birria-style

Cheesy Birria Style Tacos

May 19

Birria tacos begin with slow-cooked beef, rich with spices, crisped up in tortillas with melted cheese and dipped into that deep, savoury broth. If you’re going to do it, do it properly: cook the meat until it falls apart, skim off that top layer of oil, and don’t rush the final fry. They take time but oh so worth it!

Serves 4
4 1/2 hours

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 150 C / 130 C fan.
2. Place a large cast iron pot or Dutch oven over a medium heat and add 1 tbsp oil. Sear the beef pieces well, until golden on all sides then remove from the pan and set aside - you may need to do this in batches depending on the size of your pan.
3. Place the dried chillies in a separate pan and add the onion, garlic cloves, tomatoes, peppercorns, oregano, cumin and coriander. Pour over the beef stock and 100ml of water then add a lid and place over a medium heat.
4. Simmer gently for 10 - 15 minutes, then transfer everything to a blender. Leave to cool slightly then blend until you have a smooth sauce - if your blender is small you may need to do this in batches.
5. Pour the sauce into the pan you seared the beef in and stir in the apple cider vinegar, bay leaves and cinnamon stick. Season with salt to taste.
6. Add the meat back to the pan and place everything over a medium heat until it reaches a gentle simmer. Cover with a lid and transfer to the preheated oven. Cook for about 3 - 4 hours, until the meat is tender and falling apart.
7. When the meat is done, remove as much of the red oil from the top of the pot as possible - set aside as you will use this later - then, remove the beef from the pan and shred using 2 forks.
8. Place the shredded beef into a large, clean pan and pour over 200ml of the braising liquid. Place over a medium heat and cook for about 15 minutes, until it is no longer liquidy and instead the sauce coats the beef. Stir through the butter and stir until melted then remove from the heat.
9. In a small bowl mix together the finely chopped onion, juice of a lime and chopped coriander and season with a little salt. Set aside until needed.
10. Taste the braising liquid and check for seasoning then keep warm to use for dipping once the tacos are done - if the braising liquid is too thick, loosen with a little boiling water - you want it to be slightly thicker than soup in texture - birria are served with this liquid on the side for dipping!
11. Heat the reserved oil taken from the top of the braising liquid in a small saucepan and brush each tortilla with the oil, turning them slightly red.
12. Place a frying pan over a medium heat and, depending on the size, place 1 or 2 tortillas into the pan. Leave for 20 seconds then sprinkle half of the tortilla with the grated mozzarella, a few spoonfuls of the beef and finally sprinkle with a little of the onion-coriander mix. Fold the tortilla over to make a semi circle and cook on each side for about 2 minutes until golden and crispy.
13. Repeat this process until all of the tortillas are used up then serve with any extra onion-coriander mix on the side and the braising liquid for dipping.
14. Freeze any remaining beef mix to make the next time a little easier!

2.2 lb beef chuck, left whole or cut into large 4 inch pieces

1.75 lb boneless beef short ribs

4 ancho chiles, de-seeded

6 guajillo chiles, de-seeded

4 chiles de arbol, de-seeded

1 large onion, peeled and cut into quarters

6 garlic cloves

4 large vine tomatoes

1 tbsp black peppercorns

1 tsp dried oregano

1 tsp cumin seeds

1 tsp coriander seeds

1 tsp apple cider vinegar

2½ cups beef stock

1 small cinnamon stick

3 bay leaves

3½ tbsp butter

Sea salt, to taste

For the tacos:

1 large onion, finely diced

Juice of 1 lime

Large handful of coriander, finely chopped

12 corn tortillas

7 oz mozzarella, grated

1kg beef chuck, left whole or cut into large 4 inch pieces

800g boneless beef short ribs