crispy

🥄 Pairs well with: Salsa Roja de Chile de Árbol

Birria comes from Jalisco, where it is traditionally made with goat and served as a stew. The word itself is a joke: birria means something like “a worthless mess,” supposedly what Spanish colonists called the tough goats they left to locals. The locals got the last laugh. Here in taco form, the Tijuana-style beef version (birria de res) has conquered the world, thanks largely to the ritual of dipping crispy tacos into a cup of hot consommé.

Ingredients

• 3 lb (1.4 kg) beef chuck, cut into large chunks
• 2 lb bone-in short ribs or oxtail (for body in the broth)
• 6 guajillo chiles, 3 ancho chiles, 2 chiles de árbol, stemmed and seeded
• 4 Roma tomatoes and 1/2 white onion
• 6 garlic cloves
• 1 cinnamon stick (Mexican canela if you can find it)
• 3 bay leaves, 4 whole cloves, 1 tsp cumin seed
• 1 tsp dried Mexican oregano and 1/2 tsp dried thyme
• 2 tbsp apple cider vinegar
• 8 cups water or beef stock
• Salt, corn tortillas, diced onion, cilantro, limes

Method

1. Season the beef generously with salt and sear in batches in a heavy Dutch oven until well browned. Set aside.
2. Simmer the chiles, tomatoes, onion and garlic in water for 10 minutes until soft.
3. Blend the softened vegetables with the cinnamon, cloves, cumin, oregano, thyme, vinegar and 2 cups of the cooking liquid until silky. Strain for the smoothest consommé.
4. Return the beef to the pot, pour the sauce over, add bay leaves and the remaining water or stock. Bring to a simmer.
5. Cover and cook on the lowest heat (or in a 300°F oven) for 3 1/2 to 4 hours, until the beef falls apart.
6. Remove the meat and shred it. Skim the red fat from the surface of the broth into a small bowl and save it. Season the consommé with salt.
7. Dip a tortilla in the reserved fat, lay it on a hot griddle, fill with beef, fold and fry until crisp on both sides.
8. Serve with cups of consommé topped with onion and cilantro, and lime wedges for squeezing.

The quesabirria variation

Quesabirria, the cheese-loaded version that exploded out of Tijuana and Los Angeles taco trucks in the late 2010s, is the same process with one addition: lay a handful of shredded Oaxaca cheese (or low-moisture mozzarella) on the fat-dipped tortilla before the meat. Let it melt and crisp at the edges, where it forms a lacy, frico-like crust. Some cooks go further and make a mulita, sandwiching the filling between two tortillas.