Where Have You Been All My Life - Birria Tacos Edition

CPARKTX2

I’m not sure how I made it this far in life, with extension travels throughout Mexico, and never managed to have birria tacos, but having discovered them, I had to try making them myself.  Wow....so so good.  I largely followed the Joshua Weissman recipe.  

This would be a good cook for a group of people, the meat could be done in advance and the tacos or tacoquesidillas could be done at the last minute.

dmchicago

Beautiful. I’ve done them twice in the last 30 days. 

Once with beef and last weekend pork butt. 

SciAggie

You had me at taco...

teamunited33

those look ridiculous - care to share recipe/tips?

dmchicago

I don't want intrude on the OP but here's the recipe we followed.

Off the charts good!

https://www.foodandwine.com/recipes/birria-tacos

CPARKTX2

@teamunited33 here is a good source, I loosely followed this. Recipe. 

Mattman3969

Great effort and results right there

xfire_ATX

My TikTok Daughters said this was a craze so they had me make them maybe 6 weeks ago.  The meat and the broth are delicous but the art of dipping that tortilla back into the pot and then frying it- I was 1.5 for 8 on getting a nice looking holdable taco.

In the end I have some of the meat left and I have plans for that soon.

teamunited33

Thoughts on giving the meat a touch of smoke from the egg prior to braising?

dmchicago

teamunited33 said:

Thoughts on giving the meat a touch of smoke from the egg prior to braising?

Totally unnecessary, IMHO. The Adobo is so flavorful and smokey from the dried chilies.

dmchicago

xfire_ATX said:

My TikTok Daughters said this was a craze so they had me make them maybe 6 weeks ago.  The meat and the broth are delicous but the art of dipping that tortilla back into the pot and then frying it- I was 1.5 for 8 on getting a nice looking holdable taco.

In the end I have some of the meat left and I have plans for that soon.

No doubt the hardest part of this process is getting the corn tortillas just right for a hand-held taco.

Through trial and many errors, I learned to just lightly dip the tortilla to the surface of the sauce. Too much destroys the tortilla. 

Then, be patient with the tortilla in the pan. let it get firm before putting the meat on then fold over.

These are soooo good!

SciAggie

dmchicago said:

No doubt the hardest part of this process is getting the corn tortillas just right for a hand-held taco.

This is true for store bought tortillas. Homemade tortillas hold up much better.
Don't get me wrong, I use store bought tortillas often. If you get the chef grade masa flour from Masienda it's a game-changer.
https://masienda.com/shop/chef-grade-masa-flour-harina/

loco_engr

WOW!  totally new concept
Thanks for posting

CPARKTX2

I was actually surprised how well the tortillas held up. I was using store bought corn tortillas. No rips at all. I did use a pair of kitchen tongs with soft rubber coating, and made sure not to grab too close to the edges. 

TEXASBGE2018

I’ve been making this kinda thing for years. I don’t dunk the tortilla in a broth but I use shredded beef and Oaxaca cheese to make a quesadilla taco type thing. I also like to make some crispy fried onions to put on the inside as well. 

fishlessman

just finished the sauce and meat from sundays tacos, makes for a great stew heated up with some cheese. these are really good

dmchicago

fishlessman said:

just finished the sauce and meat from sundays tacos, makes for a great stew heated up with some cheese. these are really good

We did a pork butt version. Excellent but the beef was better.

However, the leftover pork made amazing enchiladas.

fishlessman

dmchicago said:

fishlessman said:

just finished the sauce and meat from sundays tacos, makes for a great stew heated up with some cheese. these are really good

We did a pork butt version. Excellent but the beef was better.

However, the leftover pork made amazing enchiladas.

what i found with the first cook is the shank will braise too tender but adding a cheap flat really adds to the texture. i think the recipe called for chuck but the ones i picked over didnt look too good, the brisket made for a nice clean pull. the store bought taco shells i bought were lousy, a corn and flour combo, they broke just removing them from the bag. directions said to just lay them on the grease over the sauce like you mentioned and not dip/soak them

teamunited33

It's happening

teamunited33

The outcome was awesome! I forgot to chop up fresh onion and cilantro though, that would put it over the top.

20stone

That is an awesome cook, @CPARKTX. 

+1 re homemade tortillas 

Also, I had my first one of these in Austin a few weeks ago at Sabor Tapatio, as recommended by the Texas Monthly taco editor (https://www.texasmonthly.com/food/the-austin-taco-trail/amp/).  It was really, really good, and worth a spot to benchmark where you are (akin to going to Franklins (or Micklethwaite’s or Valentina’s or La Barbecue) if you’re in Austin. 

Just an awesome cook. Nicely done!

SaltySam

I started a diet 11 days ago.  I’m down 6lbs already.  

I probably shouldn’t have clicked on this post.  Mexican food is my weakness anyway, but this put it over the top.  

These all look insanely delicious.  

fishlessman

SaltySam said:

I started a diet 11 days ago.  I’m down 6lbs already.  

I probably shouldn’t have clicked on this post.  Mexican food is my weakness anyway, but this put it over the top.  

These all look insanely delicious.  

add the meat back into the sauce and its a low carb stew

20stone

SaltySam said:

I started a diet 11 days ago.  I’m down 6lbs already.  

I probably shouldn’t have clicked on this post.  Mexican food is my weakness anyway, but this put it over the top.  

These all look insanely delicious.  

I have also lost a ton (4.5 stone) and have kept it off. Tacos are part of my plan (on corn), HOWEVER, these particular tacos are a departure from the path of righteousness, though a delicious one