Birria Tacos

Craving something rich, flavourful and comforting? These Birria Tacos will deliver. Tender, slow-cooked beef is cooked in a spiced broth until it’s fall-apart tender, then tucked into warm tortillas and pan fried to crispy perfection. The cooking broth is served with the tacos so you can dip them into its savoury goodness for an extra hit of flavour.

How long will it take?

4 hours

What’s the serving size?

Makes 10 tacos

What do I need?

1 ½ kg chuck steak, chopped into large chunks
Salt
1 tsp vegetable oil
10 red chilies, deseeded
1 brown onion, roughly chopped
6 cloves garlic
4 large tomatoes
1 tbsp black peppercorns
1 tsp dried oregano
1 tsp cumin seeds
1 tsp coriander seeds
¼ tsp ground cloves
1 tsp ground cinnamon
2 bay leaves
1 tsp apple cider vinegar
3 cups beef stock, divided
10 tortillas
100 g mozzarella, grated

How do I make it?

Season steak with salt. Working in batches, sear steak in a frying pan over medium-high heat, until browned on all sides. Transfer seared steak to a bowl.
Preheat oven to 150C.
Add chillies, onion, garlic, tomatoes, peppercorns, oregano, cumin, coriander seeds, cloves, cinnamon, and bay leaves to a medium sized saucepan. Add enough cold water to the saucepan to cover all the ingredients, then place over medium-high heat and simmer for 15 minutes. Use a strainer to separate the liquid from the solids. Remove bay leaves, then add the remaining solids to a food processor. Pour in apple cider vinegar and 1 cup of beef stock and blitz until smooth. Season to taste.
Transfer steak from the bowl to a deep-walled baking tray. Pour the broth over the top of the steak, along with the remaining 2 cups beef stock. Cover with foil and cook in the oven for 2 ½ to 3 hours, or until the steak is very tender.
When meat is cooked, remove it from the broth and shred using two forks. Pour the broth into a bowl.
Heat a non—stick frying pan over medium heat. Working one at a time, dip a tortilla into the sauce and then place it in the frying pan. Cook on one side for about 30 seconds, then flip over and add some of the meat and mozzarella to one half of the tortilla. Fold the other half over the meat and cheese and cook for a further 1 minute, or until the tortilla is crispy and golden. Repeat with remaining meat, mozzarella, and tortillas.
Serve tacos with the broth on the side for dipping.