[CH] One of my favorite chile related meals

McWilliams, Dan (DMcWilliams@fendall.com)
Tue, 17 Aug 1999 10:14:43 -0500 

					Recipe for Berria
			Berria is one of the most versatile of Mexican
foods, both in the preparation and the ways it can be served. It is a simple
dish to fix yet it ends up with a complexity of flavors which you can
personalize according to your tastes and preferences. It is our family
favorite.

			Things you need for basic Berria:
			7 - 10 LB Beef Brisket (not corned beef brisket)
			1-1/2 oz of good red chile powder - heat level to
taste.
			(Note: I use chile powders ranging from Chimayos to
Habeneros)
			1 medium sweet onion
			3-4 cloves of fresh garlic
			1 tablespoon beef bullion or (1) cup beef broth
	a pinch of cinnamon
	a tsp. instant coffee
	salt - to taste
	pepper- to taste
	1 tablespoon brown sugar

	This is the basic list of ingredients for generic berria. One of the
most
	important ingredients, and one that you can vary the most is the
chile 
	powder. I recommend using Santa Cruz or at least a chile powder
	that doesn't contain a lot of other spices, such as cumin, in it. Of
course
	you can use any chile powder that suits your taste.
	
	Now remove as much of the fat from the brisket as possible. Put it
in
	a crock pot and cover it ¾ the way with water. Dice the onion and
	garlic and throw everything into the pot. Cook it slowly until it
can be
			shredded. Occasionally turn it. Pull the brisket
apart into thin strands and put it all back into the pot. Cook slowly for
another 45 mins. It is now ready to serve
	Serving suggestions:
	Jeez, this stuff can be eaten a myriad of ways. You can eat it on
flour
	tortillas with shredded cabbage or lettuce, sour cream, onion,
	cheese, salsa (or enchilada sauce) rice or anything you normally eat
	on a burrito or taco. One thing that you don't normally eat on
	Mexican food that you will want to put on berria is fresh lime
	juice. It's fantastic.
	It can be served in taco shell or on tostados. 
	It can be served on masa patties
	Forget the tortillas and just put it on a bed of cabbage
	Or, if you've made it right, eat the juice with some meat and
cabbage
	in it. 
	Now freeze some of what's leftover and stick some in the fridge
	because you'll want some later.
	I said that berria is very versatile in its preparation. You can
vary any of the
	peppers and spices you put in. I like to use dried chile passilla.
These are
	generally very mild with a raisin like flavor. You can usually find
Don
	Enrique's at EconoFoods or HyVee. Or try dried Anchos or Anahiems.
	Just chop up fine, soak in water till soft and put in food
processor. I use
	all imaginable type of peppers, the red chiles being the dominant.
You
	will find a great variety of ways to change and personalize this
dish
	if you like it.