Birria de Borrego is a beautiful, smoky, and flavorful Mexican lamb stew. Simmered long and low on the stove, this dish is perfect for your next family gathering.
Table of Contents
“Birra” is a warm Mexican dish with stewed meat and chili peppers. While this dish can include any type of stewed meat, often goat, veal, cow, or pork, “de Borrego” means “of lamb”.
Mexican lamb stew has a deep red color and smokey spicy aroma that will have your mouth watering as it simmers away on the stove.
Ingredient notes
- Leg of lamb or lamb shoulder – Use either boneless leg of lamb or lamb shoulder. Trim the excess fat from the lamb and cut it into 1 ½ inch pieces.
- Chipotles in adobo sauce – The peppers in adobo sauce add a little heat and a sweet, smoky flavor to the stew.
- Olive oil – Use light olive oil instead of extra virgin olive oil. Light olive oil has a higher smoke point and works better for browning meat over medium-high heat.
- Onion – Use white or yellow onions.
- Spices – Garlic powder, cumin and oregano help to flavor this dish.
- Salsa – Choose whichever type of salsa you prefer, smooth, chunky, mild, medium or spicy will all work! Just avoid salsa that’s flavored with fruit as this will change the flavor of the dish.
- Light beer – Use any light beer you have. Sol, Modelo, or Corona are all Mexican beers that work well here. If you’d prefer to not cook with alcohol, you can swap in some extra beef broth.
- Cilantro – Used for the stew, the lime crema, and perfect to sprinkle on just before eating!
- Lime – You’ll want a couple of limes for this recipe. One for the lime crema and another to serve as wedges and squeeze on top!
- Sour cream – The cool and tangy base for the lime cream.
- Tomato Paste
- Beef Stock
- Salt & pepper
How to make it
- Add the oil to a large dutch oven or heavy pot and turn the heat up to medium-high.
- Season the lamb with salt and pepper, then add half the lamb and brown the outside, taking care not to overcrowd the pot. Set the browned lamb aside on a plate. Repeat with the remaining lamb.
- Add the onion to the empty pot and saute until softened, then stir in the chipotles, garlic powder, cumin and oregano and saute until fragrant, for around 30 seconds. Stir in the tomato paste, then add the salsa, beef stock and beer.
- Return the lamb to the pot. Bring everything to a boil and then reduce to a low simmer. Cover and cook for 2 1/2 hours, stirring occasionally.
- Uncover and simmer for an additional 20-30 minutes. Stir in cilantro and hot sauce, if desired.
- While the stew simmers, make the lime crema. Combine sour cream, cilantro, lime zest and juice, and garlic. Season with salt, to taste and refrigerate until ready to serve. Serve the Birria de Borrego with rice, red onions, cilantro and a dollop of the lime crema.
What to serve with it
- Rice – Try making it in the instant pot or rice cooker.
- Mexican Rice – Try making it in the instant pot or rice cooker.
- More → 20+ best sides for stew.
- Be sure to check out these 25+ Mexican Desserts too!
How to meal prep, store, and reheat
This special dish really can’t be prepped ahead of time, but it reheats amazingly well! By taking just fifteen minutes to prepare it, and allowing it to simmer on the stove for a few hours, you’ll be rewarded with an intensely flavorful and authentic Mexican dish.
Any leftovers can be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3-5 days. To reheat, place the stew in a small pot on the stove, covered, and warm over medium-low heat until warmed through.
FAQs
Birria can be made of goat meat, lamb, beef, veal, or pork.
Birria can be served as soup or in tacos. For this recipe, it’s served as a flavorful stew.
For a complete meal, serve Birria de Borrego with cooked rice, diced red onions, cilantro, lime wedges, and hot sauce. Don’t forget the lime crema! It would also be delicious topped with some of this pickled cabbage. Also, be sure to check out 25+ Mexican Desserts!
Erin’s wine pairings
- Zinfandel, Malbec and Merlot – Red wines with a hint of sweetness to them tend to pair well with this hearty, spice-forward dish.
- MORE → my 8 favorite lamb wine pairings.
- MORE → best wines with stew.
More lamb recipes
More Mexican-style dishes
If you loved this Mexican lamb stew, you’ll love these others:
- 25+ Mexican Desserts
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Full Recipe
Birria de Borrego
Equipment
Ingredients
- 2 Tablespoons olive oil
- 2 pounds leg of lamb (boneless, or lamb shoulder, trimmed of excess fat, cut into 1 1/2" pieces)
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 1 large onion (diced)
- 2 chipotles in adobo sauce (chopped)
- 1 Tablespoon garlic powder
- 2 teaspoons cumin
- 2 teaspoons oregano
- 2 Tablespoons tomato paste
- 2 cups salsa (any style you prefer)
- 2 cups beef stock
- 12 ounces light beer
- 2 Tablespoons cilantro (minced)
- Hot sauce (to taste (optional))
Lime Crema:
- ¾ cup sour cream
- 2 Tablespoons cilantro (minced)
- 1 lime (zested and juiced)
- Salt (to taste)
Instructions
- Season the lamb with salt and pepper.
- In a large dutch oven or heavy pot, add the oil over and heat over medium-high heat.
- Add half the lamb and brown, taking care not to overcrowd the pot. Set the browned lamb aside on a plate. Repeat with the remaining lamb.
- Add the onion to the empty pot and saute until softened, 4-5 minutes.
- Stir in the chipotles, garlic powder, cumin and oregano and saute until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add the tomato paste and stir to combine.
- Add the salsa, stock and beer. Return the lamb to the pot. Bring to a boil and reduce to a simmer. Cover and cook for 2 1/2 hours, stirring occasionally.
- Uncover and simmer for an additional 20-30 minutes. Stir in cilantro and hot sauce, if desired. USDA recommends lamb reach a minimum internal temperature of 145F with a 3 minute resting period.
- While the stew simmers, make the lime crema. Combine sour cream, cilantro, lime zest and juice, and garlic. Season with salt, to taste. Refrigerate until ready to serve.
To Serve:
- Serve with rice, red onions, cilantro and a dollop of the lime crema. Enjoy!
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