
3 Badia Ancho Peppers, stemmed and seeded
2 to 4 Badia Arbol Peppers, stemmed
2 tbsp Badia Minced Garlic in Olive Oil, or 6 garlic cloves
2 ripe tomatoes, roasted
⅓ cup white vinegar
1 tbsp Badia Hulled Sesame Seed, toasted
1½ tsp Badia Cumin, ground
3 Badia Cloves, whole
1 Badia Cinnamon Stick, 1 inch
½ tsp Badia Ginger, ground
6 Badia Black Peppercorns, whole
1 tsp Badia Oregano, whole
¼ tsp Badia Thyme leaves
2 tsp salt

The meat

4 lb bone-in goat, cut for stew
1 white onion, halved
3 Badia Bay Leaves, whole
4 cups water

To serve

White onion, finely chopped
Cilantro, chopped
Limes
Corn tortillas
Dried oregano

Toast and soak the chiles. Press them flat on a hot dry skillet 20 to 30 seconds a side until fragrant and pliable. Do not blacken. Cover with hot water and soak 20 minutes. Drain.
Toast the spices. In the same dry skillet, a few seconds: cloves, cinnamon, peppercorns, oregano, thyme, sesame. Grind them.
Blend the adobo. In a blender, the soaked chiles, garlic, roasted tomatoes, vinegar, ground spices, cumin, ginger, and salt, with a splash of the chile soaking water. Blend until completely smooth. Strain.
Marinate. Coat the goat in the adobo, working it into every piece. Cover and refrigerate overnight.
Cook it sealed. Put the meat and all its adobo in a heavy pot with the onion halves, bay leaves, and water. Bring to a boil, then cover tightly. Either simmer on the lowest heat on the stove or roast at 325°F, 3 to 3½ hours, until the meat pulls from the bone with no resistance. Do not open it more than once to check.
The consomé. Lift out the meat and shred it, discarding bones. Skim the fat from the top of the broth into a small bowl and keep it. Taste the broth for salt. This is the consomé.
Serve. Meat in a shallow bowl with a ladle of consomé over it, or meat on the plate and consomé in a cup beside it, which is the Jalisco way. Onion, cilantro, lime, a pinch of oregano, and warm tortillas. The reserved fat goes on the tortillas before they hit the comal if you want them to taste like a birriería.

Pueblos de Jalisco

Guadalajara · Zapopan · Tlaquepaque · Tonalá · Cocula · Tequila · Amatitán · Tepatitlán · Arandas · Lagos de Moreno · San Juan de los Lagos · Ciudad Guzmán · Sayula · Chapala · Ajijic · Puerto Vallarta · Autlán · La Barca · Ameca · Mascota