Birria - Traditional Mexican Food

Birriería De Pancho Chaires - Cihuatlan, Jalisco - Mexican Food - Photo: CasaLasMargaritas.com 

Birrieria De Pancho Chaires as the name says is a restaurant where you can eat birria (goat stew). In this case traditional goat birria (tatemada) from Jalisco. Birria is as traditional as pozole and tortas ahogadas are; and I think it is seen outside of Mexico as a kind of exotic plate, depending on what part of the goat you eat.

Birriería De Pancho Chaires - Cihuatlan, Jalisco - Mexican Food - Photo: CasaLasMargaritas.com 

Birriería De Pancho Chaires - Cihuatlan, Jalisco - Mexican Food - Photo: CasaLasMargaritas.com 

In Birrieria Don Pancho they prepare the birria "en horno, a las brasas" putting the meat previously prepared with an adobo sauce and spices in clay pots, slowly baked in the oven using charcoal for 7 to 8 hours from 2:00 a.m. to be ready for early brunch around 8:00 a.m. in the morning. The final plate is a goat stew with broth.

Birriería De Pancho Chaires - Cihuatlan, Jalisco - Mexican Food - Photo: CasaLasMargaritas.com 

Birria is usually eaten as brunch or lunch. It is also a common plate in Weddings, Baptisms and First Communion parties. Almost all parts of the goat are used to cook birria and the first pieces the customers ask to have in the morning is "la dorada" which is kind of dry roasted ribs and meat that are on the top of the clay pot.

Birriería De Pancho Chaires - Cihuatlan, Jalisco - Mexican Food - Photo: CasaLasMargaritas.com 

The common side dishes to eat with birria are refried beans (frijoles refritos), chopped onion, lemon juice, tortillas and of course ,chile (spicy hot salsa made with dried chiles and spices).

Birriería De Pancho Chaires - Cihuatlan, Jalisco - Mexican Food - Photo: CasaLasMargaritas.com 

The Menu in Birrieria Don Pancho

Birriería De Pancho Chaires - Cihuatlan, Jalisco - Mexican Food - Photo: CasaLasMargaritas.com 

The menu is kind of hard to understand. I asked the waitress to explain it to me. Here is what she said:

Ordenes

Chica : plato chico de carne con caldo

Normal C/T : plato grande con toda clase carne maciza, menudo, costillas, me imagino que tripa y demas interiores del chivo.

" P/CARNE : pura carne, o sea pura maciza sin menudo y demas interiores pero con caldo.

" P/DORADA : pura carne dorada con caldo.

ORDEN GDE. : plato grande de birria con caldo.

TACOS : tacos de ..... birria

ORDEN DE F: orden de frijoles

Asumo que en las variaciones: normal c/t, p/carne y p/dorada el tamano puede ser chico o grande.

Birriería De Pancho Chaires - Cihuatlan, Jalisco - Mexican Food - Photo: CasaLasMargaritas.com 

Orders

Chica : small plate of birria with broth

Normal C/T : big plate with all pieces of meat, leand meat and also stomach, ribs, and I imagine tripe and some other interior parts, so this is the exotic part for adventurous people.

" P/CARNE : lean meat with broth

" P/DORADA : dry roasted ribs and meat with broth

ORDEN GDE. : big plate of meat with broth

TACOS : meat in tortillas

ORDEN DE F : side order of beans

I am asuming that between the variations: normal c/t, p/carne and p/dorada the size can be small or big.

Birriería De Pancho Chaires - Cihuatlan, Jalisco - Mexican Food - Photo: CasaLasMargaritas.com 

"Save water, drink Corona"

They also serve jocoque and desserts.

Thank you to Birrieria Don Pancho to let me take pictures, explained to me the cooking process of birria and the menu.

Birrieria Don Pancho is right in front of the bus depot in Cihuatlan (Central Camionera).

A very good article that I recently read about birria was published in "De Fogones y Marmitas" by Diletante titled "Las Cocinas de Mexico - Parte XIX".


Visiting Mexico? Stay at Casa Las Margaritas in Barra de Navidad Jalisco