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Birria-style Braised Beef

30 minutes prep
2 1/2 hours active cooking, mostly passive
3 hours total

Makes 6 - 8 servings

While it takes awhile, making birria is fairly simple.

Dried chiles are rehydrated and blended with cooked onion, spices, and tomatoes to make the sauce used to slowly cook chunks of beef.

We carry dried chiles when we can get them, but availability has been spotty. You can usually find dried chiles at stores catering to Mexican-American shoppers.

What you'll need

Ingredients

For the shopping list

6

ancho chiles

2

de arbol chiles

2 pounds of

beef (chuck or similar beef for stew), cut into 2 inch pieces

1

onion, chopped

1 teaspoon of

cumin

1/2 teaspoon of

ground clove

1/4 teaspoon of

cinnamon

1 teaspoon of

black peppercorns, crushed

4 cups of

water, divided

From our shop

$7 - Yolo Valley - California

Substitute whole canned tomatoes, but puree with the chiles and onion.

$25 - Sicily - Italy

Madre Terra

$15 - Napa - California

Sparkling Wine Vinegar

$10 - Cao Bằng - Vietnam

Purple Stripe Garlic

$9 - Pantelleria - Sicily

Oregano

Our Mediterranean oregano is a little different from Mexican oregano, but either will work.

$10 - Cao Bằng - Vietnam

Buffalo Ginger
Out of stock
1 tablespoon of Salty Black Sesame Seeds

$6 - Osaka - Japan

Salty Black Sesame Seeds

Equipment

From the kitchen

1

Dutch Oven

1

Chef Knife

1

Cutting Board

1

Blender

Measuring Cups

Measuring Spoons

"Birria makes a delicious, chile-spiked beef stew, especially when topped with onion, cilantro, and a squeeze of lime, but it really shines as a taco filling.

Take the meat out of the cooking liquid and chop it, then dip corn tortillas into the broth before frying them in a little olive oil. Add grated cheese as the tortilla cooks to make the quesadilla-taco mashup called quesabirria. Serve either with a bowl of the broth, called consome in Spanish, for dipping."

~ Jim Dixon, founder Wellspent and Real Good Food

What you'll have to do

Step 1

Seed and destem chiles by cutting a slit down one side and pulling out the seed core and stem. Put them in a sauce pan with 2 cups of the water, bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer for 10 minutes. Let cool.

Step 2

Cook the onion in a splash of olive oil until soft and lightly browned, about 20 minutes. Add the garlic, herbs, spices, and sesame seeds, cook for another minute, then remove from the heat and cool. Most birria recipes don’t brown the meat before braising, but it does add a little flavor, so go for it if you want to.

Step 3

Working in batches, transfer the chiles with their cooking water and the cooked onions to a blender. Blend until smooth, then combine the batches with the vinegar and crushed tomatoes. Pour it over the beef and marinate in the refrigerator overnight or for at least a few hours.

Step 4

Browned or not, put the beef and marinade in a Dutch oven or baking dish, cover, and bake at 300F for about 3 hours or until the meat shreds easily.

Shop this recipe

Olive Oil

Madre Terra

Madre TerraSicily - Italy
$25
Crushed Tomatoes
Pasta & Tomatoes

Crushed Tomatoes

Bianco di NapoliYolo Valley - California
$7
Sparkling Wine Vinegar
Vinegar

Sparkling Wine Vinegar

Katz FarmNapa - California
$15
Purple Stripe Garlic
Salt, Herbs, & Spices

Purple Stripe Garlic

Burlap & BarrelCao Bằng - Vietnam
$10
Oregano
Salt, Herbs, & Spices

Oregano

Francesco RafaelePantelleria - Sicily
$9
Buffalo Ginger
Salt, Herbs, & Spices

Buffalo Ginger

Burlap & BarrelCao Bằng - Vietnam
$10
Out of stock
Salty Black Sesame Seeds
Crackers, Snacks, & Nuts

Salty Black Sesame Seeds

WadamanOsaka - Japan
$6

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