Pork Cheese Birria Tacos Recipes

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.

PORK BIRRIA TACOS

Steps:

• Heat a cup of water and stir in the vegetable umami or chicken bouillon until dissolved and well combined. Set aside.
• Place the pork, onion, garlic, cumin, onion powder, oregano, crushed cloves, water/bouillon or umami mixture, and bay leaves in your pressure cooker, stir, cover, and pressure cook on high for 1 hour and let it naturally release. Alternatively, you can cook in a slow cooker on high for 4-6 hours or low for 8-10 hours.
• Open your pressure cooker/slow cooker and with a spoon, take out the fatty liquid that is on the surface of the stew and place about ½ cup into a bowl. This fatty liquid is needed to cook the tacos. With tongs, take out the meat and place on a plate or shallow bowl and shred. Place the rest of the liquid in small separate bowls.
• Spray a medium pan on medium heat with non-stick cooking spray. Scoop some fatty liquid with a spoon and place about 1-2 tablespoons in the pan. Place the tortilla on the pan and cook on both sides, making sure the liquid gets on both sides. This will make the tortillas become soggy but don't worry, the longer you cook the more crispy they become. On one side of the tortilla, place the meat and cheese and then fold the tortilla over to form a taco. Flip the taco to the other side and keep flipping until the taco becomes crispy.
• Serve the tacos with a bowl of the stew and garnish with cilantro.

QUESABIRRIA TACOS

Steps:

• Use a spoon to skim the red-stained fat floating on the top of the birria pot - it's deeply seasoned and the key to crisp, delicious tacos - and put it on a plate. Pull the meat and shred it with your hands, or a fork. (The meat should be very lightly dressed in broth, but not swimming in it.)
• Heat a large nonstick or cast-iron skillet over medium. Working quickly, dip each tortilla into the birria fat on one side then flop it onto the hot pan, fat-side down. As it starts to sizzle, sprinkle 1/4 cup cheese to cover each tortilla, going all the way to the edges, then sprinkle about 1/4 cup meat over half of each tortilla.
• As the tortillas brown and the cheese starts to melt, fold each tortilla in half to cover the meat, pressing down gently. It's OK if some cheese spills out, in fact, it's encouraged; this leads to lacy, crispy edges. Manage the heat and flip the tacos as needed to avoid burning, cooking until crisp on both sides.
• Just before eating, lift up the taco edge and season each with a little onion, cilantro and lime juice, to taste.