There are certain cuisines that are popular throughout the world like Indian, Chinese, African Japanese, Korean, Italian, French and Mexican cuisine. Our main focus in this article isn’t to discuss the various types of cuisines on earth.
But the goal for this article is to talk about a specific meal among these unique cuisines. Today’s top pick is Tacos! Tacos hail from Mexico, a dish made from various ingredients which is then folded or rolled up in a tortilla.
Just like any other food out there, there are different types of taco recipes and what makes them different from one another is basically the filling. However, today’s special is Birria tacos! Preparation and mukbang videos of Birria tacos will make you salivate for sure. This taco is made with juicy and slow-cooked meat that has been mixed with spices and flavors. These tacos are becoming a big hit in not only traditional Mexican cuisine but also in Mexican street food. In this article, you’ll learn how to make your own birria tacos at home.
Ingredients for Birria tacos
For Birria
Birria itself is a broth or stew that’s made with goat, beef, or lamb, slowly cooked to perfection with spices and dried chili peppers. To make this broth you’ll be needing:
- 2½ pounds beef (chuck roast or short ribs)
- 5 dried guajillo chilies, 3 dried ancho chilies, 2 dried pasilla chili, or any available dried chili or chili powder (stemmed and seeded)
- Several cups beef broth (depending on how big you want your Birria to be)
- 1 large onion, chopped
- 5 cloves garlic, minced or toasted and melted
- 1 tablespoon dried oregano
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1 cinnamon stick
- 4 bay leaves
- 1½ tablespoons apple cider vinegar
- Salt to taste
For the Tacos
- Corn tortillas
- Chopped onion
- Chopped cilantro
- Lime zest
- Shredded cheese
- Salsa
How to prepare the Birria
Step 1: Remove the stems and seeds from the dried peppers you have. Get a bowl, put the cleaned peppers inside it and cover them with hot water. Allow the peppers to sit for about 20 minutes to soften.
Step 2: The first step is to rehydrate the already dried out chili peppers. The next thing to do is to toast the rehydrated peppers for about 2 minutes. While toasting them, make sure you flip them to both sides until they start smelling good. However, you need to be careful so as not to burn them.
Step 3: In a blender, add the roasted chili peppers, chopped onions, garlic (whether toasted and melted or minced, dried oregano, cumin, ground black pepper, and apple cider vinegar. If you have beef broth, you can add in one cup to blend the ingredients. In a case where you don’t have beef broth, you can use water.
Step 4: On a medium-high heat, place a large pot over it and add a bit of oil. Add in beef, season with salt and any seasoning cube of your choice. Flip the meat on all sides until the meat browns.
Step 5: Add the chili paste to the pot with the meat, then stir the meat for even coating. Next, pour in the beef broth, add cinnamon stick, bay leaves, then stir to combine.
Step 6: Bring the meat to a boil, then reduce the heat of the fire from medium to low. Allow this to cook for about 2 to 3 hours.
Assembling the Tacos
After the meat is done cooking, pour the broth in a bowl and separate the fat from the mixture. This broth is the side dip of the tortilla. Next, heat a non-stick pan on medium fire. Then dip each tortilla wrap in broth, making sure that each side is perfectly covered in broth. Place the tortilla in the heated pan and cook the wraps on both sides for 2 minutes until they are crispy.
Shred the birria meat on each tortilla, sprinkle with cheese, fold the tortilla in half over the meat and gently press it down. Cook the taco for about a minute and a half until the cheese starts to melt.
Top your tacos with chopped onions, fresh cilantro, lime zest, shredded cheese, salsa, avocado and whatever toppings you have. Lastly, serve the tacos with broth (that you separated from the fat earlier).
Bottom line
Birria tacos are actually worth the effort. All you need is a little patience and attention to detail, in order to make these tasty tacos at home.
