- Hey, I'm John Kanell.
And today on Preppy Kitchen,
we're making succulent flavor-packed birria tacos.
So let's get started.
First off, we're gonna hydrate our chilies.
I want three guajillo and four ancho chilies.
Place your chilies in a large heatproof bowl.
And we're gonna add four cups
of boiling water right over them.
Now they need 45 minutes to soak.
But in the meantime,
we're gonna be doing other stuff.
Set those aside.
Oh my gosh, very aromatic right away.
While our chilies are hydrating,
we're gonna cut two pounds of chuck roast
into two-inch cubes.
Birria tacos originate in Jalisco,
the state of Mexico where my mom is from.
And originally, they were made with goat meat,
but we're not gonna do that today.
Georgina would never have it.
Cut to surprised goat on the farm.
(goat bleats)
These tacos are packed with flavor,
and they're actually really beautiful, too,
because of the way you cook them
with the cheese melting out and everything else.
So not only have they become popular
just because they're delicious,
but people have been taking photos of them
and sharing them online, too.
If you do that, tag Preppy Kitchen in @JohnKanell
so I can take a look.
Okay, now, before you move on,
grab a big pot or Dutch oven.
We're gonna set this over medium high heat.
Ooh.
And add two tablespoons of veggie oil right in there.
Now, while that heats up,
we're gonna add one tablespoon of salt
to season our chuck roast,
and one pound of short ribs.
Did I mention I grabbed one pound of short ribs?
I grabbed one pound of short ribs.
So this is a tablespoon of salt all over our meat.
And then, we're just gonna brown it up and set it aside.
We're basically making an amazing flavorful beef stew.
And a lot of times, people will just make the birria
and enjoy that with other things.
We are gonna use that to make tacos.
But I'm gonna say, this makes a big batch.
So if you wanna make some tacos
and save the rest of the birria for later,
go ahead and just pop it into the fridge,
and you can enjoy it with like anything.
It's so delicious.
Okay.
Once your oil's nice and hot, dancing in the pan,
we're gonna add our beef
and sear it, working in batches.
You don't wanna overcrowd it,
so give it some space.
But really just let it brown up.
It'll take about two minutes per side.
While that browns, I'm gonna be chopping up the veggies.
It's not that much.
It's really just dicing two carrots.
And do not worry about this being beautiful knife work.
No one's gonna see it.
A lot of this is just gonna be like in the stew.
So faster is better.
Also gonna dice one onion.
Take a little break from your prep
just to turn the meat over.
Once it's nicely browned, it should release from the pan.
So if it's stuck, it's not ready yet.
Just give it another a few seconds.
Back to chopping.
Continue that work for dicing your onions,
onion, one.
These tacos take a little bit of time
because everything has to stew together
for at least three hours.
All the flavors are gonna meld together and be wonderful,
but the actual work time is not that bad at all.
It's really just kind of letting things simmer.
That looks nice and browned.
I'm also gonna halve eight tomatoes.
First batch of beef is done.
You can see it has a nice brown on it.
Add that next batch of beef in.
And now, we're gonna finish our prep
by slicing six cloves of garlic.
Just give 'em a smash and cut 'em right down in the middle.
So birria is a Spanish word,
and it translates roughly to worthless.
And that sounds pretty harsh for describing a taco
or describing something to eat,
but it's because the Spaniards who conquered Mexico
did not like goat meat.
They thought it was like unrefined, basically.
When the Indigenous people used it,
they're like, ugh, birria.
This is delicious.
Don't mind the name.
But I'm still not gonna use goat meat.
My meat's nicely browned.
I'm gonna take this, set it aside to rest for a little bit.
Now, we're gonna add our carrots and onion right in there.
These are gonna cook while we stir frequently
for about seven to eight minutes,
or until they're tender and brown.
All that beef caramelization and drippings in the pot
is gonna give the veggies so much flavor.
I'm gonna grab a wooden spoon.
And my book's available for pre-order,
so you can grab your copy.
There's links in the description box below, hmm.
All right.
Once your veggies are browned and tender,
we're gonna add our tomatoes right inside.
Pop, pop.
Along with the garlic.
A teapot of Mexican oregano is actually not oregano.
It's a member of the verbena family.
So it gives you like a grassy, lemony taste.
I love it.
That's the extractor you hear humming in the background.
Two teaspoons of cumin, as well.
We're gonna cook this, stirring constantly for two minutes.
Wanna really grab any of the caramelized bits
off of the bottom, as well, while this is happening.
Now, I'm adding in my four cups of beef broth.
We also have to puree our chilies
that are nice and soft now,
so add those into your blender
and blend those up.
All right, now we're gonna add our pureed chilies
in with the beef stock.
We're adding a cinnamon stick and two bay leaves.
Add your beef back into this amazing stew.
And this is gonna come to a boil over medium heat.
And then, once it's come to a boil,
we're gonna reduce to low
and simmer for three to 3 1/2 hours,
or until the meat is fork-tender.
If you're using a thermometer,
it should read 205 to 210 Fahrenheit
at the thickest point of the beef.
We'll be right back.
(bell dings)
I temped my meat.
It's 205 to 210 where it's the thickest.
It's also tender and amazing.
So I'm gonna transfer this into a dish
and just pull it apart with a fork
and try not to eat all of it before I make my tacos.
I might have said this earlier, but this makes a big batch.
So if you don't wanna make tons of tacos,
you can save your birria for later.
You have it for as like a main stew with dinner
and any kind of sides you want,
or you can freeze it for later
and come back to it when you're ready, mm.
Two forks, just pull it apart.
This flakes right apart
'cause it's been stewing for so long
and absorbing all those amazing flavors.
There might be very few things better
than just slow-cooked meat.
Okay.
That is all done.
Set that meat aside and grab some tortillas.
This step is kind of interesting.
You have your pot here.
It's been undisturbed for a while
while you've been shredding your meat.
All of that amazing beef fat,
all the rendered fat, has come up.
It's less dense, so it floats.
Use that to your advantage.
And we're gonna dredge the tortillas in this
and grab all of the flavor and color
to make them delicious and beautiful.
Push this aside.
We still need it, though.
You're gonna grab a 12-inch cast iron skillet.
I'm adding one tablespoon of oil.
Over medium heat.
Swirl to coat the bottom of the skillet.
And take a look to see that it starts dancing.
That's when you know it's ready.
My plain white tortilla, sad.
Let's make it beautiful with the beef drippings.
So add that in there, both sides.
Ooh, look at that.
All those drippings on top.
I also have some shredded cheese at the ready.
You can use mozzarella cheese or like a Oaxacan cheese.
You could use Colby-Jack.
Basically, any kind of a melty cheese
is gonna be amazing in this.
Now.
I'm gonna cook this for about 30 seconds.
It depends on how hot your skillet is.
Then, we're gonna flip it over carefully.
I normally use my fingers, but not today.
Not with this kind.
Flip that over.
We're gonna add a couple tablespoons of our cheese,
just to coat the top,
as well as some meat.
And we're gonna use,
I'm gonna add in about 1/4 of a cup of my shredded beef.
Now we flip our tortilla over.
And you're gonna let it get crispy,
so it needs to cook for about 30 seconds to a minute.
It really depends on your stove,
so keep an eye out.
There we go.
You wanna see some like caramelization and browning.
Okay.
Set that aside, and we're gonna continue.
Serve your tacos with some diced onions,
cilantro, lime wedges.
I love having some sliced radishes in there, too.
And, of course, you're gonna have
some of that warm broth for dipping.
Look at that.
Mm.
That has a flavor that only time
and wonderful ingredients mixed together can bring.
You're gonna inhale these tacos
and make batch after batch.
I hope you get a chance to try this recipe.
And if you liked this video, check out my Latin playlist.