It’s been a while since I’ve made Birria de Res, Beef Birria. I decided to make a pot with brisket trimmings from the brisket trimmings from my Overnight Smoked Brisket a few months ago that have been hanging out in my freezer. Instead of cooking it in the oven, I opted to let it smoke in my Weber Searwood Pellet Grill. If you don’t have a grill, its all good, you can use the exact step by step instructions and bake it in the oven.
Birria is a Mexican dish traditionally made with goat, but this birria recipe is made with beef (because it’s available everywhere), slow-cooked in aromatic Mexican adobo sauce, for hours, until the connective tissue collagen breaks down into a rich velvety shredded beef. Over the years I’ve seen it prepared more brothy and used to make quesitacos and dipped in the consume or in Birria Pho. I personally enjoy eating Birria de Res on a plate with Mexican rice and beans, or as the protein of choice in a burrito or regular taco, but the girls love it in quesitacos.
Quesitacos are like a hybrid corn tortilla quesadilla taco, stuffed with melted cheese and shredded beef. Quesitacos are extra unique because they are fried and crisped up on the griddle after the tortilla takes a dive into a pool of flavorful and fatty braising liquid. However you decide to enjoy it, just know that the beef is super aromatic, delicious, and ultra tender.
Ingredients:
Birria Ingredients:
5 pounds beef brisket, cut into 2-inch chunks
1 quart beef broth
2 cups water
1/2 cup white vinegar
4 Roma tomatoes, quartered
1 white onion, roughly chopped
6 dried guajillo chilies
4 dried ancho chilies
3 dried chile de arbol
6 garlic cloves
4 bay leaves
2 teaspoons cumin
1 tablespoon salt
1 teaspoon black pepper
1 teaspoon ground cloves
1 teaspoon Mexican oregano, crushed
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
Quesitaco Ingredients:
Corn tortillas
Oaxaca cheese
1 bunch cilantro, finely chopped
1 white onion, finely diced
lime wedges
hot salsa
Steps:
Make Adobo Sauce – Remove the stems and seeds from the dried chilies. Boil the chilies in a medium saucepan with 2 cups of water for 15 minutes to rehydrate the chilies. Add rehydrated chilies and liquid, tomatoes, garlic cloves, onions, cumin, salt, black pepper, ground cloves, Mexican oregano, ground cinnamon, and vinegar to a blender. Blend ingredients until smooth. Add beef broth as necessary to help with the blending process. Set Aside.
Sear Beef – Lightly season beef brisket chunks with salt and pepper. Sear the beef for a few minutes over high heat until crust forms on each side of the beef.
Roast Birria – Preheat grill/oven to 300 degrees. While the grill/oven is preheating, add seared beef, adobo sauce, beef broth, and bay leaves to a Dutch oven. Cover the Dutch oven and place it in the preheated grill/oven and cook the birria at 300 degrees for 4 hours or until meat is fork-tender.
Shred Birria – Take the cooked birria out of the grill/oven and allow it to rest for 10-15 minutes. Remove bay leaves. Transfer the beef to a bowl or platter. With a fork or potato masher, shred the beef. Add the shredded beef back into the pot.
Make Quesitaco – Heat a greased cast iron skillet/griddle over medium heat. When the pan is hot, dip each corn tortilla in the hot braising liquid and place the soaked tortilla on the hot cast iron skillet/griddle. Place approximately 1 ounce of shredded Oaxaca cheese, 2 ounces of birria meat, a pinch of cilantro, and onions onto the tortilla. Cook the bottom of the tortilla for about 2 minutes then fold the tortilla in half. Continue to cook the tortilla on both sides, flipping every minute, until crispy. Place each quesitaco on a plate and add additional garnishes.
Tips:
- If Oaxaca cheese is not available, Monterey jack, mozzarella cheese, or any other Mexican-style shredded cheese works very well.
- To make the consume, strain braising liquid and add chopped cilantro and onions. Serve quesitacos with a small bowl of consume for dipping!
- Beef chuck roast, tri-tip, short ribs, and cheeks all work very well in Birria.
- Freeze leftover birria and reheat when ready to eat again.
- If using a grill, cook over indirect heat.
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