Beef Birria

• servings: 6 servings
• active time: 10 minutes
• total time: 3 hours 5 minutes

Ingredients

3 lb beef chuck roast*

4 bone-in beef short ribs*

8 dried guajillo chile peppers*

3 dried pasilla chile peppers

2-3 dried arbol chile peppers*

5 roma tomatoes (, quartered (about 1.5lb)

1 white onion (, roughly chopped)

1 head garlic (10-12 cloves)

1 Tablespoon whole black peppercorns

1 Tablespoon whole cumin seed (or 1 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin)

1 Tablespoon Dried oregano

1 Tablespoon dried thyme

½ teaspoon whole coriander seeds (or 1/4 tsp ground coriander)

4 or 5 whole cloves

1 teaspoon fresh minced ginger root

1 inch piece Mexican cinnamon stick* (or 1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon)

2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar (, or white)

5 cups water (, divided)

2 bay leaves

1 Tablespoon kosher salt

1 white onion (, finely chopped)

1 bunch of cilantro (, chopped)

2 limes (, sliced)

Corn tortillas

Directions

Prepare meat: Remove any large pieces of fat from the chuck roast. Cut it into a few large pieces and season with salt.

Prepare dried chiles: Wearing gloves if desired, rinse the chiles, then use scissors to remove the stem and make a slit along the side to open them and remove the seeds. (The arbol chiles are hottest, so for less heat, remove the seeds, or omit these chiles completely. If you like extra spice, leave them whole).

Make chile sauce: Add tomatoes and onion to a large stock pot (at least 5.5qt pot of bigger) over medium heat. Cook for a few minutes, stirring. Add whole garlic cloves, chile peppers, and all of the spices except the bay leaf. Cook for 5 minutes, stirring often. Add vinegar and 4 cups water. Bring to a low boil, reduce heat to simmer and cook for 15 minutes, uncovered.

Blend sauce: Add mixture to a blender and blend as smooth as possible. Pour mixture through a fine mesh strainer, back into the pot.

Add meat and simmer: Add 1 cup of water and 1 tablespoon kosher salt. Bring to a boil. Add short ribs, chuck roast and 2 bay leaves. Cover, reduce heat to a simmer and cook for 2 ½ hours or until meat is fall-off-the-bone tender.

Shred meat: Check meat to make sure it’s tender. Remove meat to a plate and chop or shred into pieces. Discard bones and bay leaves.

Serve: Taste broth (careful, it’s hot!) and add additional seasonings or salt, if needed. If you want the broth thinner, add additional water or some beef broth. Add some shredded meat to bowls and pour broth on top. Garnish with fresh chopped white onion and cilantro, and a squeeze of fresh lime juice. Serve with warm corn tortillas on the side, for dipping. Or, use the sauce and meat to make Birria Tacos!

Nutrition

• Calories: 450 kcal
• Total Fat: 27 g
• Saturated Fat: 12 g
• Unsaturated Fat: 15 g
• Trans Fat: 2 g
• Cholesterol: 157 mg
• Sodium: 1356 mg
• Total Carbohydrate: 8 g
• Dietary Fiber: 3 g
• Total Sugars: 3 g
• Protein: 45 g