Frank's Recipes! Birria (Seasoned and Baked Meat)

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Birria (Seasoned and Baked Meat)

It is a really rustic dish. Usually a whole goat or lamb, although in some places just the offal, is seasoned with a paste of ground spices and chiles and cooked in a pit barbecue. As you wander around Guadalajara at night, you can see that tacos of birria head the list of antojitos on the street-side stands and always appear prominently on the Sunday menus of the smaller regional restaurants. Here is a version of birria, with the variety of chiles used in Zacatecas, rather than the plain chilacate or ancho used in Jalisco.

One day ahead:
2 lamb shanks
A veal breast
A lamb breast
3 pounds loin of pork

2 tablespoon salt
6 chiles anchos
3 chiles guajillos
10 chiles cascabel
18 peppercorns
4 whole cloves
1/4 tsp oregano
Scant 1/4 tsp cumin seeds
1/4 cup vinegar
2 tsp salt
6 cloves garlic, peeled
1/2 small onion

There will be approximately 6 to 7 pounds of meat. Slash the meats in several places down to the bone and rub the salt well into it. Meanwhile, prepare the chili paste. Heat the comal and toast the chiles lightly, turning them from time to time so that they will not burn. Remove the veins and seeds. Put the chiles to soak in hot water for about 20 minutes, then transfer with a slotted spoon to the blender jar, add the rest of the ingredients, and blend to a smooth sauce. Cover the meat thickly with the paste and set it aside to season for about 18 hours.

On serving day:
1 1/2 cups water
The meat
Flour and water paste
2 pounds tomatoes, broiled
1 cup onion, finely chopped
1/2 tsp oregano

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Put the water into the bottom of a large Dutch oven or casserole with a tightly fitting lid and place the meat on a rack so that it is just above the water. Seal the lid with a paste of flour and water and cook for about 3 1/2 to 4 hours, by which time the meat should be almost falling off the bones. Strain off the juices from the bottom of the pan, cool, and skim off the fat. There should be about 2 cups of juices left- if not, make it up to 2 cups with water. Blend the tomatoes to a smooth sauce. Put the sauce and the skimmed juices from the meat into a saucepan and bring to a boil. Serve each portion of mixed meats in a deep bowl. Pour 1/2 cup sauce over the meat and sprinkle with the chopped onion and oregano. Eat with tortillas.