Beef chuck browned and then braised for eight hours in a blended sauce of guajillo and ancho chiles, shredded, and folded into corn tortillas that have been dipped in the skimmed fat and crisped in a skillet.
Thirty-five minutes of preparation, eight hours on Low, and an assembly stage that is worth doing properly. Twelve tacos, with a bowl of the hot broth for dipping.
Why This Recipe Works
- Two kinds of dried chile rather than one. Guajillo is bright, tart and moderately mild; ancho is darker, sweeter and raisin-like. Four of the first to two of the second is a balance of colour and depth that neither gives alone.
- Toasting the chiles before soaking them wakes up their oils, and the fifteen-minute soak in hot water softens them enough to blend smooth. Skipping either step gives a gritty sauce with a flat flavour.
- The blended sauce goes in as a single smooth mixture. Everything aromatic in this recipe — onion, garlic, cumin, oregano, cinnamon, vinegar — passes through the blender, so nothing is left as a chunk that seasons only its own corner of the pot.
- A quarter teaspoon of ground cinnamon is small enough that nobody will name it and large enough that its absence is noticeable. It is a traditional partner to dried chile and it is what rounds the sauce off.
- The fat skimmed after eight hours is deeply coloured and carries the chile flavour with it. Dipping the tortilla in it before frying is what gives these tacos their red-stained, crisp exterior — this step is the whole point of the recipe.
Five Techniques, One Dish
Eight steps and a lot of distinct technique. The slow cooker does the middle four hours of nothing; the work is at either end.
BrownIn batches, all sides
Three pounds of chuck in large chunks, salted and browned in batches in a tablespoon of oil, then into the cooker. Batches rather than all at once — crowded beef steams, and the fond left in the skillet is the base of everything after it.
Toast and soakBrief toast, 15-minute soak
Four guajillo and two ancho chiles, stemmed and seeded, toasted briefly in the dry skillet then covered with hot water for fifteen minutes and drained. Briefly is the instruction — dried chiles scorch in seconds and a burnt one turns the whole sauce bitter.
Blend
The softened chiles with one of the two cups of broth, the fire-roasted tomatoes, quartered onion, five garlic cloves, cider vinegar, cumin, Mexican oregano and cinnamon, blended smooth. This is the sauce, and it goes in as one thing rather than as ten.
BraiseLOW, about 8 hours
Sauce over the beef, the second cup of broth and two bay leaves in, lid on, LOW for about eight hours until the meat shreds easily. Nothing to do and nothing to check.
Skim and fryOne at a time, both sides
Bay leaves out, beef shredded and returned to some of the liquid, and the red fat skimmed off into a shallow dish. Each tortilla dipped lightly in that fat, laid on a hot skillet, filled with cheese and beef, folded, and crisped on both sides.
Ingredient Notes
- Dried guajillo and ancho chiles
- Four and two respectively, stemmed and seeded. Both are mild — this is a deeply flavoured rather than a hot sauce. Seeding is what keeps it that way.
- Beef chuck roast
- Three pounds in large chunks. Chuck is the right cut because its connective tissue becomes gelatin over eight hours, which is what makes the meat shred and the broth rich.
- Corn tortillas
- Twelve. Corn rather than flour, and worth warming before they are dipped — a cold tortilla cracks when it is folded.
- Oaxaca or Monterey Jack cheese
- Two cups shredded, either. Both are mild, high-moisture melting cheeses that go stringy rather than greasy inside a folded taco.
- Fire-roasted diced tomatoes
- One 14.5-ounce tin, fire-roasted rather than plain. The char in them is a small piece of smokiness that a slow cooker cannot produce on its own.
How to Make It
Brown the beef
Season the beef with salt. Heat the oil in a skillet and brown the beef in batches; transfer to the slow cooker.
Toast and soak the chiles
Toast the guajillo and ancho chiles briefly in the dry skillet, then cover them with hot water and soak 15 minutes. Drain.
Blend the sauce
Blend the softened chiles with 1 cup broth, the tomatoes, onion, garlic, vinegar, cumin, oregano and cinnamon until smooth.
Assemble the braise
Pour the sauce over the beef, add the remaining broth and the bay leaves, and cover.
Cook on Low
Cook on LOW about 8 hours, until the beef is very tender and shreds easily.
Shred, and skim the fat
Remove the bay leaves. Shred the beef and return it to some of the cooking liquid. Skim a layer of red fat from the surface into a shallow dish for taco frying.
Dip, fill and crisp
Dip each corn tortilla lightly in the skimmed fat, place on a hot skillet, add cheese and birria beef, fold, and cook until crisp on both sides.
Serve with the broth
Serve the tacos with onion, cilantro, lime, and a small bowl of the hot cooking broth for dipping.
Success Tips
- Brown the beef in batches; three pounds at once will steam rather than sear.
- Toast the chiles for seconds rather than minutes — a scorched chile makes a bitter sauce.
- Blend the sauce genuinely smooth, so nothing arrives as a chunk.
- Skim the red fat into a dish rather than pouring it away; it is the frying medium.
- Fry one taco at a time in a properly hot skillet so each gets crisp on both sides.
Serving Ideas
With diced white onion, chopped cilantro and lime wedges, and a small bowl of the hot broth alongside for dipping. The broth is half the pleasure and should go on the table hot.
Storage and Reheating
Refrigerate
Refrigerate the shredded beef in its broth up to 4 days, and cool it down promptly rather than leaving the pot on the counter — a large volume of warm braise takes a long time to come down on its own. Fry the tacos fresh.
Freeze
Freeze the beef in its broth for up to 3 months. Tortillas and cheese are assembled at the time of eating.
Reheat
Warm the beef and broth through on the hob until steaming, then skim fat and fry the tacos as before. A crisped taco does not reheat well and is best made to order.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is this traditional birria?
It is a slow-cooker birria-style beef taco. The chiles, the braise and the dipping broth follow the shape of the dish, but this is a home adaptation and makes no claim to regional authenticity.
Do I have to dip the tortillas in the fat?
It is what makes these these tacos — the red-stained, crisp exterior comes from that dip and nowhere else. You can fry them in plain oil, but you will have good tacos rather than birria tacos.
How hot is it?
Mild. Guajillo and ancho are both gentle chiles and both are seeded here, so the sauce is about depth and colour rather than heat. A hotter dried chile in the blend is where you would change that.
My tortillas cracked when I folded them.
Cold corn tortillas are brittle. Warm them briefly before dipping, and fold them on the hot skillet once the fat and heat have made them pliable rather than trying to fold them cold.
