A little bit of history:
This is a delicious Mexican dish of stewed meat (originally goat but is also done with beef or lamb). Still today in many places in Mexico they continue to use ancient cooking techniques and multiple spices to marinate and tenderize the meat. The result is a very tender meat and an explosion of flavors. It used to be cooked in an underground oven, so the steam of the meet will blend with the spices creating a great stew.
Our secret at Grand Hacienda is to continue offering authentic Mexican flavors, so we slow oven cook the brisket in an adobo of mixed spices made with our family recipe. Once the meat is done we have a Birria consommé, to pair with the meat. In Mexico you would normally eat Birria with goat meat and as a stew.
Wait until you taste this magnificent, fork tender meat served with a juicy, flavorful Birria Broth. I wonder how interesting it is that a very old-fashioned dish can be reinvented and become a fashionable food.
Don’t be afraid, the best way to cook this at home is to cook use a slow cooker, so then all the ingredients will cook and blend very similar to the original taste. At the end you can eat the meat as a stew, or try it in crispy tacos or cheese quesabirria. It doesn’t matter how you eat it, I am sure you will enjoy it!
Birria Tacos
A twist to the Birria Tacos is to add cheese to the pan-fried tortilla, that will be used to serve a generous portion of Grand Hacienda Birria style Brisket and is served with the Birria Consommé to be the perfect dipping sauce for the crunchy, crispy fried quesabirria (cheesy birria tacos). This friendly recipe is made for a slow cook, which will give a similar flavor as a ground oven.
Cook the meat first:
1.5 lbs of Brisket
¼ Onion in big pieces
2 Garlics cloves
Salt
3 Bay leaves
1 tbs chicken broth
1 tsp beef broth
8 to 10 cups of water
In a slow cooker add the water, the brisket roast, bay leaves and chicken broth. Cook on low for 4 to 6 hours. Remove the beef and shred the meat and discard the fat. Season with salt and pepper to taste, return shredded meat to slow cooker with broth to continue cooking.
Make the red sauce:
6 Chile Guajillo (devein, deseeded, and clean)
2 Chile Ancho (devein, deseeded, and clean)
1 Garlic Cloves
¼ Onion
5 balls of All spice
1 tsp Majoram
¼ tsp Cinnamon
¼ tsp White Vinegar
In a large pot add chiles, garlic, onion, all spice, marjoram, cinnamon, vinegar to the water, bring to boil, then lower the heat, cover it and let simmer 20 minutes, be sure chiles are fully softened. Allow to cool down and blend all together with until smooth, add salt to taste. Strain sauce, pour and integrate to the consommé.
How to make tacos or quesabirria:
Heat a pan or cast iron griddle over medium low heat. Dip tortillas one at a time into the Birria consommé (the beef broth and red sauce). Place in the pan and top with cheese if making quesatacos (cheese birria tacos). Add the shredded beef over the tortilla and chopped cilantro and onion, drizzle the beef with a little consommé. When cheese is melted, fold each tortilla in half, flipping halfway through, until browned and slightly crunchy, about 1 to 2 minutes per side.
Ready to serve with lime wedges and small bowl of warm consommé for dipping.