Beef Birria (Recipe 23 of 150)

Early in Feb I traveled to Tucson, stopping in Phoenix first. I met my friend for lunch and had beef birria enchiladas. I knew then I had to get home and make been birria. 

In all honesty, I did not follow any part of this recipe. I didn't read the instructions and assumed I knew what was happening. The result was delicious, and I'm sure if you actually follow the instructions they'd turn out just as good. 

I had made beef birria before, but a long time ago. And I had seen it made on TV. Those two things coupled with my own cooking knowledge I was sure I knew what I was doing. Again, it turned out ok. So you can follow my instructions or the actual instructions. After reading the instructions, they feel a little out of sync to me. 

I did use all the ingredients though, so there's that. 

First I started a pot of beef broth on to boil so I could get my dried chilis steeping. Rookie mistake though, I didn't seed them before I steeped them. Be sure to stem them and seed them before you steep them - it's easier. 

While those were steeping, I sautéed my onions. Then browned my beef.  Put both of those in a slow cooker. 

Once the chilis are steeped, I dropped them and the seasoning into a blender and blended until smooth. 

I dumped that and about 3 c of beef broth the chilis steeped in into the slow cooker. Let it cook for 6 hours on low.

I would make this again. Maybe I'd follow the recipe. 

Beef Birria

Recipe from Hungry Foodie

Serves 6

• 2 T olive oil
• 5 pounds chuck roast  cut into 2 to 3 inch chunks
• sea salt
• 2 tsp dried Mexican oregano
• 2 bay leaves
• 1 tsp chili powder
• 1 tsp ground cumin
• ½ tsp ground cloves
• 6 cloves garlic, peeled
• 1 large onion, sliced in half and peeled with the stem left on
• 8 c beef stock
• 3 dried guajillo chiles, seeded with the stems cut off
• 3 dried chile de arbol, seeded with the stems cut off
• chopped red onions, cilantro, and lime wedges, for serving

Heat the oil in a large stock pot or Dutch oven over medium heat. Season the chuck roast pieces generously with salt on all sides.

Add the chuck roast to the pot and cook until browned, about 10 minutes. Add the oregano, bay leaves, chili powder, cumin and cloves to the pot and stir to coat the beef in the spices.

Add the garlic and onion, then pour in the beef stock. Increase the heat to high to bring it to a boil. 

Once the broth is boiling, skim the foam from the top and discard.

Add in the guajillo and chile de arbol chilis and let them boil for 10 minutes.

Remove the chilis and garlic cloves from the broth and put them in a large blender. Add three to four ladles of the broth to the blender, and blend until smooth.

Strain the blended chilis back into the soup using a fine mesh sieve.

Reduce the heat to low and let simmer for two to three hours or until the meat is tender. Stir every 30 to 45 minutes. Taste, and add more salt, if needed. Remove the onion before serving.

Taste, and add more salt, if needed. Remove the onion before serving.

Garnish with red onion, cilantro, and a squeeze of lime.

Photo from Hungry Foodie