Beef Birria Tacos

Better than coming from a food truck, and you don’t have to leave the house to get them.

Birria is a traditional Mexican stew made with goat meat. However, cooks in the United States, particularly food trucks, changed that up, and most birria is made with beef and served in a cheesy taco. This is not a quick meal, but it is worth every minute you put into it. And those tacos at the end are waiting for you.

Ingredients

·         2 dried guajillo chiles, stem and seeds removed

·         1 dried ancho chiles, stem and seeds removed

·         2 dried New Mexico chiles, stem and seeds removed

·         3 dried chipotle chiles, stem and seeds removed

·         Water

·         5 whole allspice berries

·         2 whole cloves

·         ½ t. cumin

·         ¼ t. thyme

·         ¼ t. ground ginger

·         7 garlic cloves, roasted if you like

·         ½ large yellow onion

·         1 t. ground cinnamon

·         1 T. apple cider vinegar

·         6 oz pineapple juice

·         Salt and pepper

·         2# boneless beef short ribs

·         28 oz. fire-roasted tomatoes, diced

·         Olive oil

·         Corn tortillas

·         Monterey Jack cheese, shredded

·         Chopped white onion for garnish

·         Hot sauce for garnish

Method

1.       Place all dried chiles in a medium pot and add 1 1/2 cups of water. Place the pot on low heat and simmer for 15 minutes

2.       In a blender, combine the allspice, cloves, cumin, thyme, ginger, garlic, onion, bay leaves, cinnamon, vinegar, and pineapple juice.

3.       When the chiles are ready, add them to the blender, including the water in which they were cooked, and pour in two additional cups of water. Blend until smooth.

4.       Generously season the short ribs with salt. Place the seasoned meat in a large, cast-iron Dutch oven.

5.       Pour the marinade through a fine mesh strainer into the Dutch oven. You will likely need a spatula to work the marinade through the strainer, leaving behind the pulp from the chiles. Discard the pulp.

6.       Place the Dutch oven in the refrigerator for 4 hours to marinade.

7.       After marinading, remove the Dutch oven and place over medium heat. Add enough water to cover the meat. Cover and bring to a boil.

8.       The total cook time will be 3 hours, but after hours 1 and 2, check the water level in the Dutch oven, adding enough to cover the meat. When the total time expires, the meat should be very soft and shred easily. Remove the shredded meat from the pot, leaving behind any liquids.

9.       To the same pot and medium heat, add the fire roasted tomatoes and 2 teaspoons of pepper. Using a stick blender, blend until smooth. Add salt to taste.

10.   Making the tacos: In a large skillet over medium heat, add enough oil to cover the bottom. Once heated, add tortillas to the pan. Top each tortilla with a layer of shredded cheese, and place another tortilla on top of the cheese.

11.   After about 1-2 minutes, flip the tortillas and add birria meat to one half of the cooked side of the tortilla. Immediately fold, and cook for about a minute.

12.   Flip the folded tortilla, and cook for another minute.

13.   Removed the cooked tacos to a plate, top with onions, hot sauce, whatever you like, and serve with a small bowl of the tomato consommé.

14.   Enjoy.

VARIANTS:

Instead of making tacos, try the birria meat over rice with a side of the consommé. You can also just serve the meat with a side of refried beans, salsa and tortillas.

Feel free to experiment with the chiles. Depending on what you have in your area, the meat can be spicier, smokier, sweeter than this version. It all depends on how your tastes run. If you want to experiment more, use different flavored liquids instead of the vinegar and pineapple juice.