originating from Mexico, Birria Tacos has been all the hype in Singapore as of late and you can now find this specialty being sold in night markets, food fairs and served in Mexican restaurants. it is originally made with goat meat / lamb but is also great with tough cuts of beef such as brisket, shortrib and chuck.
for this recipe, we collabed with Masterchef Asia Season 1 Finalist, Shamsydar Ani to create a recipe of Birria Tacos which can easily be replicated at home.
Birria Tacos
braised beef:
1 cinnamon stick
3 bay leaves
1 kg beef brisket, cubed
1/2 cup oil + 3tbsp
1 large red onion, diced
5 cloves garlic, smashed
1 dried ancho chilli, deseeded
3 guajillo chilli, deseeded
1 tbsp coriander powder
2 tsp cumin powder
3 sprigs thyme
2 tbsp canned/bottled Mexican chipotle adobo
400g canned diced tomato
1 beef stock cube
2 litres water
salt and pepper, to taste
for tacos:
20-25 corn tortillas
400g mozzarella cheese, shredded
2 white onion, diced
3 sprigs coriander leaves, sliced
directions
heat a pan without oil and toast the chillis on both sides, until lightly charred. then, soak the chillies in 1 cup boiling water, cover and let it soak for 20 minutes.
braising the beef
season the beef brisket with salt and pepper on all sides.
in a stockpot on medium heat, pour in 3 tbsp oil. once it gets really hot, sear the brisket pieces, flipping it occasionally until the surface gets a nice browning. set the beef sside.
in the same pot, add the rest of the oil. throw in the cinnamon and bay leaves & roast for 30 seconds. add in onion and garlic and sauté until translucent, picking up the brown beef bits from the searing process. sprinkle in the coriander and cumin and sauté for another 3 minutes.
add in the softened chillies, crushed tomato, chipotle adobo, thyme and beef stock cube. cover the pot and let it simmer for 10 minutes. add 2 litres water and bring the broth to a boil.
add in the seared beef brisket and lower the heat to a simmer. season with salt and pepper, cover the pot with a lid and cook for 2-3 hours or until the beef becomes fork tender. alternatively, you can cook it in a pressure cooker to speed up the cooking.
once the brisket is tender and tears apart easily, remove from the braising liquid (consommé) and shred using a fork.
remove the bay leaf, cinnamon and thyme stems from the liquid. using an immersion or stand blender, puree the liquid until it become a smooth homogeneous mixture. season to taste.
add a cup of the pureed liquid (consommé) onto the shredded brisket and toss well. this is to prevent the beef form drying out.
assembling the tacos
dunk the corn tortilla into the consommé to soak it. add a handful of shredded brisket on to the tortilla and top with mozzarella cheese. fold it in half. heat oil in a pan and toast the tortilla on both sides to melt the cheese. repeat until all the meat and tortillas are used up.
serve on a plate, garnished with diced onion and coriander leaves. serve with a bowl/cup of consommé on the side for dunking.