birria tacos, don't skip the dip

Ingredients · tap to check

• 1 kg chuck roast, cut in big chunks + a bone-in short rib
• 8 dried guajillo chiles, stemmed and seeded
• 1 white onion + 6 garlic cloves
• 1 tsp cumin, 1 tsp Mexican oregano, 2 bay leaves, salt
• white corn tortillas
• oaxaca or monterey jack cheese, shredded
• chopped white onion + cilantro + lime, to finish

The Way

1. Toast the dried chiles in a dry pan, 30–60 seconds until fragrant, then soak them in hot broth for 15 minutes.
2. Blend the soaked chiles with garlic, cumin, and oregano, then strain — you want a silky brick-red adobo, no skins.
3. Sear the beef, cover with the adobo and enough water, add onion and bay leaves, and braise low for 3 to 3.5 hours. Done means a fork meets zero resistance.
4. Shred the beef. Skim the red-orange fat floating on the broth and SAVE IT — that's the taco's paint. The broth below is your consommé.
5. Dip a tortilla in the red fat, lay it on a hot griddle, pile on cheese and beef, fold, and press 2–3 minutes a side until crisp. The cheese that leaks out and fries? A gift.
6. Ladle consommé into a bowl with onion, cilantro, and lime. Dunk the taco. Drip. Repeat.

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