Birria Tacos

Ingredients for 4 servings:

• 1 ¼ kg prime rib, preferably fatty, or the amount divided 50:50 into beef and lamb
• 1 beef leg slice(s)
• some oil or fat for frying
• 1 ½ tsp salt
• 1 tsp pepper
• 1 tsp cumin
• ½ onion(s)
• 4 chili peppers (Ancho), dried, pitted
• 4 chili peppers (guajillo), dried, pitted
• 1 chili pepper(s) (Chipotle), dried, smoked, pitted
• 5 tomatoes
• ½ onion(s)
• 500 ml water
• 500 ml beef broth or beef stock
• 16 peppercorns
• 4 carnations
• 2 tsp thyme
• 2 tsp marjoram
• 2 tsp oregano
• 1 tsp cumin
• 1 tsp ginger powder
• 4 tsp coriander seeds
• 2 tsp, heaped salt
• 2 bay leaves
• ½ stalk(s) cinnamon stick(s) or 2 tsp cinnamon powder
• 8 garlic cloves
• 20 corn tortillas
• 300 g cheese (Oaxaca), alternatively: mozzarella
• 45 g coriander, fresh, n. B.
• 3 onions, white, n. B.
• 6 lime(s), n. B.

Instructions

Working time approx. 45 minutes; Cooking/baking time approx. 6 hours 30 minutes; Total time approx. 7 hours 15 minutes

For the sauce or broth, deseed the anchos, guajillos, and chipotles (warning: if you don’t deseed them, it can be extremely hot). Place the chilies in a pot along with the tomatoes and half an onion. Then pour in the water and beef broth. Cook the vegetables until everything is nice and soft and the liquid has changed color from the chilies. Grind all the spices, except the bay leaves and cinnamon stick, in a grinder or mortar. Tip: If you only have cinnamon powder, you can add it to the current spices. Remove the chilies, tomatoes, and half an onion from the broth and puree them together with the garlic cloves, spices, and a little broth. You can use a blender or an immersion blender. Cut the meat into slightly larger pieces and sear them in a roasting pan until seared. Season with salt, pepper, and cumin, and remove the meat from the roasting pan. Loosen any stuck-on bits on the bottom with half a diced onion and a splash of water, if desired. Once everything has loosened, reduce the heat. Return the meat to the roasting pan and pour over the pureed sauce. It’s important that the meat is completely covered. You can use the leftover stock from the chilies for this. If there’s not enough liquid, simply add water or light stock. Then add the bay leaves and cinnamon stick and simmer the meat in the oven for 4-6 hours at approximately 150°C (top/bottom heat). This also works on a ceramic hob. Once the meat comes out of the oven, the fat should have settled on top. Skim off the fat and set it aside in a saucepan (this will be important during the final preparation). Then remove the meat from the sauce and shred it. It should almost fall apart on its own. Add a little more sauce, if desired, to keep it nice and moist. Strain the sauce through a sieve and serve it with the tacos for dipping. Heat a cast-iron pan or, better yet, a griddle. The temperature shouldn’t be too high. On the stove, choose a temperature slightly above medium. If you like it crunchy, you can go higher. Dip the corn tortillas in the skimmed fat, let it drain a little, and place them on the griddle. Then spread some cheese on the tortillas, followed by the shredded meat (if you like, you can also top with chopped cilantro and chopped white onion – that would be authentic). Then fold the tortillas shut and cook on both sides until browned to your liking. Finally, serve the tacos with a bowl of the birria sauce. Simply dip the tacos in the sauce and enjoy. Tip: If you like, you can squeeze some lime over the taco.