Detroit Birria pizza
This Birria Detroit pizza combines the rich flavours of traditional Mexican birria with the crispy, cheesy goodness of Detroit-style pizza, creating a mouthwatering fusion that melds savoury meat, zesty salsa verde, and melty cheese atop a thick, pillowy crust for a uniquely delicious culinary experience.. Mexican birria is a traditional dish originating from the state of Jalisco, Mexico. It consists of tender, slow-cooked meat, traditionally goat or lamb, although beef is also commonly used. The meat is marinated in a rich and flavorful combination of spices, such as dried chilies, garlic, cumin, cloves, and Mexican oregano, giving it a distinctive taste. The marinated meat is typically slow-cooked until it is tender and falls apart easily.
- Roughly Chop the Onions and Tomatoes, peel and roughly dice the Garlic.
- Remove the stem and seeds from the chillies (Note if you want more heat leave some seeds in)
- Sauté the onion until softened and browned, add the Garlic, dried herbs and chillies, Sauté until fragrant and toasted, (around 3-5 minutes) ensure the chillies do not burn.
- Add in the tomatoes and cook out for a further 3 minutes before adding the stock
- Bring to the boil and cook for 30 minutes, blend into a smooth sauce.
- In a large heavy bottomed pan, sear the beef for a few minutes on each side.
- Cover the meat in the sauce, topping up with water to ensure the meat is covered. Add a lid and simmer until the meat is tender and falling off the bone (around 4-6 hours).
- Remove the meat from the stew and pull apart/ dice into smaller pieces, the bones can be discarded at this point.
- Place the meat in another pan on a low heat, with a small amount of the broth
- Season the broth with salt to taste.
- (Note: Generally speaking at this point tacos would be dipped into the fat layer on top of the broth and fried, filled with the Birria meat, and some shredded cheese, before being folded closed. These are then dipped into a pot of the broth and eaten)
- Lightly oil a Detroit pan with Extra virgin olive oil.
- Add the Detroit base (see Detroit base recipe for method).
- Top with Arla Pro Shredded Mozzarella, starting with the corners and edges, before topping the middle of the dough more lightly, this will ensure a better frico/ cheese crust.
- Generously spread the Birra beef across the top of the cheese.
- Bake at 350c until the cheese crust forms and caramelises around the outside of the pan, depending on the toppings this will take around 5-8 minutes.
- Remove the pizza from the oven and allow a minute to cool, using a flat scraper, separate the frico/crust from the pan and allow a further minute to cool.
- Using an appropriate tool such as a pizza pan spatula, remove the pizza and place onto a rack to allow steam to escape from the bottom of the pizza.
- Grate the hard cheese generously on top of the pizza, spoon on the salsa verde and sprinkle the pink onions.
- Transfer to a serving board, dice the pizza into slices with a pizza rocker.
- Serve with a bowl of warm Birria brothh.
