Birria Chile Adobo (Adobo para Birria)

Jalisco owns birria, especially the road between Guadalajara, Tlaquepaque, Cocula, and Los Altos where goat is not a novelty. It is the point. Before there is broth, before there is a clay cazuela on the table, there is this adobo: toasted chile guajillo and chile ancho, garlic, ginger, clove, cumin, cinnamon, Mexican oregano, vinegar, and a little manteca de cerdo to carry the flavor into the meat.

This is not a hot sauce. Understand that first. Birria adobo gives color, depth, acidity, and the warm spice perfume that makes birria smell like birria before anyone lifts a spoon. The chiles are fruity and deep, not just hot. The vinegar softens the meat during the overnight rest. The spices are measured with discipline. Too much clove and you taste a pharmacy. Too much cinnamon and you lose Jalisco.

I learned one version from a señora in the Mercado Libertad in Guadalajara who sold goat by the kilo and corrected my notebook while I wrote. She told me, 'El adobo no se avienta, se construye' (you don't throw an adobo together, you build it). She was right. Toast the chiles. Soak them properly. Fry the paste in manteca until it darkens and smells finished. No me vengas con atajos.

Use this to marinate 4 to 5 pounds of goat, lamb, beef shank, or a mix of bony cuts. Goat is the old Jalisco answer. Lamb is a good compromise when the market fails you. Beef works, but don't pretend it is the same animal. Cada estado, su propia cocina.