Birria of Goat, Lamb or Beef
An Original Recipe by Lorraine Elliott
Preparation time: 30 minutes plus marinating overnight time
Cooking time: 6-7 hours
This recipe needs to be started 1 day ahead
For the spice paste:
- 2.2kg/4.9lbs goat or lamb leg or beef pieces
- 5 ancho chillies, dried whole
- 4 guajillo chillies, dried whole
- 3 pasilla chillies, dried whole
- 4 cloves
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1/2 cup white or apple cider vinegar
- 6 cloves garlic, peeled
- 2 bay leaves
- 1-2 teaspoons salt
- 1 teaspoon sugar or to taste
- 4 cups/1 litre/33flozs chicken stock or beer
For sauce:
- Oil for frying
- 1 onion, peeled and diced
- 4 cloves garlic peeled
- 800g/28.2ozs. tomatoes, diced (fresh or tinned)
- 1/2 cup/125ml/4flozs. of the cooking liquid
Step 1 - First toast the three types of chillies in a dry frypan for a few minutes. While they are toasting measure the cloves, cinnamon, oregano and cumin. Once the chillies are all toasted, remove from the pan and toast the spices for a minute or until fragrant and remove from heat.
Step 2 - Remove the stems from the chillies and seeds. The seeds should easily slip out of the ancho and guajillo chillies when you remove the stems but you may need to split the pasillas and pull out the vein laden with seeds. Place the chilli skins in some very hot water from a recently boiled kettle and cover and allow to rehydrate for 30 minutes. Drain.
Step 3 - Place the rehydrated chillies, vinegar, garlic and spices in a food processor or Thermomix and make a smoothish paste (Thermomix setting: speed 5, 30 seconds). Make slashes in the goat meat with a sharp knife and cover the leg of goat all over with the paste; there should be plenty of paste. Marinate overnight.
Step 4 - The next day bring the goat to room temperature for 1-2 hours. Preheat oven to 160C/320F and add 1 cup of stock to the dish and the two bay leaves. Cover with foil and tent this so that the meat doesn't get stuck to the foil. Bake for 6 hours. I turn the goat every hour and basted it with the liquid. At hour 2, I add the remaining cup of stock and if it dries out keeping adding stock every hour or so. After 4 hours remove the foil and roast for 30-45 minutes until caramelised. Taste the sauce for seasoning adding as much as needed.
Step 5 - While it is roasting, make the tomato stew. Fry the onion in the oil on medium heat until soft. Add the garlic and then the tomatoes and 1/2 cup of the cooking liquid from the goat. Simmer for 20-25 minutes with the lid off and season with salt and sugar. Blend with a stick blender and add to the goat leg or you can serve it separately.
Step 6 - Slice up the goat leg and serve the meat with corn tortillas, lime wedges, Cotija cheese (similar to feta), avocado and coriander. Or you can serve it as a stew with the tomato base. I also like to cook the leg bone in a pressure cooker with water and get a rich stock for another soup.
Cooking times for stove top, pressure cooker/instant pot, slow cooker/crock pot. You will need to use 1.5 kilos or 3 lbs of meat cut into pieces because a whole leg won't fit in any of these cooking vessels. If you're using goat, try bone-in pieces for maximum flavour. If you are using lamb, try lamb shanks as they will make wonderful taco meat. If you are using beef, any sort of gravy beef is wonderful or oxtail or beef cheek.
Pressure Cooker: cook at 45 minutes on high.
Slow Cooker: slow cook for 6-8 hours.
Stove top Dutch oven: simmer with lid on for 3 hours.