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.