Birria Tacos
"Birria tacos are one of the best tacos to ever exist. They’re full of flavour, cheesy, juicy and ultimately delicious. This recipe is definitely a show stopper and I encourage everyone to try them! For a vegetarian/vegan friendly recipe, you can use portobello mushrooms instead of the meat and add beans to the stew. "
Difficulty
Medium 👍Ingredients
Utensils
tortilla press, blender
Step 1/11
- 1 onion
- 2 carrots
- 2 tomatoes
- 1 pepper
Chop your vegetables in a bowl
Step 2/11
- 250 g beef chuck
Sauté your meat in onion and garlic until it’s not red on the outside. I used beef chucks but lamb meat is the traditional way to go.
Step 3/11
- 2 tbsp Arbol pepper paste
Add Arbol paste ( or arbol peppers) and all the other vegetables. I was not able to find guajillo peppers but if you can, don’t hesitate to put them in.
Step 4/11
- 75 ml water
- 1 cinnamon stick
- 2 bay leaves
Add water and spices . I used cinnamon, bay leafs and salt.
Step 5/11
Let it simmer for about 3-4 hours depending on the time you have.
Step 6/11
- 200 g masa harina
- 1 tbsp salt
Meanwhile prepare your tortillas. I used 200g of blue-ish masa harina, 1 tsp salt and 75 mL of water. If you buy tortillas from the store, try to find fresh ones. ( This makes about 8-9 tortillas)
Step 7/11
- tortilla press
Smash your tortillas with a press or simply use some plastic wrap and a bottom rounded dish. Cook them in a pan by flipping every 10 seconds until brownish spots appear.
Step 8/11
- blender
After the stew has been cooked, throw all the vegetables in a blender and blend them together as a paste. Combine the paste back in to the pot. At this point the meat is so soft that it can be shredded by a fork.
Step 9/11
- 20 g parsley
Prepare the consumé by combining the stew with parsley and onion when ready to serve.
Step 10/11
- 100 g queso fresco
Dip the tortillas in the stew and fry them in a pan to crisp up. After that put queso fresco cheese (mozzarella also works) and meat on the tortilla, fold into a taco and let it fry in the pan until the cheese is melted and the outside of the taco is crispy.
Step 11/11
- 1 lime
Enjoy the tacos with lime on the side. If you have leftover consume, don’t worry! You can prepare so many different dishes such as various chilli, soup, etc.