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Your Birria Taco Is Ancient History—Here’s Why

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We’re in peak birria these days, where every taqueria in town seems to have its own version. But this newish food trend is actually very old. In fact, birria is a perfect collection of some of humanity’s oldest cooking techniques and ingredients merged together into one perfect hand-held treat. It’s a food only capable of existing by holding onto ancient traditions that span thousands of years across both sides of the planet.

Thanks to El Garage in Richmond, California for showing us how to make their family’s version of birria tacos.

Subscribe to KQED Food’s YouTube channel to watch more Beyond The Menu videos.

Read more:
The Great Birria Boom, by Bill Esparza
The Food System During The Formative Period in West Mesoamerica
The Birria Boom Is Complicated, but Simply Delicious

About Beyond The Menu:
The story of the food on your plate is more than just the recipe. Each ingredient and every cooking technique goes back hundreds if not thousands of years, traversing the globe on a wildly delicious cross-cultural adventure. In KQED’s new digital food series Beyond The Menu, host Cecilia Phillips interviews chefs, authors, and other experts to dig up surprising facts on the cultural pathways of today’s trendiest dishes. It’s a history show, it’s a mystery series, it’s a celebration of multicultural cuisine, sometimes it’s even a science program, all set against the backdrop of mouth-watering food cinematography.

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