In the cuisine of Jalisco, birria is a typical dish, so in some municipalities of Cocula, generations of families have been responsible for keeping this tradition alive, like Eloy Acosta Carlos Preciado.
In an interview with Notimex, he said that he feels proud to belong to the third generation of a family in his town dedicated to preparing this dish made with goat meat, traditionally prepared sauce, and many spices and peppers cooked in the oven.
Carlos said, “we are proudly Mexican, we love keeping our traditions alive and expose our great culinary traditions, faithfully follow the traditional recipes, accompanied by the sound of the national music par excellence: El Mariachi; so we provide flavor, folklore and tradition.”
He says his family has been serving birria since 1960, “it’s a family tradition, we took three generations, my grandfather, an uncle, my parents, and now myself, I also I have a brother who is also dedicated to this.”
He said his family prepares the birria in the wood ovens and clay pots and it works very well, “people will like what we prepare here in Cocula.”
Carlos said the work begins early in the morning “to prepare all the ingredients, we regularly work from early morning, which can be from 04:00, 5:00 or 06:00 am, depending on the amounts to prepare, the day and time.”
He explained that the first task is firing up the ovens, “as it takes two hours to warm; during those two hours we prepare the goat, salt, and marinate, then put in the oven, which takes about four hours to cook.”
He said the sauce they serve with the meat is done with tomato juice mixed with goat juice dripping from the cooking, “accompany it with chopped onions (raw), lemon, homemade hot sauce, and we prepare with chile de arbol, and accompanied with corn tortillas and refried beans on the side.”
He mentioned that in the family restaurant they offer birria made with goat, beef and pork, “preparation is the same for the three and offer every day, sometimes we are asked to do birria chicken, but that’s very special occasions for parties or family gatherings.”
He noted that his grandfather was the one who started this business, along with an uncle, “and after they left the business my parents continued the tradition.”
He explained that the business of birria has been in three different locations prior to the current address in Cocula, “we have been in our current location for over 30 years.”
Carlos brags that in the time of the family business “politicians, famous mariachis like Vargas Tecalitlán and Sol de Mexico, Sonora Santanera, Los Tigres del Norte, the boxer Ricardo” Finito “Lopez, and flying of Papantla,” have all stopped for his family’s birria.
The family business serves an average of 80 kilos of birria meat every day, and 150 or more on Sundays and holidays.
Carlos said that he is very pleased to offer birria, “people like our concept with the Mariachi, family business, atmosphere, they say it is different from other places, I am very proud of my work and very happy.”
