Birria Tacos

Ingredients

Birria adobo (paste):

• 25 g (0.9 oz) guajillo chillies, dried (~4 pieces, heaped 3/4 cup once chopped)

• 45 g (1.6 oz) ancho chillies, dried (~2-3 pieces, 1 cup once chopped)

• 6 g (0.2 oz) chillies de arbol, dried (~6 pieces, 2 tbsp once chopped)

• 1/2 cup chilli soaking water (reserve after simmering)

• 5 garlic cloves , peeled

• 1 small onion , roughly sliced (~tennis ball size)

• 1 medium tomato , roughly sliced (180g)

• 2 tsp dried oregano

• 1 tsp ground cumin

• 1/8 tsp black pepper

Birria braising:

• 5 tbsp vegetable oil (or canola oil)

• 1.3 kg/2.6 lb chuck beef , cut into 6 large pieces (or boneless beef short ribs - 1.8kg/3.6 lb bone-in)

• 2 cups beef stock / broth , low sodium

• 10 cloves (or 1/4 tsp ground cloves)

• 1 cinnamon stick (substitute 1/4 tsp powder, but it's not quite the same)

• 3 bay leaves , preferably fresh else dried

• 2 tbsp apple cider vinegar (or regular white vinegar, red or white wine vinegar)

• 2 1/2 tsp cooking salt / kosher salt (halve for table salt, +30% for flakes)

Beef seasoning:

• 1/2 tsp cooking salt / kosher salt

Birria Tacos:

• 20 - 25 corn tortillas (14.5cm/6" wide)

• 1 white onion , diced

• 1/2 cup finely chopped coriander / cilantro leaves

• 3 1/2 cups (350g) shredded Colby, Monterey Jack or Oaxaca cheese (if you can get it)

• Lime wedges , optional

• Your favorite salsa or hot sauce , optional

Instructions

ABBREVIATED RECIPE:

• Simmer chopped chillies 10 min. Strain, blitz Adobo paste. Brown beef, cook off adobo paste, slow-cook beef 2 1/2 hrs (lid on). Remove meat, shred, skim fat off braising liquid ("Birria Oil"). Toss beef in skillet with 1 cup braising liquid (aka Consomme). Heat 1 tsp Birria oil over low heat, wipe pan with tortilla, remove, repeat x2 with 1/2 tsp oil each. Top tortilla with cheese, beef, onion, coriander, fold over, pan fry until crisp. Serve with Birria Consomme for dunking!

FULL RECIPE:

Prepare chillis:

• Use gloves if you're sensitive to working with chilli!

• Deseed - Trim and discard stems. Cut lengthwise, remove and discard the seeds. Roughly chop into 1 - 1.5cm / 1/4" pieces.

• Simmer - Put chillis in a large saucepan of boiling water. Simmer rapidly for 10 minutes to soften, until flesh is mushy (skin stays intact but softens).

• Reserve 1/2 cup of chilli-simmering water. Drain chilli in a sieve, lightly press out residual liquid.

Shredded beef:

• Birria Adobo (paste) - Place cooked chillies, reserved 1/2 cup chilli water and remaining Adobo ingredients in a tall jug large enough to fit the head of a stick blender. Blitz for 20 seconds until as smooth as possible (it's not completely smooth, see video). You can also do this in a small food processor, NutriBullet or blender (Note 7).

• Sear beef - Heat the oil in a large heavy based pot over high heat (I use my 24cm / 9.6" dutch oven). Add half the beef and sear each side aggressively until it's dark golden brown (about 1 - 1 1/2 minutes each side). Remove to a bowl and repeat with remaining beef.

• Cook off Adobo - Add the paste to same pan and stir for 2 minutes in oil (lower heat if spitting aggressively).

• Slow cook 2 1/2 hours - Add all Birria braising ingredients, stir, then add the beef. Bring to a boil then lower heat until it's simmering very gently (small gentle bubbles every now and then). Cover with a lid and cook for 2 1/2 hours, or until beef shreds easily (short ribs take 3 - 3.5 hrs). (Note 8 for slow cooker)

• Shred - Remove the beef to a clean pan and shred well. Add the 1/2 teaspoon of salt and toss meat to distribute.

• Birria oil - Skim off as much of the red oil floating on braising liquid surface as possible (ideally 6 tbsp+) and place in a separate bowl (this is the "Birria Oil"). Precious stuff!

• Soak beef - Pour 1 cup of the braising liquid ("Birria Consommé") into a large non-stick pan over medium-high heat. Let it simmer for 15 seconds, then add all the beef and toss in the sauce until it's all absorbed by the beef, there should be almost none pooled in the pan. Move beef back into the shredding pan, scraping the non-stick pan clean.

• Birria Consommé - Taste and check for salt, add more if needed. It should be on the slightly salty side (because it's used for dipping) but not too salty to drink a small cup like soup. Keep warm to use for dipping once tacos are done.

  
  

MAKE CRISPY CHEESY BIRRIA TACOS!

• Red tortillas - Heat 1 teaspoon Birria Oil in the same non-stick pan over medium-low heat. Put a tortilla in and "wipe" around to make the underside red. Once the tortilla is soft (no need to flip) - about 10 seconds - remove to a work surface red side down. Repeat twice more, heating 1/2 teaspoon Birria Oil for each tortilla.

• Stuff - Spread cheese on half of each tortilla, top with beef, then onion and coriander/cilantro.

• Crisp! Fold over then pan-fry 3 Birria Tacos at a time (in the same pan) over medium-high heat for 2 minutes on each side, until golden-red and crispy.

• Serve - Remove and serve while hot with the Birria Consommé for dunking!