Birria Tacos

How to video:

Brewed with love (and maybe a little mischief), these tacos start in a cozy cauldron where chilies, garlic, and spices bubble happily together. The meat comes out fall-apart tender, snuggled into tortillas dipped in ruby-red consommé and toasted till perfectly crisp. Served with a warm cup of dipping magic on the side—because every good spell needs a splash. Cute, cozy, and a little bit enchanting… resistance is futile.

RECIPE

Skill Level: Medium

Special Equipment: Large Roasting Pan

Yields: Approximately 20 Small Tacos

Ingredients:

4-5 lbs.   Chuck Roast

2 lbs        Short Ribs

3-5        Dried Guajillo Peppers (stems and seeds removed)

3-5          Dried Ancho Peppers (stems and seeds removed)

60 gr       Chipotle Peppers in Adobo Sauce

1 Lg     White Onion (quartered)

2             Garlic Bulbs

2              Tomatoes (quartered) 

2             Carrots (quartered)

5             Bay Leaves

8 Cups      beef Stock

1 Tsp       Cumin

1 Tsp         Dried Mexican Oregano

2 Tsp       Mexican Chili Powder

1 Tsp       Onion Powder

1 Tsp       Smoked Paprika

Salt and Pepper

Vegetable Oil (for coating)

20 Small Flour Tortillas

Topping:

2 Cups White Onion (fine dice)

1/2 Cup Cilantro (Fine Dice)

1 Lime (juiced)

Optional Toppings:

Oaxaca Cheese or Monterey Jack Cheese

Lime Wedges

Crema or Sour Cream

Method:

Birria Meat

Preheat oven to 400*F Convection Bake

Start by roughly cutting the roast into 4 chunks

Space meat out on some paper towel, cover with additional paper towel and let dry while chopping other ingredients. To be able to get a nice brown crust on the meat, it will need to be well dried. 

Once your meat is completely dry, coat in a bit of oil followed by a sprinkling of salt and pepper. Don't be shy...

Preheat a large roasting pan on your stove top - I use a high heat for this step - I want that meat to really brown maybe even burn a bit (see note)

Once the pan is very hot, carefully add the meat in a single layer. Avoid agitating the meat too much during this step as it could decrease browning. In general, if the meat is sticking to the pan, its not ready to be flipped, once it is ready to be flipped it will be easy to move. Brown on all sides.

Once the meat is crusted and browned, remove meat from the pan and set aside.

Next, pour the beef stock into the pan ensuring to scrape up the brown bits left

behind. 

Next, add all remaining ingredients and meat back into the pan.

Tightly cover with Aluminum Foil and place in the oven. Drop oven temperature down to 300*F and let cook for approximately 3 hours or until the meat can easily pull apart. 

Remove meat from pan and place in a separate bowl

Consommé

Carefully pour remaining liquid and vegetables in a food processor and pulsate until smooth. 

Pour liquid through a strainer into a pot.

Place pot over medium heat and allow to simmer until liquid has reduced by half.

Meanwhile, begin shredding the beef until desired consistency is achieved. Set aside.

Topping

Combine Onions, Cilantro and Lime Juice. Set aside

Assembly

Birria tacos aren't meant to be over stuffed, less is more with these tacos

Working with a large skillet over medium low heat, dip one side of a flour tortilla into the consommé and lay the dipped side down onto the pre-heated skillet.

Next, take a small amount of Birria Meat and place on half of the tortilla followed by a spoonful of the onion/cilantro/lime mix. Fold the other half of the tortilla up over the filling and press down - Brown on both sides. Repeat with remaining tortillas.

Serve with Consommé for dipping