Last night, (actually, on the 11th) I am proud to say, I made birria de res for the family. Paty is out of town for the week so I am learning, quickly, how to cook some wonderful Mexican dishes. Birria has so much flavor, mostly due the different dried chiles used. I also used two different cuts of beef, 1 kilo of chuck roast with the bone, and 1 kilo of beef ribs, cut into 3” pieces. I also included 2 leg bones for the marrow because it adds additional flavor. I browned the meat first then put everything in the Instant Pot.
I made the sauce by first browning the 8 guajillo chiles, while, at the same time, boiling 2 chipotle, and 6 morita chiles. Blended said chiles with 18 large garlic cloves, 1 1/2 tsp. oregano, a pinch of thyme, salt and pepper, then put it through a sieve strainer, on top of the meat, in the Instant Pot. Also into the pot went 4 bay leaves, 1 1/2 cups of apple cider vinegar, and 1 1/2 cups of water. Put the lid on, programmed the pressure setting for 1 hour, and that was that.
One hour later we had quite a feast.
I have not had much experience cooking sauces using the dried chiles but have wanted to try my hand at it for some time. Each combination of chiles creates a different flavor, obviously, but browning them, or boiling them, also changes the flavor.
Tonight we’re having salmon with wine infused butter and herbs, steamed veggies, and smashed potatoes. I made the potatoes last night so I had one less thing to do today. I also had to mash them by hand with one of those hand held mashers with the holes in it. It is no wonder women of my mother’s generation were so strong. Until modern appliances that is. There are still small pieces of potato’s throughout but everyone was fine with that. So, I am going to be fine with it as well.
If you are looking for a really special dinner that does not require hours of cooking, go to YouTube and search Birria de Res. There are hundreds of versions, but there are a few in English you might try. Enjoy.