Birria De Chivo Recipe - Goat Stew

I've really been craving some Birria de Chivo lately, especially after having a delicious bowl of it a few weeks ago at one of my favorite spots in Los Angeles. While reading the latest version of San Diego’s El Latino paper, I noticed an add from Talones Meat Market in Escondido. The Talones add was calling my name with the word "CHIVOS".



The wife and I made a quick trip to Talones and we were pleased to find the goat was not frozen like most places. We ordered 4lbs and had it cut in cubes, we also ordered 1 goat head (cabeza). The wife likes using head in the stew to add a different element to the broth. We made a quick trip to Northgate Market for the essentials then it was back to the kitchen. We slapped 1/4 cup of vinegar on the goat meat and let it soak overnight. The next morning we were ready to go.

This recipe is for the guisado stew form which happens to be my favorite. Another popular method of cooking birria is called tatemada; tatemada employs the two-step form of stovetop steaming followed by oven roasting. You can also use a variety of different meats, goat is my favorite choice.

Ingredients

4 lbs Goat Meat
1 Goat Head (Cabeza) *Optional
5 Guajillo Chiles
5 Ancho Chiles
3 Cascabel Chiles
10 California Chiles (We typically use 12 Cascabel and no California Chiles but we had to tame it down for the family)
1 teaspoon oregano
1 teaspoon pepper
1/4 teaspoon cloves
1/4 teaspoon cumin
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground thyme
5 whole Allspice
10 garlic cloves
3 bay leaves
1 onion
Salt to taste
1/4 cup Vinegar
1 cup of water

Sides
Oregano
1 cup chopped onion
1 cup chopped cilantro
Radishes
Limes
Corn Tortillas





Remove the seeds and veins from the chiles and toast.



Put the chiles to soak in 1 cup of hot water for approximately 20 minutes, and then add the rest of the ingredients with exception of onion and bay leaves.



Seal in juices by searing the goat meat. We also seared the cabeza in a separate pan not shown.



Blend ingredients to a smooth sauce.



Place seared goat meat in a pot, and put just enough water in the pot to cover the meat.



Add onion and bay leaves.



Immediately strain chile paste into the pot.



Place the lid on the pot and let simmer on low heat until the meat is "fall off the bone" tender. Add salt as needed. Our meat took approximately four hours before it was cooked to perfection. As part of the final process the fat and bones were removed. During the time I was anxiously awaiting for the birria, the smell permeating through the air was intoxicating. I have to admit I lifted the lid and sampled a few tender morsels more than once.



I had to keep myself busy and out of temptation so I decided to prepare the essential sides of chopped onions, cilantro, oregano, lime, and radishes. The wife was working on something more special an incredible chile de arbol based salsa with garlic and tomatillo. The salsa will be featured on a future write-up. The sides were ready to for the main course, and the tortillas were dipped in the delicious broth.







This particular Birria De Chivo turned out to be one of the most memorable Birrias I have had, I would not change a thing. The broth turned out to be complex with the perfect amount of spice. Birria De Res is a dish we make frequently in the house but now that we have a source for fresh goat, its all about the Birria De Chivo.

Enjoy the receta de birria de chivo.

Stay tuned.....
May will be Masa Month we will be featuring Masa Based Antojitos and also some major taco hunting I've done the past year in the streets of Tijuana.