Taco night will never be the same once you taste these birria tacos made with savory, slow-cooked beef that is dipped into a spicy stew.
Ingredients
5 dried ancho chiles, stemmed and deseeded
4 dried chile de arbol, stemmed and deseeded
4 roma tomatoes, halved
1 red onion, quartered
10 cloves of garlic
4 cups beef broth
4 cups water
2 TB vegetable oil
2 lbs chuck roast, cut into 1-inch cubes
Salt and pepper
1 TB ground cumin
2 tsp dried oregano
3 bay leaves, dried
1 cinnamon stick
16 corn tortillas
1 ½ cups shredded mozzarella
½ cup white onion, finely diced
½ cup fresh cilantro, chopped
4 limes, cut into wedges
Instructions
Preheat oven to 350 F.
Combine ancho and de arbol chiles, tomatoes, onion, garlic, beef broth, and water in a large pot. Place over medium heat and bring to simmer. Simmer for 12-14 minutes.
Meanwhile, heat oil in a large Dutch oven over medium-high. Season the chuck roast with salt and pepper. In batches of 2 or 3, sear the beef, browning all sides. Transfer beef to plate.
Using an immersion blender or stand-up blender, blend the chile and vegetable mixture until smooth.
Add the blended sauce and meat to the Dutch oven. Add cumin, oregano, bay leaves, and cinnamon stick. Bring to a simmer, cover, and transfer to the oven. Cook until beef is fork-tender, about 3 hours.
Remove beef, shred with 2 forks and set aside. Keep braising liquid.
Preheat griddle or large pan to a medium heat. Dip one tortilla in the warm braising liquid. Place tortilla on griddle or pan, two with 2 TB of mozzarella cheese and 3 TB of beef. Add onion and cilantro, fold in half. Repeat with more tortillas until pan is full. Cook tacos until crisp, about 40 seconds per side. Remove cooked tacos to a platter. Repeat with remaining tortillas.
Serve tacos with lime wedges and the warm braising liquid on the side for dipping.
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Serves: 6 
