POZOLAZO | Instant Birria Soup | Mexican Beef Stew | Real Freeze-Dried Meat | 2-Serving Box | Authentic Red Chile Broth & Spices

The words "freeze-dried beef" strike fear in my heart. So I prepared and tasted this soup with some trepidation, but I was pleasantly surprised. The dry ingredients looked like just a few chunks of meat and a lot of powdered flavorings, but the beef expanded rapidly in the boiling water and then broke apart, resulting in a broth with the meat well-distributed; every spoonful had some beef in it. And it looked and tasted like beef that had been stewing for hours. Preparation takes roughly ten minutes.This made a thinner soup than I expected -- the package suggests serving with tortillas so I thought it might be thicker, like a stew. If you do want to make Birria tacos, however, you can reduce the amount of water added and it should still come together well, or you can simmer it longer to cook off more of the water and thicken it up.The flavor was only mildly spicy. I noticed first the tomato flavor, followed by a pleasant tartness that can be attributed to the lime powder. The package recommends adding other ingredients to personalize the dish; I had scallions on hand so I added those for color, but I wish I had also added some chili flakes to kick it up a notch, because I tend to like a medium-to-hot level of spice.Nutritionally, this is fairly low-calorie and surprisingly low-fat for a beef dish, and it provides a generous 22 g of protein per serving. Not surprisingly, it has a fair amount of sodium, though, so those who need to watch sodium levels should be cautious.The price per serving (currently $9 for two servings) is higher than one would pay at a grocery store for most canned soups, and though this beats most instant (dry) soups I don't feel that the quality is significantly better than a good canned soup, so I probably won't order this again. But it was an enjoyable taste, and if you want to make a birria without the hours of stewing, this is an easy way to do it.