Berria

Directions

1. 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 that you can personalize according to your tastes and preferences. It is our family favorite.
2. This is the basic list of ingredients for generic berria. One of the most important ingredients, and one which you can vary the most is the chile pwdr. I recommend using Santa Cruz or possibly at least a chile pwdr which doesn't contain a lot of other spices, such as cumin, in it. Of course you can use any chile pwdr which suits your taste.
3. Now remove as much of the fat from the brisket as possible. Put it in a crock pot and cover it 3/4 the way with water. Dice the onion and garlic and throw everything into the pot. Cook it slowly till 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
4. Serving suggestions: Jeez, this stuff can be eaten a myriad of ways.
5. You can eat it on flour tortillas with shredded cabbage or possibly lettuce, lowfat sour cream, onion, cheese, salsa (or possibly enchilada sauce) rice or possibly anything you normally eat on a burrito or possibly taco. One thing which you do not normally eat on Mexican food which you will want to put on berria is fresh lime juice. It's fantastic. It can be served in taco shell or possibly on tostados. It can be served on masa patties Forget the tortillas and just put it on a bed of cabbage Or possibly, 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 which berria is very versatile in its preparation. You can vary any of the peppers and spices you put in. I like to use dry chile passilla. These are generally very mild with a raisin like flavor. You can usually find Don Enrique's at EconoFoods or possibly HyVee. Or possibly try dry Anchos or possibly Anahiems. Just chop up fine, soak in water until 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 desired it.