Make these mouth-watering Authentic Mexican Birria Tacos filled with tender shredded beef, white onions, Oaxaca cheese, and cilantro – the perfect meal for sharing!
Preheat oven at 175C/350F/Gas 4. Start by de-seeding the ancho, guajillo, and chipotle chilies. Then, soak the chilies in 2 cups of boiling water for 10-15 minutes.
Meanwhile, chop the beef chuck into medium-sized pieces. Season them with salt and pepper to taste. Then, grab a dutch oven, add a splash of oil, and sear beef pieces on each side for 5-7 minutes or until brown on each side. Option 1: Pour 2 cups of water into the beef, salt to taste, bring to a boil and cook beef on medium heat for 30 minutes. This will create the stock for the consomé. Option 2: Pour 1-2 cups of pre-made chicken or beef stock into the dutch oven after searing the beef.
Once the chilies are soft, add them and the water soaked in to a blender. Next, add apple cider vinegar, tomatoes (or canned tomatoes), onion, garlic cloves, cloves, marjoram, thyme, oregano, cumin, ginger, salt to taste and black pepper to the blender and blend until smooth.
Pour the sauce into the dutch oven with the beef. Add the bay leaves, cinnamon stick, salt to taste if necessary and cook for 2 hours or until tender. Check the beef from time to time and add water if it becomes too dry.
Once, you remove the beef from the oven use a fork to shred it.
Birria Tacos (Assemble)
Add a few drops of oil to a pan. Then, dip corn tortilla in the consomé, add the tortilla to the pan, add shredded beef to half of the tortilla, fold tortilla, pour a bit more consomé over the tortilla, then flip the taco and cook on the other side for a few minutes.
Remove the taco from the pan and top the taco with diced onions, Oaxaca cheese, and cilantro. Serve and Enjoy!
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Notes
Methods: Depending on your time and equipment, there are multiple ways to prepare birria tacos. If you don't have a Dutch oven, cook the beef and consomé on the stove for about 2 hours or until tender. You can also use a slow cooker, which takes around 4-6 hours.
Consomé: Consomé is a flavorful soup or stew made from dried chilies, beef or chicken stock, tomatoes, and spices. After slow-cooking the beef in the consomé for 2-3 hours, use the rich liquid as a dip for the tacos. For an even richer flavor, fry the onions, garlic, and spices before blending them into the consomé.
Alternative Fillings: The meaty filling can be made with lamb or chicken, but note that the cooking times will vary depending on the protein. You can also fill the tacos with The Best Simple Guacamole Recipe.