Birria
Encyclopedia
Birria is a spicy Mexican meat stew
usually made with pork
, goat
, lamb
, or mutton, often served during festive periods, such as Christmas
, New Year's Eve
, Mother's Day
, and wedding
s. Originally from Jalisco
, it is a common dish in some Mexican food establishments. It is served with corn tortilla
s, onion
, cilantro, and lime
.There are other variations using beef but at that point the dish can not be called Original Birria.
Birria is made using a base of dried roasted peppers. This gives birria both its characteristic savoriness as well as its remarkable variety, as different cooks will choose different peppers to use for the broth base. Birria is served by combining a bowl of broth with freshly chopped roasted meat of the customer's choice. One eats it by filling a corn tortilla with meat, onions and cilantro, seasoning with fresh squeezed lime juice, and then dipping it into the broth before eating it. The broth itself is also eaten with a spoon or by drinking from the bowl.
A common icon in birria restaurants (birrierías) is a pair of goat horns. The icon is used as a symbol of the purported aphrodisiac powers of birria, presumably tied to the general randiness of the goats from which it is made.
Guadalajara
is famous for its birrierías. Two locations within the city are particularly renowned for it: the food court in the Mercado Libertad (where the birrierías are located in the southwest corner), and the Barrio de las Nueve Esquinas, just south of the Templo San Francisco in the Centro (downtown).
Though commercially birria is made from goat or sheep, other meats can be used. For example, in coastal areas of Colima
and Jalisco
, where the green iguana
is common, iguana meat
is a traditional ingredient of birria.
Stew
A stew is a combination of solid food ingredients that have been cooked in liquid and served in the resultant gravy. Ingredients in a stew can include any combination of vegetables , meat, especially tougher meats suitable for slow-cooking, such as beef. Poultry, sausages, and seafood are also used...
usually made with pork
Pork
Pork is the culinary name for meat from the domestic pig , which is eaten in many countries. It is one of the most commonly consumed meats worldwide, with evidence of pig husbandry dating back to 5000 BC....
, goat
Goat meat
Goat meat is the meat of the domestic goat . It is often called chevon or mutton when the meat comes from adults, and cabrito or kid when from young animals...
, lamb
Domestic sheep
Sheep are quadrupedal, ruminant mammals typically kept as livestock. Like all ruminants, sheep are members of the order Artiodactyla, the even-toed ungulates. Although the name "sheep" applies to many species in the genus Ovis, in everyday usage it almost always refers to Ovis aries...
, or mutton, often served during festive periods, such as Christmas
Christmas
Christmas or Christmas Day is an annual holiday generally celebrated on December 25 by billions of people around the world. It is a Christian feast that commemorates the birth of Jesus Christ, liturgically closing the Advent season and initiating the season of Christmastide, which lasts twelve days...
, New Year's Eve
New Year's Eve
New Year's Eve is observed annually on December 31, the final day of any given year in the Gregorian calendar. In modern societies, New Year's Eve is often celebrated at social gatherings, during which participants dance, eat, consume alcoholic beverages, and watch or light fireworks to mark the...
, Mother's Day
Mother's Day
Mother's Day is a celebration honoring mothers and celebrating motherhood, maternal bonds, and the influence of mothers in society. It is celebrated on various days in many parts of the world, yet most commonly in March, April, or May...
, and wedding
Wedding
A wedding is the ceremony in which two people are united in marriage or a similar institution. Wedding traditions and customs vary greatly between cultures, ethnic groups, religions, countries, and social classes...
s. Originally from Jalisco
Jalisco
Jalisco officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Jalisco is one of the 31 states which, with the Federal District, comprise the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It is located in Western Mexico and divided in 125 municipalities and its capital city is Guadalajara.It is one of the more important states...
, it is a common dish in some Mexican food establishments. It is served with corn tortilla
Tortilla
In Mexico and Central America, a tortilla is a type of thin, unleavened flat bread, made from finely ground maize...
s, onion
Onion
The onion , also known as the bulb onion, common onion and garden onion, is the most widely cultivated species of the genus Allium. The genus Allium also contains a number of other species variously referred to as onions and cultivated for food, such as the Japanese bunching onion The onion...
, cilantro, and lime
Lime (fruit)
Lime is a term referring to a number of different citrus fruits, both species and hybrids, which are typically round, green to yellow in color, 3–6 cm in diameter, and containing sour and acidic pulp. Limes are a good source of vitamin C. Limes are often used to accent the flavors of foods and...
.There are other variations using beef but at that point the dish can not be called Original Birria.
Birria is made using a base of dried roasted peppers. This gives birria both its characteristic savoriness as well as its remarkable variety, as different cooks will choose different peppers to use for the broth base. Birria is served by combining a bowl of broth with freshly chopped roasted meat of the customer's choice. One eats it by filling a corn tortilla with meat, onions and cilantro, seasoning with fresh squeezed lime juice, and then dipping it into the broth before eating it. The broth itself is also eaten with a spoon or by drinking from the bowl.
A common icon in birria restaurants (birrierías) is a pair of goat horns. The icon is used as a symbol of the purported aphrodisiac powers of birria, presumably tied to the general randiness of the goats from which it is made.
Guadalajara
Guadalajara, Jalisco
Guadalajara is the capital of the Mexican state of Jalisco, and the seat of the municipality of Guadalajara. The city is located in the central region of Jalisco in the western-pacific area of Mexico. With a population of 1,564,514 it is Mexico's second most populous municipality...
is famous for its birrierías. Two locations within the city are particularly renowned for it: the food court in the Mercado Libertad (where the birrierías are located in the southwest corner), and the Barrio de las Nueve Esquinas, just south of the Templo San Francisco in the Centro (downtown).
Though commercially birria is made from goat or sheep, other meats can be used. For example, in coastal areas of Colima
Colima
Colima is one of the 31 states which, with the Federal District, make up the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It shares its name with its capital and main city, Colima....
and Jalisco
Jalisco
Jalisco officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Jalisco is one of the 31 states which, with the Federal District, comprise the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It is located in Western Mexico and divided in 125 municipalities and its capital city is Guadalajara.It is one of the more important states...
, where the green iguana
Green Iguana
The Green Iguana or Common Iguana is a large, arboreal herbivorous species of lizard of the genus Iguana native to Central and South America...
is common, iguana meat
Iguana meat
Iguana meat has until recently been important in the culinary traditions of Mexico; particularly in the states of Jalisco, Michoacán and Colima. But they are still very important...
is a traditional ingredient of birria.
See also
- BarbacoaBarbacoaBarbacoa is a form of cooking meat that originated in the Caribbean with the Taíno people, from which the term "barbecue" derives. In contemporary Mexico it generally refers to meats or a whole sheep slow-cooked over an open fire, or more traditionally, in a hole dug in the ground covered with...
- CarnitasCarnitasCarnitas, literally "little meats", is a type of braised or roasted pork in Mexican cuisine.Pork carnitas is traditionally made using the heavily marbled, rich 'boston butt' or 'picnic ham' cuts of pork...
- Carne asadaCarne asadaIn Mexican cuisine, "Carne asada" is an item that consists of thin beef steak. The meat can be marinated by rubbing with olive oil and salt or with spice rubs such as lemon and pepper or garlic salt, lime, or Worcestershire sauce, before being cooked on a grill. The meat can be served alone or...
- Cochinita pibilCochinita pibilCochinita pibil is a traditional Mexican slow-roasted pork dish from the Yucatán Península. Preparation of traditional cochinita or puerco pibil involves marinating the meat in strongly acidic citrus juice, coloring it with annatto seed, and roasting the meat while it is wrapped in banana...
- PozolePozolePozole is a ritually significant, traditional pre-Columbian soup or stew from Mexico. Pozole was mentioned in Fray Bernardino de Sahagún's "General History of the Things of New Spain" circa 1500 CE. It is made from nixtamalized cacahuazintle corn, with meat, usually pork, chicken, turkey, pork...