Birria Tacos – A Taste Sensation
Birria can be prepared a day in advance and stored in the refrigerator. It can also be frozen for up to 3 months.
To assemble, place a portion of shredded beef in the center of a corn tortilla and top with melted cheese. Fold over and cook like a quesadilla until the cheese is melty. Keep reading the article below to learn more about Best Tacos In Houston.
The birria served in these tacos is slow-cooked until it’s tender enough to shred with a fork. It’s usually made with goat meat, but some recipes use beef instead. The choice of meat is really up to you, but you’ll want a tougher cut that will stand up to the long cooking process and the bold flavoring. Goat, lamb and oxtail are all good choices.
In addition to the meat, birria is typically seasoned with a mixture of spices, including cumin, marjoram and Mexican oregano. Some recipes also include bay leaves, cloves and cinnamon. You’ll want to marinate your goat meat in advance if you plan on using it in this dish. This will add extra flavor and help it tenderize faster, which can cut down on the cooking time.
Some birria recipes also call for dried red chiles, such as ancho or guajillo peppers. They’ll need to be toasted on a dry comal or skillet before boiling or soaking in hot water to make them soft enough to puree. This is what gives birria its rich, ruby-red color and its characteristically smoky taste.
You’ll want to add some acidity, too, so some birria recipes call for vinegar or tomato juice. This helps offset the richness of the stew and brings out its natural flavors. Pineapple vinegar is a popular option, but if you can’t find it or don’t want to bother with making it, white vinegar will work just fine.
Once the birria is cooked, it can be refrigerated for 3-4 days. It can also be frozen for up to 3 months. When ready to serve, reheat the birria and let it cool before transferring it to an airtight container or freezer-safe bag. This can be stored in the refrigerator until you’re ready to assemble and fry the tacos.
To assemble the tacos, spread some of the birria on a corn tortilla and top with shredded beef and cheese. Gently lay another corn tortilla on top and cook as you would a quesadilla, until the cheese is melted and the tacos are golden brown. If desired, you can garnish the tacos with radishes and lime wedges and serve them with small bowls of consomme for dipping.
Spicy Chile Sauce
The secret to birria is in the mix of chiles used, with each region or even family having their own recipe. For example, in addition to guajillo and ancho chiles, many recipes call for the dried leaves of maguey (a member of the agave family). The resulting flavor is similar to that of mezcal or tequila, but less potent.
The traditional version of birria is cooked on an open flame using a comal, or flat-bottomed skillet. But you can also make it in a slow cooker or in a dutch oven in the oven. If you make it on the stove, searing the meat first is an important step. This helps keep the meat moist while it cooks slowly and creates a delicious crust on the outside.
Once the meat is cooked, the chiles are soaked in water and then blended to create the sauce. To ensure a smooth consistency, you should also strain the sauce for any remaining seeds, which can add a bitter taste. Adding more or less broth is also easy to adjust the consistency of the final product.
Another important ingredient is paprika, which adds an earthy spice to the dish. You can use regular paprika or smoked paprika for a more smoky flavor. Other herbs and spices are commonly used in birria, including oregano, thyme, garlic, and cumin. Some recipes also call for pineapple vinegar, which adds a bright acidity to the dish.
While the most popular way to eat birria is as a taco, it can be enjoyed in other ways, such as on top of tamales or in a bowl of ramen. It can also be served as a dip or spooned over rice. Whatever you choose to do with it, birria is sure to be a new favorite.
Shredded Cheese
Birria is a slow-cooked beef stew made with dried red chiles, cinnamon sticks, cloves, and bay leaves. It’s rich, hearty, and comforting. It’s also inexpensive to make because you use beef chuck roast, one of the cheapest cuts of meat. It can be served with tortillas, steamed rice, or a savory egg. It makes a great leftover that you can use in birria ramen, quesadillas, or even a birria pizza.
The shredded cheese that’s served with these tacos is Oaxacan (quesillo), chihuahua, or panela. If you can’t find these cheeses, Monterey Jack or mozzarella works well too. A little cilantro, diced white onion and a squeeze of lime are the perfect complements to this flavorful dish.
You can serve birria tacos any time of the year, but they’re especially good in the winter. You can even make birria several days in advance and keep it in the fridge. This gives you a chance to try this delicious meal on a weeknight when you’re busy but craving something warm and satisfying.
The best way to eat these tacos is to shallowly dip each tortilla into the top layer of the broth, which is usually oily and faty. Then fold the tortilla around a handful of shredded meat and some cheese, and then fry it. The tortilla should be golden brown and crispy on both sides. Then serve it with the flavorful dipping sauce on the side.
This recipe uses a combination of traditional ingredients, as well as some newer ones, to create a unique take on the famous Mexican comfort food. To start, you’ll need to prepare birria, then cook the beef in it until it’s fall apart tender. This can be done in the slow cooker, or you can use a dutch oven in the oven.
The beef is seasoned and seared before it’s cooked in the birria. The chiles are soaked, blended, and strained, and the whole mixture is then simmered for hours. Once the beef is fork tender, you can shred it and add it back to the birria soup.
Cilantro
Birria is typically made with goat meat, but it can also be prepared using beef. Toss some diced white onion into the mix to add flavor and texture. You’ll also want to make sure to use plenty of cilantro to add flavor and freshness. Adding a squeeze of lime juice is another must-do. This will really brighten up the entire dish and bring out all of the flavors in the chiles, garlic and tomatoes.
This stew is often made in a slow cooker or on the stove, but you can also prepare it in an Instant Pot. This will take a third of the time and ensure that the meat is fork tender when ready.
You’ll need a few key ingredients to make birria:
Tomatoes: You can use fresh or canned tomatoes, depending on what’s available in your pantry. Tomatoes add a punch of sweetness to the birria and help thicken up the sauce, so be sure to use a variety that’s very juicy and ripe.
Dried Chiles: Dried chiles like ancho chiles and guajillo peppers are crucial to making this stew a success. They must be toasted first to release their flavor and aromas, and they’ll add heat and depth of color to the final dish. Be sure to choose a chile that’s mildly spicy, rather than overly spicy.
Stew Meat: Tough cuts of stew meat work best for birria, and these are usually less expensive. Beef stew meat, chuck roast and lamb shoulder all work well here. If you have extra birria left over, it can be poured over tortillas to create a taco called a birria torta.
Once the birria has finished cooking, remove the ancho chiles and place in a blender along with one cup of broth from the stew. Blend until it becomes smoother and pour this back into the stew.
To serve birria tacos, top a warm corn or flour tortilla with some shredded beef and cilantro. You can even add a sprinkle of melty cheese, like queso fresco or Oaxacan string cheese. If you can’t find this cheese, mozzarella will do just fine. Top each taco with a squirt of lime juice to add a nice brightness that complements the spices in the birria.