Birria Tacos with Consommé (Mexican Quesabirria with Beef and Chile Broth)

Ingredients

Method

1. 01
   Toast the dried chiles. Remove stems and shake out seeds from the guajillo, ancho, and chiles de arbol — gloves help if your skin is sensitive. Heat a dry skillet over medium-high. Press each chile flat with a spatula for 20 to 30 seconds per side until it puffs slightly and smells deeply aromatic; do not let it darken or smoke heavily, burnt chiles taste bitter. Drop the toasted chiles into a bowl, cover with hot water, and weigh them down with a small plate. Soak 15 minutes until soft and pliable.
2. 02
   Season the chuck roast and short ribs liberally with salt on all sides and let them sit at room temperature for 20 minutes. Heat the neutral oil in a 6-litre Dutch oven over medium-high until shimmering. Sear the meat in batches for 4 to 5 minutes per side until deeply browned — do not crowd the pan, you want a hard sear, not a steam bath. Transfer to a plate. The dark fond on the bottom of the pot is flavour foundation, do not wash it.
3. 03
   Make the chile paste. Drain the soaked chiles. Put them in a blender with the halved white onion, garlic cloves, ripe tomatoes (cored), Mexican oregano, cumin, whole cloves, peppercorns, apple cider vinegar, and 500 ml of the beef broth. Blend on high for 2 minutes until completely smooth and uniformly red. Push the paste through a fine mesh strainer back into the blender or a bowl — chile skins do not break down and create a gritty consommé. Discard the solids in the strainer.
4. 04
   Return the seared meat to the Dutch oven. Pour in the strained chile paste and the remaining 2 litres of beef broth. Add the bay leaves and Mexican cinnamon stick. The liquid should come about three-quarters of the way up the meat; add water if needed to reach this level. Bring to a gentle simmer over medium heat, then cover and transfer to a 160°C oven (or keep on the lowest stovetop setting). Braise 3 to 3.5 hours, until the meat shreds easily with two forks.
5. 05
   Lift the meat out into a bowl. Discard the bay leaves and cinnamon stick. Skim the layer of red chile-infused fat from the surface of the consommé into a separate small bowl — this is liquid gold for frying the tortillas, do not throw it away. If the consommé tastes thin, simmer it uncovered for 10 to 15 minutes to concentrate. Taste and adjust with salt; the chiles already brought heat, so be careful with cayenne or extra árbol.
6. 06
   Shred the meat with two forks while it is still warm — easier than fighting cold connective tissue. Pull off and discard any large fat globs and silver skin. Mix about 250 ml of the consommé back into the shredded meat to keep it moist; the rest of the consommé stays in the pot for serving. Coarsely grate or tear the Oaxaca cheese. Finely dice the red onion and chop the cilantro for serving.
7. 07
   Heat a large flat skillet or comal over medium heat. Working with one tortilla at a time: dip the tortilla briefly into the reserved red chile fat (1 second, just enough to coat one side), then place the oiled side down on the hot skillet. Sprinkle one half with shredded Oaxaca cheese, give it 30 seconds to start melting, then top with a generous portion of the shredded beef. Fold the tortilla in half over the filling and press lightly with a spatula. Cook 90 seconds per side until the tortilla is crispy at the edges and a deep red-orange, the cheese fully melted.
8. 08
   Serve immediately, 2 to 3 tacos per person, with a small bowl of hot consommé on the side for dipping. Top with diced red onion, chopped cilantro, and a generous squeeze of lime over the tacos. The proper way to eat them: dip the taco into the consommé just before each bite — the broth keeps the meat juicy and the cheese silky, and adds a layer of chile flavour to every mouthful.

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