The first time I had a quesabirria taco I may or may not have wept. To me, it’s as perfect as a taco can be. It hits every single note. Moist, cheesy, some texture … just magical.
| Level: | Intermediate |
| Total: | 3 hr |
| Active: | 1 hr 30 min |
| Yield: | 6 servings |
Ingredients
- 4 ancho chiles, halved and seeds removed
- 2 chiles de árbol, halved and seeds removed
- 2 guajillo chiles, halved and seeds removed
- Olive oil
- One 2-pound chuck roast
- 1 pound bone-in short ribs
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 6 cloves garlic, smashed
- 1 carrot, cut into thirds
- 1 large white or yellow onion, peeled and halved
- 2 teaspoons ground cumin
- 2 teaspoons dried Mexican oregano
- 1 teaspoon chili powder
- 4 chicken stock
- 4 bay leaves
- 12 to 15 white corn tortillas
- One 10-ounce wheel Oaxaca cheese, grated on the large holes of a box grater (4 cups grated)
- Finely diced white onion, for serving
- Roughly chopped cilantro, for serving
- Lime wedges, for serving
Instructions
- Prepare a grill for indirect heat. If using a charcoal grill, build the hot coals on one side only. If using a gas grill, heat one side only to medium-high heat.
- Place a heavy-bottomed Dutch oven over the direct heat side of the grill. To the dry pan add the ancho chiles, chiles de árbol and guajillo chiles and toast until slightly charred and fragrant, 2 to 3 minutes. Remove and set aside. To the same Dutch oven, add a drizzle of olive oil. Season the chuck roast and short ribs with salt and pepper. Add to the hot oil and deeply brown on all sides, 2 to 3 minutes per side. Add the garlic, carrot, onion, cumin, oregano and chili powder. Add the toasted chiles, then pour in the chicken stock and add the bay leaves. Bring to a simmer, move to the indirect heat side of the grill, close the lid of the grill and simmer for 30 minutes, allowing the chiles to re-hydrate.
- Using tongs, pull the chiles out and add to a blender along with 1 to 2 cups of the broth. Cover the lid with a kitchen towel to catch splatters. Puree until smooth then pour the mixture back into the pan.
- Add 2 cups of water to the blender to rinse it out and pour into the Dutch oven. Cover the grill with a lid and continue to braise until tender, another 1 to 1 1/2 hours. Try to maintain a temperature of 275 to 300 degrees F. Skim any fat off the top of the pot and save to use to toast the tortillas. Pull the meat from the liquid and shred into smaller pieces using 2 forks. Strain the broth through a fine-mesh sieve and discard the solids. Keep the broth warm.
- Place a cast-iron skillet or braiser over the direct heat side of the grill. Using a pastry brush, brush some of the reserved fat all over the skillet. Using tongs, dip 2 of the tortillas into the broth, soaking both sides, and place in the pan. Immediately sprinkle the surface of each tortilla with about 1/4 cup of the cheese and 1/4 cup of the shredded braised beef. Allow the cheese to begin to melt and the tortillas to toast, about 1 minute. Fold each tortilla in half then toast on one side until golden brown and crisp, about 1 minute. Flip to the other side and allow to crisp, about 1 minute. Repeat with the remaining tortillas, cheese and meat.
- To serve: Ladle the hot broth into small bowls. Garnish each bowl of broth with finely diced onion and cilantro. Serve alongside the tacos for dipping with some lime wedges on the side.
Reviews
This was excellent. I made a day ahead to prep for a Sunday meal with my daughter and son on law. Its getting colder here so no grill… so I put the pot in the oven at 300 degrees. I had to season a little more with salt and pepper because I did not season the meat before searing like Michael did in the video. Oops… easy fix. Then perfection. Thank you for a great new family favorite.
These are very authentic and best Birria tacos I’ve ever had. I’m Hispanic and live on the Texas-Mexico border so we know our Mexican food. I follow other Mexican cooks and by far Michael’s knocks them out of the ballpark! We are a family of 4 and everyone enjoyed them. I didn’t tell them where I got this recipe until after because I didn’t want them to judge the chef. They were so impressed. Apparently these tacos are very popular also in San Diego where my son lived and he loved these. Thank you for the best Birria Tacos we’ve had.
This was the nlandezt recipe I’ve ever tried (I followed it exactly). I should have known better. Next time if I want a Mexican recipe I should get it from a Mexican chef
These tacos were amazing I loved using short ribs with chuck roast. The sauce was delicious
Absolutely fabulous! The whole family loved. We made it exact to the recipe, but on the stovetop in a cast iron pan. Probably the best tacos we have ever had! We did half on corn tortillas and half on mission low carb flour. The filling was so amazing, both tortillas were fabulous! Seriously give this recipe a try… you will not be disappointed! Great recipe!!!
Delicious! I made this tonight and my family loved it. The sauce is the winner. Made on the stovetop so it took about an extra hour to cook. For those that said there wasn’t much flavor, be sure to season all sides of the beef and sear all sides. Also, see some of my minor tweaks: We don’t like too much heat (digestive issues) so I only used 1 Chile Arbol and 2 Chile guajillo. Those are the only chilis I had. About 30 minutes before the end of cooking, I added 1 tbsp. of beef broth (Better than Bouillon). At the end of cooking, I put all the leftover liquid, the 2 guajillo chilis, 1/2 the arbol chili, and veggies in a blender and blended it up. I did not add the 2 cups of extra water to the blender (omitted completely). The sauce was flavorful and thick. I used that to dip the tortillas and put the sauce over the top after cooking the tortillas. Paired this with Mexican chicken flavored rice, and refried beans. I did use the Oaxaca cheese but honestly, it tastes like fresh mozzarella and that would have been cheaper. Its a winner!! Feeds about 4 – 5 people. I suggest having some chips and salsa as an appetizer, or a side salad.
This was AMAZING. I did it on the stovetop, took a few hours. Next time on the smoker.
These were amazing. Not sure why someone didn’t think very flavorful. I’m from Texas and everything has to be spicey and deep in flavor – this hit it. I pretty much followed the receipe to a T. I did add two roma tomatoes with the veg, and amped up the cumin a little. I used a 3 lb chuck roast and the 1 lb short ribs. I also made sure to toast the dried chili’s first – important step. The only other change was I added 2 t of beef bouillion with the water. And I cooked in the oven for 3 hours, part with lid on, some with lid off – just watched to make sure there was plenty of liquid. Took about 3 hours in the oven. I had about 1 quart of liquid left. The flavor was spicey but not too spicy for me. Use high quality fresh ingredients!
I loved this! But had to make a few changes b/c my grocery store didn’t have a lot of the ingredients. Never made short ribs before and wow I am impressed. Cooked in crock pot for 7 hours on low. Couldn’t find those peppers so I used fresh 4 seeded Serrano peppers (red) and jalapeño peppers 4 small seeded. And chipotle powder instead of chili powder and regular oregano. Also couldn’t find Oxcaca cheese so I used a Mexican cheddar blend.
This was just ok. Wasn’t the flavor explosion I was expecting. The beef is perfect if you want an excellent pot roast. Dipping into the mole sauce just was not hitting it for me. I even tried punching it up. I probably would have been better skipping the peppers, and just added McCormick original taco seasoning and some fresh lime juice in with the shredded beef. I also needed a ton of salt. Even after liberally seasoning the beef on all sides and searing it. The mole before I adjusted it (a lot), tasted like you stuck a spoon of chili powder in your mouth, and thats it. I had to add a bunch of cumin, onion powder, and garlic powder, salt, and more Mexican oregano = taco seasoning. So I should have just done that with the shredded beef. I haven’t given up on Chef Symon, but this one I won’t be making again. Don’t believe the rolling back of the eyes when you watch these cooking shows. My eyes were rolling. Just not to the back of my head in food tasting ecstasy. More like, why did I spend $60 making this recipe.