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Tag: recipes

  • What are Birria Tacos?

    What are Birria Tacos?

    Birria is a spicy stew originally made with goat meat. However today, it can be made with beef, veal, pork or chicken. Birria comes from the Mexican state of Jalisco. The city of Cocula, Jalisco is considered the birthplace of the dish.

    Restaurants or street carts that serve birria are known as birrierias and exist throughout Mexico, but especially in Jalisco and its capital, Guadalajara.

    Defintion: “birriero” (birria maker)

    Birria is often served at celebrations such as weddings quinceaneras, baptisms and other holidays like Christmas and Easter. It also has a reputation as a hangover remedy so it normally eaten in the mornings and early afternoon.

    Preparation techniques vary, but the dish is often served with corn tortillas, onion, and lime. Traditionally, the meat is marinated in adobo spices. Neighboring Mexican states have their own variations of the dish: ex. (the birria estilo Zacatecas of Zacatecas and the birria de Colima of Colima)

     Birria Recipes From Around The Web

    The Spruce — Mexican Tacos de Birria Recipe

    The Latin Kitchen — Traditional Birria

    Half baked Harvest — Birria Puffy Tacos

  • Book Review: Tacopedia

    Book Review: Tacopedia

    Tacopedia by Deborah Holtz and Juan Carlos Mena explores the many elements that make up everyone’s favorite food, TACOS! This book unravels the taco’s many incarnations and origins. Tacopedia is the best possible name for this book: sprinkled with facts, anecdotes and illustrations, Tacopedia is a super interesting read. There is no overarching narrative, which makes it great for reading small chunks over time. Much like Encyclopedia Britannica, there is no way to digest all the information that makes up this book. It is an awesome work that dives deep into taco culture and is simply fabulous for taco-philes like myself.

    Photo By: Kitzia Sámano

    The book is broken down into 3 parts: 1) Whetting Your Appetite, 2) It’s Taco Time, and 3) Meet the family. Part 1 focuses on the origins of the taco. Filled with awesome images and descriptions, this section gives readers a great introduction to the taco. This section describes multiple strands of corn among other ingredients that are used to create to tortillas. There are also illustrations of animals and the cuts of meats that are used for different types of tacos.

    Photo by: Kitzia Sámano

    Part 2 – It’s Taco Time – is the real meat of the book. (get it :p) This section breaks down all the aspects that make up the many types of tacos. Holtz and Mena describe the preparation of each taco. For example, there is a description of al pastor tacos. They go into detail about origins including where the upright grill as well as the inclusion of pineapple. The book also lists their favorite spots in Mexico to taste al pastor tacos.

    Part 3 – Meet the Family – focuses on dishes that are variations on tacos. These dishes include enchiladas, quesadillas, and tlayudas. They describe some regional origins as well as regional specialties.

    Photo by: Kitzia Sámano

    It’s amazing how much one dish can encapsulate a culture. While it seems like an ambitious project to take on, it all works in Tacopedia. There is history, there are recipes, and there are restaurant recommendations in the book. I think this is a great resource for people looking to learn more about tacos and Mexican cuisine.

    Photo by: Kitzia Sámano