Best Beef Birria Tacos
These are a flavour explosion in your mouth! The chilis are not spicy and give the beef the most beautiful smoky flavour. You make the chili marinade, cook the beef until it falls apart, and then shred it up before placing it in a soft corn taco with some cheese and frying them up in a pan to get a slightly crunchy exterior. The result? The best damn tacos you’ve ever eaten.
Ingredients:
1.5 kg beef chuck roast
3 tsp salt
2 tsp pepper
4 tbsp olive oil
1 large onion
2 Roma tomatoes
6 cloves garlic
2 tsp garlic powder
2 tsp onion powder
2 tsp oregano
3 tbsp tomato paste
3 guajillo chilis (deseeded)
3 ancho chilis (deseeded)
2 cups beef stock
2 cups chicken stock
1 cinnamon stick (Mexican cinnamon preferably)
4 bay leaves
2 sprigs rosemary
1 tsp dried thyme
corn tortillas and cheese to serve
Method:
Cut the beef into large pieces, pat them down with paper towel until they are dry, then sprinkle generously with salt and pepper and massage the seasonings into the meat.
Heat a large pot to high heat, then add the olive oil and the beef cubes. Don’t overcrowd the pot, rather do them in batches if needed. Fry on each side until nicely browned. Once done, remove the beef from the pot and set aside.
Cut the onion and tomatoes into quarters, and add them to the same pot that you used for the beef. Add the garlic powder, onion powder, oregano, tomato paste, guajillo chilis, ancho chilis, and beef stock. Cook for 10-15 minutes until the onion and chilis have softened.
Pour the contents into a blender and blend into a fine sauce. Pour the sauce back into the pot and add the beef cubes, chicken stock, cinnamon stick, bay leaves, rosemary, and thyme.
Cook for 3-5 hours, or until the meat is tender and falls apart when pulled with a fork. Pull apart each beef piece with forks until they are all shredded.
Fish out the cinnamon stick, bay leaves, and rosemary sprigs from the sauce, then add the shredded beef back to the sauce.
Dip your corn tortilla on each side into the birria sauce, place it in a pan, and load it with some cheese and some shredded beef. Fold the tortilla in half and fry on each side until golden on the outside and the cheese has melted.
Serve with some guacamole and/or mango avocado pico de gall0 and a generous drizzle of the birria sauce either over the tacos or in a bowl to dip into. Enjoy!