15 hours Ago By Chris Chamberlain
Jesse Valenciana has always been a bit of a renaissance guy. He has experience working in the beer industry, he was one of the founders of the meat-centric lifestyle brand ManBQue , and locally he’s best known as one of the proprietors of Secret Bodega, a catering and pop-up company that lives at the intersection of comfort food and street food. He’s also an author, penning a barbecue bible under the ManBQue brand and recently releasing a new tome about one of the favorite foods of his Mexican heritage, birria.
In his book Birrias: 65 Recipes From Traditional to Modern , Valenciana untangles several of the confusing terms and factors that surround the slow-cooked spicy beef consomme. First off, the term “birria” can refer specifically to the beef stew traditionally served with tortillas for dipping, or the recent craze of birria tacos, which encourage dunking braised meat tacos into a broth. Or it can represent a sauce that can be incorporated into other dishes like enchiladas.
Speaking of sauce, another confusing term associated with birria is “adobo.” Adobo can be a traditional Filipino dish that is cooked with vinegar, soy sauce and roasted meats. Or it can refer to the method of marinating and cooking meats and vegetables.
In Mexico, adobo can be a sauce made from chiles, onion, garlic and oregano that is integral in the preparation of birria. It’s also the sauce in the can of chipotle peppers that adds more flavor to some dishes than the peppers themselves. Finally, you can buy a yellow spice powder labeled "adobo seasoning" that is a combination of garlic, salt, pepper, oregano and MSG, and that happens to be my secret weapon whenever I’m cooking a steak or some burgers.
Clear as mud, right? Luckily, Valenciana clears up the confusion as he walks readers through the world of birria, starting with what he calls his “Mother Recipe No. 1” and continuing through several more rustic versions that include recipes for fish, pork and goat as proteins. In his breezy headnotes, Valenciana shares his history and connection with cooking while offering hints and techniques to up your game in the kitchen.
One of the most interesting revelations is that you can actually create a birria starter from leftover consomme, which will impart richer flavors to future batches when you add a new helping of adobo to extend them. If you’re a fan of sauces, Valenciana dedicates an entire chapter to adobos, salsas, guacamole variations and cremas. There’s another chapter dedicated to side dishes, including a "Nashville Queso" that has quickly become a staple in my household.
Another section offers tips on how to make your own tortillas and other masa variants like sopes and tostadas. But my favorite parts of the book are where Valenciana allows his creative mind to run wild with some weird international creations. Think of mashups like Birritalian Beef, a sandwich that could serve as the centerpiece of an Univision show tiled El Oso .
Spicy Beef Birria Ramen could be an extremely complex recipe, except that Valenciana offers the grace of using a pack of dried noodles, calling it “the best 33-cent investment you’ve ever made.” Valenciana’s Chicago roots shine through again with a recipe for Birria Pierogies, a dish that just makes too much sense not to exist yet. For a real challenge, tackle the Birria Croissant recipe that Valenciana borrowed from local baker Hannah Yoon .
It’s a multi-day process, but the resulting split-top pastry stuffed with birria filling and melted chihuahua cheese sounds incredible. (I’m not patient enough to try that one yet.) Birrias: 65 Recipes From Traditional to Modern is available online and at local booksellers like Parnassus.
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