Original recipe from The Kitchn and adapted over the times we’ve made them
Time: 2 1/2 – 3 hours
Feeds: 4-6 people (Makes about 18 tacos)
Ingredients:
- 3 1/2 pounds boneless beef chuck roast
- 3 teaspoons kosher salt, divided, plus more as needed
- 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 4 dried guajillo chiles, see notes
- 2 dried ancho chiles, see notes
- 1 large white onion
- 5 cloves peeled garlic
- 1 (1-inch) piece fresh ginger
- 2 medium plum or roma tomatoes
- 5 cups water
- 1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
- 1 teaspoon black peppercorns
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
- 1/4 cup avocado, grapeseed, or canola oil
- 5 cups beef broth
- 4 sprigs fresh thyme
- 18 small corn tortillas
- 1/2 white onion
- 1/4 cup fresh cilantro
- 2 medium limes
- 1 pound Chihuahua, Oaxaca, or Monterey jack cheese, shredded
Directions: Cut the chuck roast into smaller pieces, about 2 inch cubes. Season with 2 teaspoons of the kosher salt and 1 teaspoon ground black pepper. Set aside until it’s time to sear the meat.
Using kitchen shears, cut the stems from 4 guajillo and 2 ancho chiles. Remove the seeds. Peel and quarter 1 large white onion. Peel 1-inch fresh ginger and cut in half. Place the chiles, the onion, and ginger in a large saucepan. Add 5 peeled garlic cloves, 2 plum tomatoes, and 5 cups water. Heat on the stove on high and bring to a boil. Boil for 10 minutes.
Remove from the heat. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the chiles, onion, garlic, tomatoes, and ginger to a blender. Add 2 cups of the cooking liquid, the remaining 1 teaspoon kosher salt, 1/4 cup apple cider vinegar, 1 teaspoon black peppercorns, 1 teaspoon Mexican oregano, 1 teaspoon cumin seeds, 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon, and 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves. Blend on high speed until smooth, about 1 minute.
Fit a fine-mesh strainer over a large bowl. Strain the sauce and push it through the strainer with the bottom of a ladle until only a thick paste remains in the strainer. Discard the contents of the strainer.
Add 1/4 cup avocado oil to the Instant Pot and heat on the highest Sauté setting for 5 minutes. Add half the beef (or however much will fit in the bottom of the pot) and sear until browned on two sides, 5 to 7 minutes. Transfer to a plate. Repeat searing the remaining beef.
Return all the beef and any accumulated juices to the pressure cooker. Add the strained sauce, 5 cups beef broth, and 4 fresh thyme sprigs. Lock on the lid and make sure the valve is set to seal. Set to cook on HIGH pressure for 40 minutes. It will take 15 to 20 minutes to come up to pressure. Meanwhile, prepare the toppings.
Finely dice the 1/2 white onion and place in a small bowl. Finely chop the cilantro and toss with the white onion. Cut the lime into eighths so you can squeeze them over the tacos.
When the cook time is up, let the pressure naturally release for 15 minutes. Quick release any remaining pressure.
Heat the oven to 250ºF. Using a slotted spoon, transfer all of the beef to a large bowl. Shred the beef with 2 forks, discarding any chunks of fat. Discard the thyme sprigs. Taste and season the beef and cooking liquid (consommé) with kosher salt as needed — they should be very well seasoned. Don’t be afraid to add a good amount of salt to this as it can take it but taste frequently when doing so so you don’t over salt.
Preheat the flat top over medium high heat. Dip the tortillas into the consommé And place on the cook top. Add a generous amount of cheese to each taco followed by some of the birria meat. Cook until the cheese is melted and the tortilla is getting crispy. Serve the tacos garnished with the diced onion, cilantro, and lime wedges, with small bowls of consommé for dipping.
Notes: Sometimes, these exact dried chiles can be a little difficult. You can always go to a Mexican grocer or if need be, you can substitute for a different kind of mild, dried chile.
This recipe can always be made in a slow cooker or Dutch oven as well. For the slow cooker, follow the same steps for making the chile mixture, sear the beef in a saute pan, and then add everything to a slow cooker. Cook on LOW for 6-8 hours. In the Dutch oven, follow the same steps for making the chile mixture, sear in the Dutch oven, and then add everything to the Dutch oven. Simmer everything in the Dutch oven over medium heat for about 4 hours. These are great leftovers that can be made into more tacos or can be used for Birria Ramen.