Slice venison into 2-inch-by-2-inch-wide strips with the grain. Apply tablespoon of kosher salt, melt lard in a deep cast-iron pan.
Certain recipes are exact. Others are perfected off feel. You know, the kind of cooking that changes from house to house that ends up haunting foodie dreams. Venison birria is one such dish. Simply, it’s red meat slow braised in a dried chile based sauce with some herbs and spices tossed in.
My ingredient amounts are a guide. My chile selection is my preference, but you might need to adjust for your heat tolerance, availability, etc. Most grocery stores have a Mexican dried spice area. Buy your chile here if there’s not a huge chile mountain like at my favorite grocer.
Recently, adding cheese to birria has become a huge deal, and we all know why. Cheese is a perfect red meat companion, and when melted, will send you right into the right kind of food coma.
My chile selection is my preference, but you might need to adjust for your heat tolerance, availability, etc.
My first experience with birria came while I was living in Chicago, in the Pilsen neighborhood. One of my buddies told me about a stewed goat meat recipe served with tortillas and soup. It sounded crazy, so I was obviously all in to give it a shot.
Dishes traditionally made with goat translate well to venison, and this is no exception. You can serve the birria in the braise liquid, letting guests spoon out meat to put on tortillas or folded into them and crisped up with cheese on a griddle. Both ways work. It just depends how deep your cheese addiction runs. If you’ve ever found yourself texting a cheese dealer about what dank Manchego goes for these days (like me), then door No. 2 is for you.
If you make them into sort of folded quesadillas, make sure to dunk the whole tortilla in the braise before adding the meat and cheese. Push down with a spatula until the top of the tortilla stays in place, flipping when the bottom side is nicely browned. I normally do cheese down first and once it starts to melt out, I’ll flip. Then, garnish the tortillas and braise with cilantro and serve.
Remove when the meat is browned and sauté onions in remaining fat in the pan. It will pick up all the brown bits from the meat.
INGREDIENTS
- 1.5 lbs. shoulder and/or shank
- 1 tbsp. pork lard or other rendered fat
- 1lb. chihuahua, Oaxaca or jack melting cheese, grate fresh (optional)
- 1 very large Vidalia onion, chopped fine
- Whole head of garlic, peeled
- 2 bay leaves
- 2 dried chipotle peppers
- 2 dried pasilla peppers
- 2 dried pasado peppers
- 1 tbsp. cumin
- 1/8 tsp. ground clove
- 1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon or one stick
- 2 tbsp. kosher salt
- 8 cups water
- 6 stems fresh thyme
- 4 stems fresh oregano
- 1⁄2 bunch chopped cilantro for garnish
Chop the meat into taco appropriate chunks and sear in a 1/2 tablespoon or more of lard to crisp.
PREP TIME: 30 MIN. | COOK TIME: 3 HRS. | EAT TIME: 2 MIN. | SERVINGS: 6-8 (1/4 LB. PER PERSON)
Serve with leftover consommé, garnished with cilantro.
INSTRUCTIONS
Preheat oven to 350-375.
Cut tops of chiles off, remove seeds.
Add to 2 cups of water along with thyme and oregano tied into a bundle with butcher twine.
Add deseeded dry chiles, garlic, spices, and boil. Let sit for at least 15 minutes for chiles to soften. Remove the herb bundle and purée the mixture with a blender once the chiles seem soft.
Slice venison into 2-inch-by-2-inch-wide strips with the grain. Apply tablespoon of kosher salt, melt lard in a deep cast-iron pan, Dutch oven, or other oven-safe pan, to sear the meat until brown. Do this on medium heat.
Remove when the meat is browned and sauté onions in remaining fat in the pan; it will pick up all the brown bits from the meat. Once half-cooked, at least add your remaining 2 cups of water, chile juice, and meat.
Dunk the tortillas into the reduced braise (consommé), fill with meat and cheese, and crisp each side on a hot cast-iron griddle or skillet.
Transfer to oven. I like the lid off for braising to crisp the meat that sticks out of the liquid. Rotate the venison strips every hour or so. If the meat gets below half covered, add more water. Then, if you’re more efficient than I am, you can just cover it. Use a crockpot or instant pot if you prefer a more hands-off approach.
Once the meat is fork tender, remove from the juices, and render them down to about 2 cups. Chop the meat into taco appropriate chunks and sear in a 1/2 tablespoon or more of lard to crisp. Let the meat get crunchy here.
Dunk the tortillas into the reduced braise (consommé), fill with meat and cheese, and crisp each side on a hot cast-iron griddle or skillet. Serve with leftover consommé, garnished with cilantro.
Want to serve it as a soup with tortillas? Do it in bowls with cilantro, onion, and lime wedges, letting folks pull spoons of meat out of the soup into the tortillas, and sip the stock.
