Tacos in Aguascalientes

Taco culture in Aguascalientes, a small state in central-western Mexico, revolves around birria in the local style: lamb steamed overnight in maguey leaves, served with its consomé and a chile de árbol salsa and spooned into corn tortillas as tacos.

Birria estilo Aguascalientes

Birria is usually thought of as a Jalisco dish, and Larousse's dictionary counts it among that state's most representative foods, traditionally made with goat or lamb marinated in a chile paste, wrapped in maguey leaves and cooked slowly in a sealed pot. Aguascalientes, which borders Jalisco, developed its own version. According to Mexico News Daily, lamb is the preferred meat, although some cooks use goat or beef, and it is wrapped in maguey leaves and steamed overnight rather than roasted.

The meat comes to the table on a plate or shallow bowl topped with onion, with the cooking juices served separately as consomé, in a manner that recalls central Mexican barbacoa. Alongside is a salsa of tomato, chile de árbol and spices. Diners build their own tacos by spooning the birria and salsa into corn tortillas, and small dishes of serrano chiles are often set out for extra heat. Locals typically eat birria at breakfast or lunch.

History

Mexico News Daily reports that birria has been made in Aguascalientes since the sixteenth century, while acknowledging that the dish's roots lie in Jalisco, where Cocula is most often named as its birthplace and La Barca also claims it. The steamed-lamb treatment that distinguishes the Aguascalientes style is the main point of difference with the brothier Jalisco version, which is generally served swimming in a tomato and chile broth.

Places and events

In the state capital, the Mercado Juárez, opened in 1957 in the historic center and nicknamed the birria market, houses around two dozen small birria counters. Long-running family birrierías such as El Lago Azul and Birriería Los Vázquez have served lamb in the local manner for more than six decades.

Birria is also a staple of the Feria Nacional de San Marcos, the state's great spring fair, held every year since 1828 around the feast of Saint Mark on April 25 and lasting several weeks. Each September the town of Rincón de Romos hosts a Festival Nacional de la Birria around Independence Day, which has drawn local makers as well as exhibitors from Jalisco and Zacatecas.

Signature tacos

• Tacos de birria

Reviews

See also

• Tacos de birria
• Tacos in Jalisco
• Tacos in Zacatecas
• Tacos de barbacoa

References

1. "State by Plate: Birria estilo Aguascalientes". Mexico News Daily. Retrieved 2026-10-10.
2. "Birria". Larousse Cocina. Retrieved 2026-10-10.