If you haven’t been to Mexico and experienced true birria, not to worry! I have a great vegan version for you here. It’s pretty darn authentic for something that has been adapted from a goat meat stew!
Birria originates from the state of Jalisco in Mexico and is traditionally made from goat, sheep, or (nowadays) beef. The dish is typically served as a stew with cilantro and onions. A popular adaptation to this recipe comes out of Tijuana, Mexico. This adaptation is called quesabirria. This includes the meat, separated from the consommé, and some mozzarella style cheese. The meat and cheese are pan fried in oil along with some of the consommé, and served alongside additional consommé for dipping.
This vegan adaptation of a beloved classic Mexican dish ticks all the boxes! I hope you enjoy. It’s perfect for meal prep and freezing, and goes great in burritos, quesabirria, birriaquiles, or as part of a burrito bowl.
How to Prepare:
Place the guajillo and arbol chiles in a heat-safe bowl. Pour very hot tap water over the peppers and let them soak for 10 – 20 minutes, until soft and mostly rehydrated.
Reserve the water for the sauce.
Meanwhile, drain and rinse the jackfruit. Press it between two sides of a large dish towel to remove the excess water and assist with shredding. Set it aside and begin to heat up the oil in a large cast-iron or heavy bottom pot over medium-high heat. Once hot, add the jackfruit.
Stir occasionally, adding 2 cups of “beef” vegetable broth to continuously deglaze the bottom of the pan. Continue to break up the jackfruit as you cook it.
While the jackfruit is cooking, heat a small skillet over medium-high heat and toast the cumin seeds, peppercorns, and cloves until aromatic (about 1 minute). Add the spices to a high-powered blender along with the onion, tomato, apple cider vinegar, mexican oregano, fine sea salt, garlic cloves, and ginger.
Once the chiles are soft, remove the seeds (if any) and add the softened chiles to the blender along with roughly ½ to 1 cup of the chili-soaking water to blend.
Blend on high speed for about 1 minute until completely broken down. Add the blended chili sauce to the browned and cooked down jackfruit.
Add additional water or chili-soaking water if needed, bring to a simmer, and cover and reduce the heat for 3 hours.
Serve as a stew with cilantro and onions, or as quesabirria or birriaquiles.
Enjoy!
Birria de Yaca Estilo Jalisco | Jalisco Style Jackfruit Birria
Ingredients
To Make Birria de Yaca
- 40 oz can of unripe jackfruit
- 12 guajillo chiles
- 3-6 arbol chiles more = spicier
- 20 black peppercorns
- 6 whole cloves
- 1 tsp cumin seeds
- 1 medium onion
- 4 medium roma tomatoes
- 6 garlic cloves
- 1 inch piece of ginger peeled
- 4 tbsp apple cider vinegar
- 1 tsp mexican oregano
- 1 tsp fine sea salt
- 1-2 cups chile soaking water for blending
- 2 cups “beef” vegetable broth
To Make Quesabirria
- 1 recipe Birria de Yaca
- 18-20 large corn tortillas
- 2 ½ cups grated mozzarella vegan or dairy
- vegetable oil to fry
Directions
To Make Birria de Yaca
- Place the guajillo and arbol chiles in a heat-safe bowl. Pour very hot tap water over the peppers and let them soak for 10 – 20 minutes until soft and rehydrated. Reserve the water.
- Meanwhile, drain and rinse the jackfruit. Set it aside and begin to heat up the oil in a large cast-iron or heavy bottom pot over medium-high heat. Once hot, add the jackfruit. Stir occasionally, adding 2 cups of “beef” vegetable broth to continuously deglaze the bottom of the pan. Continue to break up the jackfruit into smaller pieces.
- While the jackfruit is cooking, quickly heat a small skillet over medium-high heat and toast the cumin seeds, peppercorns, and cloves until aromatic (about 1 minute). Add the spices to a high-powered blender along with the onion, tomato, apple cider vinegar, mexican oregano, fine sea salt, garlic cloves, and ginger.
- Once the chiles are soft, remove the seeds (if any) and add the softened chiles to the blender along with about ½ – 1 cup of the chili soaking water to blend. Blend on high speed for about 1 minute until completely broken down. Add the blended chili sauce to the browned and cooked down jackfruit.
- Add additional water or chili soaking water if needed, bring to a simmer, and cover and reduce the heat for 3 hours.
- Serve as a stew with cilantro and onions or create quesabirria or birriaquiles.
To Make Quesabirria
- Preheat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Separate the consommé from the jackfruit by pressing it through a fine mesh strainer. Set aside one container of the consommé for dipping and one for preparing the quesabirria.
- For each quesabirria, add about 1 tsp of oil per tortilla onto the hot skillet. Dip the tortilla in the consommé and then place it over the oil in the hot skillet. Add about 4 tbsp of birria meat and 2 tbsp – 4 tbsp of vegan mozzarella/cheese. Let it cook for about 1 minute before folding it over into a quesadilla.
- Cook until crispy and brown on both sides and the cheese is melted. Serve with fresh cilantro, onions, and your favourite hot sauce.
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