- Are you still making tacos
with hard shell corn tortillas?
(smashes a tortilla)
Not anymore.
Birria tacos.
(upbeat music)
Birria tacos are street food,
that are gonna be your new favorite.
Shredded tender beef,
gooey melty cheese, and a spicy broth for dipping.
We'll start with the guajillo chilies.
You want them to be fairly fresh and not overly dry.
Start by pulling off the stem and dumping out the seeds.
You can see they're still slightly pliable
and not overly brittle.
Just rough tear them by hand.
We'll bring some beef broth to a boil
and add the chilies,
turn off the heat,
and allow them to steep
while we prep the rest of the ingredients.
Dice a white onion and separate it into two bowls.
We'll use half to garnish the tacos at the end
and half to cook with.
Next, mince some fresh garlic
and add it to the half that you're gonna cook with.
Now, we'll make the seasoning blend,
by mixing some kosher salt, black pepper and cumin.
Adding cumin to the seasoning
helps to build a layer of flavor when searing the beef.
We're using a chuck roast for this recipe
and we really want all that nice marbling
to render into the broth for use later.
Start by cutting it into approximately three inch cubes.
Then generously season it with the seasoning blend.
Make sure to coat all sides of the meat with the seasoning.
You don't wanna waste any and miss out on more flavor.
Set the instant pot to the saute setting
on more, and add some canola oil once it's hot.
Now we will sear the pieces in the instant pot.
Make sure to get a good sear
on at least two sides of those chuck roast cubes.
That sear develops so much flavor.
Reserve the seared pieces to a clean sheet pan or plate.
Reduce the heat of the instant pot to the less setting
and add the onion and garlic.
We're just trying to coax out the flavor of these aromatics.
Season with salt and allow to cook for a few minutes
in order to soften the onion
and pull up some of the brown bits
from the bottom of the pan.
Add tomato paste and stir to incorporate with the onions
and lightly caramelize the tomato paste.
Next, we will add some oregano, a cinnamon stick
and some cumin to the instant pot.
You may think of cinnamon stick as something sweet,
but it really goes well in this traditional Birria style.
Return the beef to the instant pot,
along with any of the juices
that may have collected in the pan.
Then we'll go and finish the broth
that the beef will be cooking in.
The chilies have been steeping for about 10 minutes
and begun to soften.
Pour all of the broth and the chilies into a blender,
along with a can
of roasted diced tomatoes and green chilies,
some canned chipotle peppers
and some fresh lime juice.
The roasted tomatoes and chilies along with the chipotles,
will add a nice smoky element to this broth.
When blending a hot liquid like this,
make sure to remove the plug from the lid of the blender
and place a towel over that hole.
This will prevent the pressure
from building up from the heat
and blowing the lid off the blender.
Puree until a completely smooth broth has formed
with no lumps.
We'll pour this really flavorful broth into the instant pot
and you can just smell the rich flavor coming
from those chilies.
With all those flavors being built,
we're gonna get the pressure cooking going.
So I'll get the lid on
and then go to pressure cook, high pressure.
We're gonna let this cook on high for one hour
and then naturally depressurize for 20 minutes.
Because that's what's really gonna allow it
to get as tender as possible.
While it depressurizes, I'll prep the garnishes.
Cut one lime into slices.
This will be for people to squeeze
over their taco at the end.
Now rough chop, some cilantro.
It doesn't have to be finely minced.
We'll mix this
with some of the raw white onion from earlier,
to give it a little extra flavor.
Vent any remaining steam before opening the lid.
Now that the beef is nice and tender
we'll transfer it into a bowl
and begin to shred it using two forks.
At this point, the beef is super tender
and should be falling apart practically on its own.
You want it fairly well shredded
in order to evenly fill the tacos.
To complete the tacos,
we'll dip the tortillas
right in the rendered fat and juices from the beef.
That fat has so much flavor from all the spices
and will help to crisp the tortillas in the pan.
We'll top the tortillas with some of the shredded cheese.
I'm using chihuahua cheese,
but you could use any cheese that you like,
that's also good for melting.
Finally, we'll add that layer of tender shredded beef,
right on top of that cheese.
While the tortillas are still pliable,
fold them in half,
allow them to get toasty on the cheese side
before flipping to ensure a crisp tortilla all over.
Now we'll get these out of the pan
and repeat with all the remaining tortillas and beef.
You're gonna want to crush all these tacos by yourself
but they're so good.
You gotta share them with some friends.
Make sure to garnish with that raw white onion and cilantro,
and maybe don't forget to squeeze
that lime over there like I did.
Now, I gotta dig in.
Give it a dunk.
(upbeat music)
After trying these Birria tacos,
your taco night will never be the same.
Remember to like and subscribe.
And we'll see you next time here in the Test Kitchen.
(upbeat music)