The Best Beef Birria Recipe Mexican Birria De Res Food

BEEF BIRRIA

Steps:

• Season the meat with salt and pepper, then place in a large baking dish.
• Clean and devein the peppers. Slightly toast them over a medium heat, making sure you do not burn them (burned peppers make the dish taste bitter). Soak peppers in a cup of hot water for 20 minutes. Roast the onion and garlic and place in your blender.
• Toast the whole cloves, cumin seeds, and black peppercorns (this is a quick step that only takes a few seconds). Place them in your blender along with the roasted tomatoes, herbs, onion, cinnamon and the vinegar.
• Once peppers are soft, drain, add to the blender and puree until you have a smooth sauce. Add a few tablespoons of water only if your blender is having a hard time processing it. Season the sauce with salt.
• Pour the sauce over the meat, making sure it is covered all over with this sauce of dried peppers and spices. Cover the baking dish with aluminum foil and refrigerate overnight or for at least 4 hours to allow all the meat to absorb the flavors. SEE NOTES about adding more water.
• Preheat the oven to 350º F. Bake the meat in the baking dish covered with the aluminum foil for about 4 hours or until it is fork-tender.

BIRRIA DE RES -- BEEF BIRRIA

Steps:

• Start by rinsing and de-stemming the tomatoes. Roast them in a 400F oven for 20-25 minutes or until you need them.
• Wipe off any dusty crevasses on the dried chiles. De-stem and de-seed the chiles, but don't worry about getting rid of every last seed. Roast them in the oven for 1-2 minutes or until warm and fragrant. Add the chile pieces to a bowl and cover them with the hottest tap water you've got. Let them reconstitute for 20 minutes or so.
• Roughly chop 1 onion and peel 6 garlic cloves. Add a glug of oil to a skillet on medium heat and saute the onions and whole garlic cloves. Once the onion has softened and lightly browned you can add this mixture to the blender.
• Add a thin layer of oil to a skillet and preheat to medium-high. Chop up the brisket into chunks and give it a good salting. Sear each side of the beef in the skillet for a few minutes or until it is browning. Add the seared meat pieces to the slow cooker. You can optionally deglaze the pan with the 2 cups of stock that's used to liquefy the sauce.
• Before draining the reconstituted chiles take a taste of the soaking liquid. If it tastes bitter to you then use stock for the sauce. If you like the flavor you are welcome to use the soaking liquid in place of the stock.
• Add the drained chiles, roasted tomatoes, and the onion-garlic mixture to a blender along with: 2 cups of stock (or what you used to deglaze the meat pan), 2 chipotles in adobo (optional), 1-2 tablespoons adobo sauce from the can (optional), 1 teaspoon cumin, 2 teaspoons Mexican oregano, 1/8 teaspoon cinnamon, pinch of ground clove, 2 teaspoons salt, and some freshly cracked black pepper. Combine well. Note: if you're using stock that's high in sodium you can consider starting with a single teaspoon of salt and going from there.
• Take a taste of the sauce. An easy to way to add more heat is to add an additional half or whole chipotle. Keep in mind that the sauce has to compete with the big flavor of the beef so I tend to make it salty and fiery at this point.
• Cover the seared meat pieces with the sauce. Slow cook on low for 4-6 hours.
• Once cooked you can optionally skim off any fat that has risen to the surface. Shred the beef using two forks and discard any fatty chunks that you don't want to eat.
• Add the shredded beef (or as much as you are using for tonight's meal) to a separate bowl and add enough sauce to give it a thorough coating. Adding the sauce to the shredded beef is the key so don't skip this step!
• One serving option is to simply add the shredded beef back to the sauce and serve it soup style -- you may need to thin out the sauce with some stock if you choose this option.
• But I chose tacos for this batch. Add corn tortillas to a dry skillet over medium heat along with slices of cheese. Once the cheese is melted and the underside of the tortillas are forming light brown spots they are ready to go. You can optionally add the meat to the tortillas in the skillet for a quick reheat.
• I topped these tacos with Salsa de Aguacate, finely chopped raw onion, freshly chopped cilantro, and a squeeze of lime.
• Store leftover Birria in the fridge where it will keep for a few days.

BIRRIA DE RES

Steps:

• Heat the oven to 325 degrees.
• Prepare the chiles: Use tongs to place the poblano chiles directly over the open flame of a gas burner set to high. Cook the poblanos until totally charred all over, turning as needed, about 2 minutes per side. Transfer to a small bowl and cover with plastic wrap so the poblanos can steam. After 10 minutes, use your fingers to pull the blackened skins away from the poblanos, then remove the stems and seeds. Roughly chop the poblanos and set aside.
• While the poblano chiles steam, place a large skillet over medium heat. Working in batches to cook the guajillo chiles evenly in one layer, flatten the chile halves on the hot skillet and toast them for about 15 seconds, turning once. Put the chiles in a bowl and add 2 cups hot water to help soften them. Set aside.
• Prepare the meat: Season the meat all over with the salt. Heat the oil in a large, oven-proof pot over medium-high. Working in batches, sear the meat on all sides until well browned, 2 to 3 minutes per side, transferring the browned meat to a large bowl as you work.
• After you've seared all the meat, add the onion to the pot and cook, stirring occasionally, until golden, about 5 minutes. Return all the meat to the pot.
• Meanwhile, add the tomatoes, vinegar, garlic, ginger, oregano, sesame seeds, cumin, cloves and a few grinds of black pepper to a blender, along with the chopped poblanos, toasted guajillos and the chile soaking liquid. Purée until smooth, scraping down the edges of the blender as needed.
• Pour the blended mixture into the pot with the meat. Add the cinnamon stick and bay leaves, along with about 4 to 6 cups of water, enough to amply cover the meat.
• Cover and cook in the oven until the meat is fork-tender, about 2 hours.
• Divide among bowls and sprinkle with cilantro. Serve with lime wedges for squeezing on top, and a side of warm tortillas.