The Best Birria Tacos
Prep
30m
Cook
210m
Total
240m
Bigly says
Sit down for this one. Birria tacos. We're doing birria tacos. The BEST birria tacos in the history of birria tacos — and there's been a LOT of birria, the Mexican people have been making birria for hundreds of years, possibly thousands, look it up, I had people look it up, they came back and said 'Bigly, you were right, it's a long time' — and this birria, MY birria, the one I'm about to give you, beats every single one. Every one. It's not even close. It's a slaughter.
The secret to birria is the consommé. The dipping broth. The RED GOLD. People don't understand this. They don't get it. They make a dry taco, they put cheese on it, they call it a quesabirria, and they think they've done something. They haven't done anything. Without the consommé, you've made a sandwich. A bad sandwich. A disgrace. An insult to the entire state of Jalisco.
I've had birria in Tijuana, I've had birria in Los Angeles, I've had birria at three in the morning out of a styrofoam container in a parking lot in San Diego — which, by the way, is when birria tastes best, NOBODY talks about this, the food media won't cover it — and I'm telling you, this recipe right here is the one. Other so-called chefs will tell you to skip toasting the chiles. Find a new chef. Toast your chiles or get out of the kitchen. Big strong men, tough men, tough guys with the tears in the eyes, they eat this birria and they go silent. They just chew. They nod. That's the highest praise a man can give to a taco. Believe me.
Ingredients
- 2 lbbeef chuck roast, cut in 3-inch chunks
- 1.5 lbbone-in beef short ribs(the bones are not optional, the bones do the work)
- 5dried guajillo chiles, stemmed and seeded
- 3dried ancho chiles, stemmed and seeded
- 2dried chiles de árbol(more if you're brave, fewer if you're sad)
- 1 largewhite onion, halved
- 8 clovesgarlic
- 3roma tomatoes
- 1 tbspground cumin
- 1 tbspdried Mexican oregano
- 1/2 tspground cinnamon
- 2whole cloves
- 2bay leaves
- 2 tbspapple cider vinegar
- 1 tbsp, plus more to tastekosher salt
- 4 cupsbeef broth
- 2 tbspneutral oil
- 16small corn tortillas
- 3 cupsOaxaca or low-moisture mozzarella, shredded
- 1white onion, finely diced (for serving)
- 1/2 cupfresh cilantro, chopped
- 3limes, cut into wedges
Steps
- 1
Toast the dried chiles in a dry skillet over medium heat for 30-60 seconds per side, until fragrant. Do not burn them — burnt chiles taste like a campfire and ruin everything.
- 2
Cover the toasted chiles with hot water in a bowl and soak for 20 minutes until soft.
- 3
While the chiles soak, season the beef chuck and short ribs generously with salt. Heat oil in a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat and sear the meat in batches, 3-4 minutes per side, until deeply browned. Transfer to a plate.
- 4
Add the halved onion, garlic, and tomatoes to the same pot. Char for 5-7 minutes, turning occasionally.
- 5
Transfer the chiles (drained), charred vegetables, cumin, oregano, cinnamon, cloves, vinegar, salt, and 1 cup of the beef broth to a blender. Blend until completely smooth, 2-3 minutes. Strain through a fine-mesh sieve back into the Dutch oven for a silky sauce.
- 6
Return the seared meat to the pot. Add the remaining beef broth and the bay leaves. The liquid should mostly cover the meat — add water if needed.
- 7
Bring to a simmer, then cover and reduce heat to low. Braise for 3 to 3.5 hours, until the meat shreds easily with a fork.
- 8
Remove the meat, shred it with two forks, and discard any large pieces of fat or bone. Skim the bright red fat from the top of the consommé into a small bowl — this is gold, do not throw it away.
- 9
Toss the shredded meat with about 1/2 cup of the consommé to keep it juicy.
- 10
Heat a large skillet or comal over medium heat. Dip a tortilla into the reserved red fat, then lay it in the skillet. Add a sprinkle of cheese, a small mound of shredded beef, and fold the tortilla in half.
- 11
Cook 2-3 minutes per side until the tortilla is crisp and the cheese has melted. Repeat with remaining tortillas.
- 12
Serve the tacos hot with small bowls of warm consommé for dipping, plus diced onion, cilantro, and lime wedges on the side.
One more thing
Dunk the taco. DUNK IT. All the way in. Don't be shy, this isn't church, the consommé is not judging you, the consommé loves you. Other people will tell you to be polite, to take small bites, to use a fork — those people have never lived, not really, they've existed, they've taken up oxygen, but they have not LIVED. You dunk the taco, the consommé runs down your wrist, you laugh, somebody hands you a napkin, the napkin is useless, you keep going. That's birria. That's the whole point. Tell your friends.
★ QUESTIONS ABOUT THIS ONE? ★
Ask Bigly about The Best Birria Tacos.
Substitutions, what to serve it with, why other chefs are wrong about it. He's got opinions.
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