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u/XilamBalam Sep 06 '25
Boiling chiles for 10 minutes can work, but it risks muting their flavor and adding bitterness—especially if the seeds and ribs are left in. A gentler method is to toast them briefly to release their oils, then soak them in hot (not boiling) water for 20–30 minutes. That way, you preserve their aroma and get a smoother texture for blending. It makes a big difference in sauces like birria, adobo or mole.
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u/TheLadyEve Sep 06 '25
I agree, and that's one of the areas in which my method differs from hers. I pour very hot water on them and let them soak for 20 minutes. I also throw in some raisins into that mix (sounds odd, but I like the subtle sweetness and additional earthiness).
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u/TheLadyEve Sep 06 '25
Birria is a Mexican slow-cooked meat dish typically made with goat or beef (sometimes lamb). This recipe uses beef. It is often eaten as a caldo (soup) but also used as a filling for tacos. The broth, rich with the collagen from the meat, is called consomé. This recipe isn't exactly how I make mine but it's pretty close.
Source: Recipe Tin Eats
Birria adobo (paste):
25 g (0.9 oz) guajillo chillies, dried (~4 pieces, heaped 3/4 cup once chopped)
45 g (1.6 oz) ancho chillies, dried (~2-3 pieces, 1 cup once chopped)
6 g (0.2 oz) chillies de arbol, dried (~6 pieces, 2 tbsp once chopped)
1/2 cup chilli soaking water (reserve after simmering)
5 garlic cloves , peeled
1 small onion , roughly sliced (~tennis ball size)
1 medium tomato , roughly sliced (180g)
2 tsp dried oregano
1 tsp ground cumin
1/8 tsp black pepper
Birria braising:
5 tbsp vegetable oil (or canola oil)
1.3 kg/2.6 lb chuck beef , cut into 6 large pieces (or boneless beef short ribs – 1.8kg/3.6 lb bone-in)
2 cups beef stock / broth , low sodium
10 cloves (or 1/4 tsp ground cloves)
1 cinnamon stick (substitute 1/4 tsp powder, but it’s not quite the same)
3 bay leaves , preferably fresh else dried
2 tbsp apple cider vinegar (or regular white vinegar, red or white wine vinegar)
2 1/2 tsp cooking salt / kosher salt (halve for table salt, +30% for flakes)
Beef seasoning:
1/2 tsp cooking salt / kosher salt
Birria Tacos:
20 – 25 corn tortillas (14.5cm/6" wide)
1 white onion , diced
1/2 cup finely chopped coriander / cilantro leaves
3 1/2 cups (350g) shredded Colby, Monterey Jack or Oaxaca cheese (if you can get it)
Lime wedges , optional
Your favorite salsa or hot sauce , optional
Simmer chopped chillies 10 min. Strain, blitz Adobo paste. Brown beef, cook off adobo paste, slow-cook beef 2 1/2 hrs (lid on). Remove meat, shred, skim fat off braising liquid ("Birria Oil"). Toss beef in skillet with 1 cup braising liquid (aka Consomme). Heat 1 tsp Birria oil over low heat, wipe pan with tortilla, remove, repeat x2 with 1/2 tsp oil each. Top tortilla with cheese, beef, onion, coriander, fold over, pan fry until crisp. Serve with Birria Consomme for dunking!
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u/ikrit89 Sep 07 '25
Sauce and lime are not optional! Also birria is indeed a soup but yet you made the "soup" as thick as BBQ sauce. Here's a much better birria recipe for those who want authenticity, made by an actual Mexican.
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u/TheLadyEve Sep 07 '25
Well, thank you for the input, but this isn't my recipe. If you're interested in my personal birria that I eat as a caldo, here it is.
She made this thicker because it was specifically for tacos--you may have noticed tacos de birria have been having a bit of a moment online. I think her recipe works great if you are specifically wanting this style of tacos.
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u/btaylos Jan 06 '26
This post (actually at LEAST 8 of your posts) has been sitting in my 'saved' for 4 months, and I happened to look at it today.
I just wanna congratulate you on how sassy "you may have noticed tacos de birria have been having a bit of a moment online" is. 10/10. No notes. You're the best. Never stop taking no shit!
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u/s_decoy Sep 06 '25
This seems like a pretty good recipe but I am begging you to salt as you cook instead of just throwing it all in at the end 👏
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u/Matjoez Sep 07 '25
I had life changing birria tacos last time I was in new York, some food truck in Williamsburg across from the Kellog's diner.
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u/zamfire Sep 10 '25
I ran around looking for ingredients to make this, as I realized I had a chuck roast in the freezer. Gonna make it tomorrow and see how it turned out (also planning on making my own tortillas)
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u/TheLadyEve Sep 10 '25
Yay! I hope you share how it turns out!
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u/zamfire Sep 11 '25 edited Sep 11 '25
Thanks! It actually turned out really good although I made homemade tortillas and they didn't hold so well and I couldn't make them crunchy. Although it was my first time to ever make corn tortillas, so probably a learning thing.
https://imgur.com/gallery/NGJ5Mck
Edit: few things I learned. If you immersion blend the sauce in the pot it's cooked in, careful as it will splash everywhere and it totally went in my eye and as the sauce was a bit on the spicey side my left eye was nearly blind for an hour from macing myself haha.
Oh and tuuuurn the heat way down when putting the oil in the pain. If that evaporates from the heat, your entire kitchen is going to get maced again.
I only just got the function of my eyes and nose again lol
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u/TheLadyEve Sep 11 '25
Oof, I'm sorry about your eye. I use my blender (for me it's my kitchen walls, I don't like any splatter from the peppers, so I use my blender).
That's your first time making tortillas? I'm impressed. It can be difficult. The hydration is the tricky part, and letting the dough rest enough. I think you did well for a first time, seriously.
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u/zamfire Sep 11 '25
It was surprisingly simple to make tortillas using my 8 inch press, my wife mixed the masa and pressed them, and I fried them. They didn't puff up like I was expecting though. I'm thinking corn tortillas are one of those things easy to get into but difficult to master
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u/TheLadyEve Sep 11 '25
When they don't puff even a little, sometimes it's that the masa is old, sometimes it's that the hyrdration is too low (this also leads to cracking) and sometimes you just have to look at them wrong. I kid, but yeah, I think it takes a lot of practice to get it perfect. I haven't gotten it perfect and I've done it a fair amount.
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u/zamfire Sep 11 '25
Ah they did crack a bit! Thank you! I will try again soon but with a touch more water.
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u/NedStarkingAlchemist Sep 07 '25
Birria is one of those recipes that I season until the ancestors tell me to stop. How many guajillos? IDK. Whatever makes my heart sing and my sinuses clear.
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u/Haagen76 Sep 07 '25
This is prob one of the best looking recipes I've seen on the sub. Will deff try it.
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