This one will really help on your Taco Bell job application
Crispy, cheesy, drippy and dunkable. Beef gets braised for hours in a deep red chile consommé, then stuffed into fresh corn tortillas that are dipped in the red fat and fried until crackly. Keep a cup of consommé on the side for dunking and forget about napkins.
The challenge
- Long braise monitoring
- Balancing 20+ chilis
- Consommé consistency
- Making fresh corn tortillas
- Frying without sogginess
Jalisco's famous tacos start with goat or beef braised for hours in a complex dried chile consommé until fall-apart tender. The consommé itself requires toasting, rehydrating, and blending multiple types of chiles with spices into a deep, layered broth.
You'll need to press fresh corn tortillas from masa, then dip them in the fat-topped consommé, fill with meat and cheese, and fry until crispy while keeping them pliable. The consommé serves double duty as both braising liquid and dipping sauce.
Prep: 1 hour · Cook: 3 hours 30 minutes
Ingredients
For the birria
- 1.5 kg (3.3 lb) beef chuck, cut into large chunks
- 500 g (1.1 lb) bone-in beef short ribs (or use goat shoulder for the classic version)
- 8 dried guajillo chiles, 4 ancho chiles and 3 pasilla chiles, stems and seeds removed
- 3-6 dried chiles de árbol (to taste)
- 1 onion, halved, 6 garlic cloves and 3 plum tomatoes
- 1 tsp cumin seeds, 1 tsp black peppercorns, 4 whole cloves and 1 tsp dried Mexican oregano
- 1 cinnamon stick and 3 bay leaves
- 3 tbsp apple cider vinegar
- 2 litres (8 cups) beef stock or water
- 2 tbsp vegetable oil and salt
For the corn tortillas
- 300 g (2.5 cups) masa harina
- 400-450 ml (about 1 3/4 cups) warm water and 1/2 tsp salt
To assemble and serve
- 300 g (10.5 oz) Oaxaca cheese or mozzarella, shredded
- 1 white onion, finely chopped, 1 bunch coriander (cilantro), chopped, and limes
Method
- Toast and soak the chilesToast the chiles in a dry pan over medium heat for 20-30 seconds per side until fragrant and slightly puffed. Watch them like a hawk; burnt chiles make the whole pot bitter. Cover with very hot water and soak for 20 minutes.
- Char the aromaticsIn the same pan over high heat, char the onion halves, garlic and tomatoes for 8-10 minutes, turning, until blackened in spots. Toast the cumin, peppercorns and cloves for 1 minute.
- Sear the meatSeason the beef generously with salt. Heat the oil in a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat and sear the meat in batches for 4-5 minutes per side until deeply browned. Set aside.
- Blend the chile sauceDrain the chiles (keep 250 ml / 1 cup soaking liquid). Blend the chiles, charred vegetables, toasted spices, oregano, vinegar and the soaking liquid until completely smooth. Push through a sieve into the pot for a silky consommé.
- Braise low and slowReturn the meat to the pot with the stock, cinnamon stick and bay leaves. Bring to a simmer, cover and braise in the oven at 160°C (325°F) for 3-3.5 hours, checking every hour and topping up with water if it drops below the meat. It's ready when the beef shreds easily with a fork.
- Make the tortillasWhile it braises, mix the masa harina, salt and warm water into a soft dough that feels like play-dough and doesn't crack at the edges. Cover and rest for 30 minutes. Roll into 18 balls of about 35 g. Press each between two pieces of plastic in a tortilla press (or with a heavy pan) to about 13 cm (5 in). Cook on a hot dry pan for 50-60 seconds per side until speckled and puffed slightly. Keep warm wrapped in a towel.
- Shred and fix the consomméLift out the meat, discard the bones and shred. Skim the red fat from the surface into a small bowl and keep it for frying. Taste the consommé: if it's thin, simmer for 15-20 minutes to concentrate; if it's too thick, add water. You want a rich soup that coats a spoon lightly. Season with salt.
- Dip, fill and fryHeat a heavy pan over medium-high heat. Dip a tortilla quickly in the red fat (just a few seconds, not a soak), lay it in the pan, add cheese and meat to one half and fold. Fry for 2-3 minutes per side, pressing gently, until crisp and the cheese melts.
- ServeLadle hot consommé into cups and top with onion and coriander. Serve the tacos straight away with lime wedges, and dunk without shame.
- Dunk with dignityShow everyone the correct technique: dip, bite, drip, repeat. Hand out extra napkins because shirts will be ruined. Then quietly add 'birria specialist' to your CV. Taco Bell isn't ready for you.
Tips from the trenches
- Toasting chiles is a 30-second job. If you smell acrid smoke, bin them and start again.
- Blend for longer than you think and always strain; grit ruins the consommé.
- Dip in the fat, not the broth. A quick dunk in the red fat crisps the tortilla; soaking in broth makes it soggy.
- The braise is better made a day ahead. Chill it and the fat sets on top, making it easy to lift off for frying.
“Cooking is like love. It should be entered into with abandon or not at all.”— Harriet Van Horne
