Beef birria tacos recipe

Birria comes from Jalisco, where it’s traditionally made with goat and served as a stew. Beef birria became famous in Tijuana, where cooks dip the tortillas in the red fat from the pot, fry them crisp around the meat and serve them with a cup of consommé (the cooking broth) for dipping. That’s the version here.

Dried chillies give birria its colour and flavour. Guajillo and ancho are fruity and fairly mild; chiles de árbol add real heat, so use as many as you like. Look for dried Mexican chillies online, in Latin American shops and in some larger supermarkets. Read more about what birria is.

Serves

6–8

Prep

40 min

Cook

3 hr 30 min

You’ll need

A large lidded casserole, a blender and a frying pan

Difficulty

Medium

Ingredients

For the birria

• 1.2 kg beef braising steak or chuck, cut into large chunks
• 500 g bone-in beef short rib or oxtail (or another 400 g braising steak)
• 2 tsp salt, plus more to taste
• 6 dried guajillo chillies
• 2 dried ancho chillies
• 1–3 dried chiles de árbol (optional, for heat)
• 2 tbsp vegetable oil
• 1 onion, roughly chopped
• 6 garlic cloves
• 2 ripe tomatoes, halved
• 2 tbsp cider vinegar
• 1 tsp ground cumin
• 1 tsp dried oregano
• ½ tsp black peppercorns
• 4 cloves
• 1 cinnamon stick
• 2 bay leaves
• about 1.5 litres water or beef stock

For the tacos

• 24 small corn tortillas
• 250 g Oaxaca cheese, or mozzarella, grated (optional)
• 1 small white onion, finely chopped
• a handful of fresh coriander, chopped
• lime wedges

Method

1. Prepare the chillies. Snip the stalks off the dried chillies and shake out most of the seeds. Toast them in a dry frying pan over a medium heat for 20–30 seconds a side, until fragrant; don’t let them blacken or they turn bitter. Cover with just-boiled water and soak for 20 minutes. Chilli handling: wash your hands well after touching chillies (or wear thin gloves), and keep your fingers away from your eyes.
2. Brown the beef. Season the beef with the salt. Heat the oil in a large casserole and brown the meat in batches over a medium-high heat. Set it aside.
3. Make the sauce. Blend the drained chillies with the onion, garlic, tomatoes, vinegar, cumin, oregano, peppercorns, cloves and 250 ml of the soaking water until smooth. Pour it into the casserole and fry for 5 minutes, stirring, until it darkens.
4. Braise. Return the beef with the cinnamon, bay and water or stock. Bring to a simmer, cover and cook very gently on the hob, or in the oven at 150°C (130°C fan, gas 2), for 3–3½ hours, until the beef falls apart.
5. Shred and skim. Lift out the beef, remove any bones and shred the meat. Skim the red fat from the top of the broth into a bowl and keep it. Taste the broth, season with salt and keep it hot: this is your consommé.
6. Fry the tacos. Heat a large frying pan over a medium-high heat. Dip a tortilla in the red fat, lay it in the pan, add some beef and a little cheese to one half, fold it over and fry for 1–2 minutes a side until crisp. Repeat, keeping the tacos warm in a low oven.
7. Serve. Serve the tacos with small cups of hot consommé topped with onion and coriander, and lime for squeezing.

Tips

• The cheese version is often called quesabirria. Mozzarella melts well; Oaxaca cheese is the Mexican choice.
• Make the birria a day ahead. The flavour improves and the fat sets on top, so it’s easy to lift off.
• For a milder birria, leave out the chiles de árbol. Guajillo and ancho alone give a warm, rich sauce with gentle heat.

Questions

Cooking for a crowd? We cater weddings, parties and events across London and the South East from our truck or trailer, with tacos, salsas and toppings made for your guests. Contact us for a quote.