Birria tacos have recently become a popular dish in the United States. They are full of shredded meat with chopped cilantro and onions. Sometimes, in between the two crispy tortillas cheese can be added to make it a “quesabirria” tacos. The tacos are then dipped into a consomme.    

Birria is a thick meat stew. It is made with a variety of spices and chili peppers. It originated in Jalisco, Mexico. According to Bill Esparza, a food writer in Los Angeles, birria tacos originated in Tijuana, Mexico. 

Everyone has a different way of making birria. The most popular way to make it is over the stove, but now it can even be made in a slow cooker. Reno native, Gabriela Gomez shared her version of birria tacos with Noticiero Movil. 

Recipe

• 1 lb of shank meat 
• 1 lb of sirloin steak
• 6 pieces of garlic
• 6 bay leaves
• 6 California chiles*
• 6 guajillo chiles*
• 3 oranges
• 2 limes
• 3 peppercorns
• 3 cloves
• 1 onion
• pinch of cumin
• salt
• tortillas

*More or less can be added depending on personal preference

Start by boiling water. Once it is boiling, add the meat, garlic cloves, bay leaves, peppercorns, cloves and salt. Next, you are going to de-seed the chiles and let them soak in water for a few minutes. Once the chiles are a bit softer you’ll add them into a blender with onions, garlic, orange juice, lime juice and cumin powder. Blend. Pour the mixture into the meat and let it cook for about four hours on low heat.

Once the meat is cooked, you can start heating up your tortillas. Add oil onto your flat griddle. Dip tortillas into the liquid you cooked your meat in (this is what is known as the consome). Let them crisp up. Once they are as crispy as you’d like, add your meat. Add cilantro, onion and salsa. Grab your taco and dip it into the consome and enjoy.

This article was produced by Jessica Romo for Noticiero Móvil.