Taco De Birria Recipe
Make Taco De Birria Recipe in just 4h . Get the full recipe with step-by-step instructions at pekinthechef.com.
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Ingredients
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Birria (stewed beef)
Toppings & Assembly
Method
Birria (stewed beef)
- 1
Prepare chiles
Remove stems and seeds from the guajillo, ancho and pasilla chiles. Wipe them with a damp towel. In a dry skillet over medium heat, toast the chiles 20–30 seconds per side until fragrant (do not burn). Transfer to a bowl and pour boiling water to cover. Soak 20 minutes until softened, then drain, reserving soaking liquid.
- 2
Char aromatics
On a hot dry skillet or under a broiler, char the tomato halves, quartered onion and garlic cloves until blackened in spots and softened, about 6–8 minutes, turning as needed. Let cool slightly.
- 3
Make chile sauce
In a blender, combine the toasted soaked chiles (tear into pieces), charred tomato, onion, garlic, white vinegar, oregano, cumin, cinnamon, cloves, 1 teaspoon salt, 1/2 teaspoon black pepper and about 120 ml of the reserved chile soaking liquid or plain hot water. Blend until very smooth, adding more liquid as needed to reach a pourable but thick sauce (about 45–60 seconds). Taste and adjust salt.
- 4
Brown the beef
Pat the beef chunks dry and season lightly with remaining salt and pepper. In a large heavy pot or Dutch oven, heat 2 tbs vegetable oil over medium-high. Brown beef on all sides in batches, 3–4 minutes per side, to develop color. Remove browned beef to a plate.
- 5
Combine and braise
Reduce heat to medium. Add the blended chile sauce to the pot and cook 2–3 minutes, stirring, to remove raw edge. Pour in stock and add bay leaves. Return browned beef to the pot and spoon some sauce over pieces. Bring to a gentle simmer, then cover and braise on low simmer for 2.5–3 hours (or 3–4 hours in oven at 160°C) until beef is fork-tender and shreds easily. Alternatively use a slow cooker on low 6–8 hours or pressure cook 45–60 minutes depending on your device.
- 6
Shred and reduce consommé
When beef is tender, remove meat to a cutting board, shred with two forks and discard bay leaves and any large pieces of fat. If the braising liquid is thin, increase heat and simmer uncovered 10–15 minutes to concentrate flavors, or skim fat off top if desired. Reserve about 300 ml of the strained consommé for dipping and thin the remaining sauce as needed to moisten meat.
- 7
Adjust seasoning
Taste the shredded beef and the consommé, adjust salt, vinegar or a pinch of sugar as needed to balance acidity and saltiness.
Toppings & Assembly
- 8
Warm tortillas
Heat a skillet or comal over medium. Warm each corn tortilla 20–30 seconds per side until pliable. For quesabirria, sprinkle shredded cheese on one tortilla, top with warm shredded birria, then cover with a second tortilla.
- 9
Fry and crisp (optional)
In a wide skillet, heat 2 tbs oil or beef fat over medium-high. For each taco, brush or lightly dip the tortilla edge into a shallow plate of consommé to get a thin coating, then place tortilla(s) in the hot oil seam-side down. Fry 1–2 minutes per side until edges are crisp and cheese melted (if using). Transfer to paper towels briefly to drain.
- 10
- 11
Serve
Serve tacos hot with small bowls of warm consommé for dipping. Provide extra lime wedges, chopped onion and cilantro at the table.