Overview

Learn from a birrias master how to make your Mexican home cooking more varied, exciting, and richly flavorful than ever before. Traditionally, birrias are the beloved stews served in Mexico on all special occasions, such as weddings, quinceaneras (girls' coming-of-age celebrations), and family reunions. They are made with a meat-traditionally beef, pork, or goat-slow-cooked in an adobo sauce of chile peppers, garlic, vinegar, and herbs, then served with tortillas for dipping. Food writer, cookbook author, and chef Jesse Valenciana is the virtuoso of birrias. He reveals in this book the luscious secrets of birrias-both in their traditional forms and in their incredible new varieties. In their recent revival, evident in the best Mexican restaurants everywhere, birrias are getting even more versatile and delectable. They're now made with all kinds of meats and proteins and in vegetarian versions. The biggest change is that birrias have become an in-demand filling or topping for all sorts of other Mexican foods, from tacos to tamales and beyond.    In Birrias, Jesse serves up:   A dozen recipes for the traditional birrias he learned from his Mexican and Mexican-American grandparentsNearly 50 more recipes for the hip, creative, and soul-satisfying new ways to make and use birriasTechniques for making everything from birrias tacos, enchiladas, burritos, and quesadillas to birrias sandwiches, wraps, salads, soups, appetizers, and moreA special bonus chapter featuring a handful of Jesse's birrias collaborations with well-known chefs-all easy to make at home-such as the ""Appalachian Birria"" he developed with star chef Sean Brock of Nashville. If your Mexican cooking is stuck in a rut of ground-beef tacos and cheese enchiladas, you will discover an exciting new world of flavors and dinner ideas in these pages.

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Reviews

“Jesse Valenciana is spreading the gospel of birria and making it accessible for a new audience, with recipes that are a playful balance of tradition and creativity."" * Julio Hernandez, James Beard Award Nominee and chef/owner of Maiz de la Vida, Nashville * “Jesse Valenciana’s Birrias is a delicious ode to tradition with a bold twist! Jesse captures the heart of birria, honoring its roots while celebrating just how versatile and vibrant this dish can be, in everything from birria tamales to birria pizza and even birria smashburgers. His mother’s recipe, used throughout the book, serves as the soulful base that ties each innovative creation together. Every page will have your mouth watering and your mind buzzing with ideas. It’s a perfect blend of tradition and creativity. If you’re a birria fan, this book is an absolute must-have!” * Claudia Sandoval, MasterChef U.S. champion and author of Claudia's Cocina *

A Best Cookbook of the Year for 2025 * Chowhound * “Jesse Valenciana is spreading the gospel of birria and making it accessible for a new audience, with recipes that are a playful balance of tradition and creativity."" * Julio Hernandez, James Beard Award Nominee and chef/owner of Maiz de la Vida, Nashville * “Jesse Valenciana’s Birrias is a delicious ode to tradition with a bold twist! Jesse captures the heart of birria, honoring its roots while celebrating just how versatile and vibrant this dish can be, in everything from birria tamales to birria pizza and even birria smashburgers. His mother’s recipe, used throughout the book, serves as the soulful base that ties each innovative creation together. Every page will have your mouth watering and your mind buzzing with ideas. It’s a perfect blend of tradition and creativity. If you’re a birria fan, this book is an absolute must-have!” * Claudia Sandoval, MasterChef U.S. champion and author of Claudia's Cocina *

Author Information

Jesse Valenciana, as a regular reporter and columnist for The Takeout, is one of the premier food journalists focused on Mexican cuisine and other Hispanic foods of the Americas. He also presides over Nashville's hippest catering and pop-up company, The Secret Bodega. A veteran of several prestigious restaurant kitchens  and a former marketing executive with Goose Island Brewery, he has appeared on The Today Show and on local television segments in Chicago and Nashville, among other cities. His experience with birrias spans from eating his grandmother's traditional birria every Sunday as a child to collaborating with leading chefs on novel birria creations today.

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