Birria (Mexican Goat Stew) easy one pot recipe

This recipe is adapted from Hugh Acheson’s book: ‘The Chef and the Slow Cooker’

 This is traditionally made with goat meat, which can be hard to find in the US. I have made this with both goat and lamb and this time I used lamb. This is an easy 1 pot dish with amazing flavor and can easily feed 4 adults.

Ingredients:

2 lb. boneless goat or lamb, cut into 1-2” pieces

Kosher Salt

Freshly ground Pepper

1 tbsp vegetable oil

1 medium onion, diced

3 garlic cloves, diced

1 dried Guajillo Chile

1 medium Red bell pepper, diced

3 oz (1/2 can) Chipotle Peppers in Adobo sauce

1 medium tomato, diced

2 Bay leaves

2 sprigs of fresh Oregano

½ tbsp roasted ground cumin

1/4^th cup Red Wine Vinegar

½ cup Chicken broth

1 bunch Cilantro

1 Lime, quartered

Corn tortillas, warmed

Preparation:

Wash meat pieces and pat dry with paper towels.

Season liberally with salt and pepper and toss to coat.

Dice onions, garlic, bell pepper and tomato.

Heat oil in a skillet on medium heat.

Add the meat and fry on medium heat till browned on all sides (3-5 minutes per side, 8-10 minutes total).

Transfer meat to slow cooker pot.

Add the onions and garlic into the same skillet and cook for 3-4 minutes till onions are translucent and fragrant, add to pot.

Now add the rest of the ingredients to the pot: Guajillo Chile (with stem removed), Bell Pepper, Chipotle Peppers, Tomato, Bay Leaves, Oregano, Ground Cumin, Vinegar and Chicken Broth.

Give everything in the pot a good stir, cover and cook on low heat.

It will take about 10 hours to cook. You can let it cook for up to 15 hours.

In the traditional recipe, once the meat is cooked, remove the meat pieces, discard the bay leaves and oregano, and blend the remaining ingredients using a hand blender, or let it cool and use a regular blender.

I like the texture of the cooked peppers and tomatoes, and so I don’t use a blender. I discard the bay leaves and oregano.

Serve in a bowl, with the meat at the bottom, covered with the stewed vegetables and rich broth. Top with minced onions, cilantro and oregano leaves, with a quarter of lime and warm tortillas, on the side.