Hibiscus Flower

1. Boil 6 cups of water and take about 3 cups of hot water to soak the hibiscus flower in a large bowl. If using jackfruit or other meat substitutes listed above, DO NOT SOAK.
2. Soak hibiscus in hot water and apple cider vinegar for a minimum of 15 minutes.

Jackfruit/Mushrooms

1. Place the dried chilies in a bowl. Boil 6 cups of water, take 2 cups of boiling hot water, and pour over the dried chilies. Soak for 15 minutes. Turn the boiling water off and save the rest of the water for the birria broth.
2. If using mushrooms, use a fork to shred them and saute in a pan with about 2 tbsp of oil, garlic/onion powder, and soy sauce/liquid aminos/tamari/salsa Maggi until golden brown. Do the same for jackfruit but avoid shredding until after it has been pan-fried. Once golden, use tongs to shred the jackfruit.
3. Once chili peppers have softened and turned red, add to a blender along with the bouillon, cloves of garlic, peppercorns, onion, and about 1 cup of water to soak the chilies.
4. Hibiscus should be ready to drain and rinse at this point. Rinse it until the water runs clear instead of red. Shred the hibiscus into smaller pieces to represent “shredded beef” with your hands. Add hibiscus flowers to the pot.
5. Strain your chili sauce using a fine mesh strainer (optional), add chili sauce back into the pot along with bay leaves, salt, jackfruit/hibiscus/mushrooms, and simmer for another about 10-15  minutes. The longer you simmer it, the better the flavors will get.
6. At this point taste your birria and add salt/pepper as needed.
7. Serve with Mexican rice, and beans, and enjoy!