Amazing Birria Tacos Recipes

AMAZING BIRRIA TACOS RECIPE

Steps:

• Place a large pot or dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add olive oil. When hot, season beef with salt and pepper and add to pot. Sear on all sides. Add half of the onion to the pot and cook two minutes more. Remove dutch oven from heat and set aside while you make the sauce.
• Remove the stems and seeds from the dried chile peppers.
• In a medium pot, add the chiles, tomatoes, half onion, garlic cloves, cinnamon stick, and bay leaf. Pour in enough water to cover all ingredients, about 4 to 5 cups. Place on stove over medium-high heat and bring to boil. Once boiling, reduce heat to low and simmer uncovered for 10 minutes.
• Add remaining seasonings to the sauce pot: dried oregano, cumin seeds, dried thyme, and salt and peppercorns. Give it a stir and simmer for 10 minutes more. Remove from heat and allow to cool for a couple minutes.
• Strain the contents of the sauce pot into a large wire-mesh strainer over a large bowl. Remove the bay leaf and cinnamon stick and discard. Place remaining solids into a blender.
• Add 2 cups of the broth from the sauce into the blender, plus 1 cup of beef broth. Whirl until well blended. Taste and add more salt if needed and blend just until mixed in.
• Place the pot with the beef and onion back on the stove at medium heat. Pour the contents of the blender over the beef. If the sauce is not enough liquid to cover the beef, pour in enough beef broth to cover. Bring to a simmer, then cover and lower heat. Simmer until meat is tender and shreds easily, about 2½ to 3 hours.

BIRRIA DE RES TACOS (BEEF BIRRIA TACOS)

Steps:

• Fill a pot with water and bring to a boil. Add guajillo, ancho, and arbol chile peppers; boil for 5 minutes. Remove pot from heat and allow peppers to soak until cool. Drain, reserving 1/4 cup of the water.
• Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C).
• Rinse meat and pat dry with paper towels. Season with salt and pepper.
• Heat oil in a Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add meat and cook until browned on all sides, about 10 minutes. Remove from heat.
• Line a heavy cast-iron grill pan or griddle with aluminum foil and place over high heat. Arrange tomatoes in a single layer on top. Grill until tomato skin is burned on all sides and begins to peel, 3 to 5 minutes.
• Combine soaked chile peppers, cooked tomatoes, vinegar, garlic, 2 teaspoons black pepper, cloves, cinnamon, cumin, thyme, marjoram, oregano, and salt to taste in a blender. Pour in reserved 1/4 cup of chile water; blend until smooth.
• Strain chile sauce through a mesh strainer and pour over the browned meat in the Dutch oven, turning roast so it is completely covered with sauce. Cover the Dutch oven and place in the preheated oven.
• Bake, basting meat every 45 minutes with the sauce, until birria begins to fall apart, 3 to 4 hours. Remove lid and bake uncovered until birria is crispy on top, about 20 minutes. Remove from oven, cover with 2 layers of aluminum foil, and allow to rest in a warm area for 10 minutes.
• Meanwhile, warm tortillas on a griddle. Fill each tortilla with birria and top with chopped onion and cilantro.

Steps:

• Heat a large heavy skillet over medium heat. Add guajillo and ancho chiles to the skillet; cook, stirring continuously, 2 to 3 minutes or until fragrant. Set aside.
• In a large saucepan over high heat, add 6 cups water and bring to a boil. Transfer the chilies to the water and remove from the heat. Let stand 7 minutes or until the chiles are softened.
• Drain chiles and discard water. Hold the tip of the chiles and snip off the stem. Scrap out the seeds. Discard seeds and stem. Add chiles to a blender. Set aside.
• Using a paper towel, wipe the large skillet dry. Add 1 tablespoon oil to the skillet and heat until shimmering. Add the tomatoes, onions and garlic. Cook, stirring frequently, until onions and garlic are lightly browned. Add peppercorns, oregano and thyme. Cook, stirring frequently, 9 minutes or until the flavors are melded. Let cool slightly.
• Transfer mixture to the blender with the chiles. Add the cumin, apple cider vinegar and 2 cups cold water. Blend about 1 minute or until smooth. Strain mixture, reserving the sauce.
• Arrange chuck roast and short ribs in a large nonreactive casserole dish. Season all over with the salt. Pour adobo sauce over the meat and turn to coat with the sauce. Cover tightly and refrigerate 4 hours or up to 2 days.
• Preheat oven to 300°F.
• Transfer adobo and beef mixture to a large Dutch oven over medium heat. Add the cloves, bay leaves, cinnamon stick (if using) and chicken broth. Cook, stirring occasionally, until simmering, Cover and bake 4 hours or until meat is tender. Check stew after 2 hours, adding more water as needed. Discard cloves, bay leaves and cinnamon stick.
• Transfer chuck roast and short ribs to a work surface. Using 2 forks, shred beef and return to sauce. Simmer 10 minutes. Season to taste with salt. Discard bones and excess fat.
• In a large skillet or griddle over medium-high heat, coat bottom surface lightly with oil.
• Using tongs, dip 1 tortilla in broth and add to the skillet. Repeat with 1 to 2 more tortillas or as many tortillas will fit without overlapping. Add about 1/4 cup meat on one-half of each tortilla. Cook, 1 to 2 minutes or until tacos are lightly browned and crisp. Fold tortillas in half and gently press together with a spatula. Transfer to a serving plate. Repeat with remaining tacos and filling. (see Tip)
• Sprinkle tacos with onions and cilantro. Serve with lime wedges. Ladle adobo broth into serving bowls for dipping.

BIRRIA TACOS

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 300 degrees F.
• For the beef: Combine the ancho, New Mexico and de arbol chiles, tomatoes, onion, garlic and beef broth in a large pot. Place over medium heat and bring to a gentle simmer. Continue to simmer for 12 to 14 minutes while you sear the beef.
• Heat the oil in a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Season the chuck roast with salt and pepper. In two batches, sear the beef, browning on all sides, about 6 minutes per batch. Transfer the beef to a plate.
• Using an immersion blender, blend the chile and tomato mixture until smooth.
• Add the blended sauce to the Dutch oven, scraping the pan to release any bits stuck to the bottom. Add the meat back to the pot with any juices from the plate. Add the apple cider vinegar, coriander, cumin, dried oregano, cinnamon sticks and bay leaves. Bring to a simmer, cover and transfer to the oven. Cook until the beef is very tender, about 3 hours.
• Remove the beef to a bowl and shred with 2 forks. Set aside.
• For the tacos: To build the tacos, grab a tortilla and dip it in the warm braising liquid. Lay the tortilla on a griddle over medium heat, top with a couple of tablespoons of the mozzarella and 2 to 3 heaping tablespoons of the beef. Add a little onion and cilantro, then fold in half to close. Repeat with 3 more tortillas.
• Cook the tacos on the griddle until crisp, 30 to 45 seconds per side. Remove to a platter and squeeze over the lime juice. Repeat with the remaining tortillas and serve with the braising liquid on the side for dipping.

BIRRIA DE POLLO (CHICKEN BIRRIA) TACOS

Steps:

• Add chicken broth to a medium saucepan and bring to a boil over medium-high. Remove from heat and add dried chiles. Cover and let sit until chiles have softened, about 10 minutes.
• Meanwhile, heat 2 tablespoons of the oil in a large pot or Dutch oven over medium-high. Add 3 of the onion quarters, reserving the last quarter for later use, and garlic to pan. Cook, flipping once, until charred, about 6 minutes. Remove from heat (do not wipe out the pot), and transfer onion and garlic to a blender. Add chicken broth, chiles, tomatoes, vinegar, 1 teaspoon salt, cumin, oregano, pepper, and cloves. Secure lid on blender, and remove center piece to allow steam to escape. Place a clean towel over opening. Process until combined, about 1 to 2 minutes. Pour through a fine mesh strainer into a large bowl.
• Season chicken with remaining 1 teaspoon salt. Add remaining 1 tablespoon oil in to the large pot; heat over medium-high. Add chicken; cook, flipping once, until golden brown, about 3 minutes per side. Pour blended chile mixture over meat chicken and top with bay leaf. Cover and cook over medium-low until chicken is cooked through, about 25 minutes.
• Meanwhile, chop remaining onion quarter. Set aside.
• Uncover pot, discard bay leaf, and remove chicken from chile mixture and shred. Transfer shredded chicken to a large bowl and top with 1 cup of the chile mixture; leave remaining mixture in the Dutch oven pot over medium-low.
• Heat remaining 1 tablespoon oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high. Working with 1 tortilla at a time, quickly dip tortilla into sauce until well coated. Transfer to skillet and top with 1/4 cup of the chicken. Repeat process with as many tortillas as will fit on in skillet. Cook until tortillas are golden brown and beginning to crisp, 1 to 2 minutes. Fold tortillas in half and transfer to a plate. Repeat process with remaining sauce, meat chicken and tortillas.
• Divide tacos evenly among 6 plates. Top with reserved chopped onion and cilantro and serve with lime wedges.

BEEF BIRRIA QUESO TACOS WITH CONSOMé

Steps:

• Stir reserved beef birria sauce, chicken broth, carrots, celery, and cabbage together in a saucepan over high heat; bring to a simmer. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer, occasionally brushing the caramelized bits (side fond) off the side with the hot liquid, until vegetables are nice and tender and consomé has reached desired consistency, about 20 minutes. Reduce heat to low and keep hot while you prepare the tacos.
• Heat some reserved beef fat in a large skillet over medium heat until melted. Add 2 tortillas and toss with a spatula until generously coated in fat. Toast briefly until golden brown, then cover with Monterey Jack cheese and some shredded beef. Drizzle each taco with about 1 tablespoon consomé liquid, then top with white onion and cilantro.
• Fold tacos in half and press gently. Continue to cook, flipping back and forth, until browned and crispy, 2 to 3 minutes. Transfer to a plate and repeat to make remaining tacos, adding more fat if necessary.
• Ladle consomé into a bowl and garnish with remaining white onions and cilantro. Squeeze lime wedges into consomé and serve with tacos.