RecipesDinner
Dinner
Beef Birria Tacos with Consomme
Shredded chilli-braised beef folded into corn tortillas with melted mozzarella and crisped in a pan, with the red braising liquid to dip them in. Make the beef ahead and crisp tacos across the week.
- Serves
- 4
- Prep
- 25min
- Cook
- 180min
- Total
- 205min
Programs: Fat Loss, Muscle Gain, Lean Bulk and Recomp, Maintenance, Blood Sugar
Per serving
- Calories
- 677kcal
- Protein
- 62.2g
- Carbs
- 56.8g
- Fat
- 22.9g
- Fibre
- 10.3g
Ingredients
For 4 servings · MetricUS
- 800glean braising beef, trimmedbrisket or shin
- 4dried guajillo chilliesstems and seeds out
- 2dried ancho chilliesstems and seeds out
- 400gchopped tomatoes
- 1onion, quartered
- 4 clovegarlic
- 30gtomato puree
- 2 tspground cumin
- 1 tspdried oreganoMexican if you have it
- 1cinnamon stick
- 2bay leaves
- 1 tbspcider vinegar
- 800mlbeef stocktwo cubes
- 12corn tortillassmall, taco size
- 100glight mozzarella, grated
- 1 tbspolive oil
- salt and black pepperto taste
- 3 tbspfresh coriander, choppedto finish
- 1onion, finely dicedto finish
- 1lime, cut in wedgesto serve
- 1¾ lblean beef chuck, trimmed
- 4dried guajillo chilesstems and seeds out
- 2dried ancho chilesstems and seeds out
- 14 ozdiced tomatoes
- 1onion, quartered
- 4 clovegarlic
- 2 tbsptomato paste
- 2 tspground cumin
- 1 tspdried oreganoMexican if you have it
- 1cinnamon stick
- 2bay leaves
- 1 tbspapple cider vinegar
- 3½ cupsbeef broth
- 12corn tortillassmall, taco size
- 3½ ozreduced-fat mozzarella, grated
- 1 tbspolive oil
- salt and black pepperto taste
- 3 tbspfresh cilantro, choppedto finish
- 1onion, finely dicedto finish
- 1lime, cut in wedgesto serve
Method
Prepare the chillies.
Split the dried chillies open, pull out the stems and shake out the seeds.
Toast them in a dry pan over a medium heat for about 30 seconds a side until they smell fragrant.
Drop them into a bowl, cover with just-boiled water and leave them to soften for 15 minutes.
Make the adobo.
Lift the softened chillies into a blender.
Add the quartered onion, garlic, chopped tomatoes, tomato puree, cumin, oregano, vinegar and a good pinch of salt.
Pour in a ladle of the soaking water and blend to a smooth red adobo.
Brown the beef.
Trim any hard fat off the beef and cut it into large chunks, then season with salt and pepper.
Heat the olive oil in a heavy casserole over a medium-high heat and brown the beef on all sides for 6 to 8 minutes, then lift it out.
Braise.
Pour the blended adobo into the pot and let it bubble for 2 minutes to cook off the raw edge.
Return the beef, add the cinnamon stick, bay leaves and the beef stock, so it sits almost covered.
Bring to a gentle simmer, put the lid on and cook low for 2 hours 30 minutes to 3 hours, until the beef shreds under a fork, topping up with a splash of water if it drops too low.
Shred the beef and make the consomme.
Lift the beef out and shred it with two forks.
Skim the fat off the top of the liquid left in the pot with a spoon, then fish out the cinnamon and bay. This red liquid is your consomme.
Taste it, season, and toss enough of it through the shredded beef to keep it wet.
Cook the tacos.
Set a large pan over a medium-high heat.
Dip a tortilla into the surface of the consomme so it takes on the red colour, then lay it in the hot pan.
Scatter over a little mozzarella and a spoon of the beef, fold it over and press down.
Cook for about 2 minutes a side until crisp and the cheese melts. Repeat for the rest.
Assembly and serving.
Ladle the remaining consomme into small cups.
Stack three tacos per plate, scatter with the diced onion and coriander, and serve with lime wedges and a cup of consomme for dipping.