Birria Tacos with Cucumber Salad
Birria Tacos with Cucumber Salad is my take on a traditional Mexican taco from the Jalisco region of Mexico. Lately, they are very trendy here in the United States. They are typically served with the tortillas dipped into the sauce, and then seared until they’re crispy. But, we ate them that way once, but I honestly found them too greasy. So, now I make the tacos with the adobo sauce mixed into the meat, and I top that off with a crisp and fresh salad. I feel that the salad really cuts the fat and richness of the meat, but you can serve these any way that you like.
The Equipment You’ll Need
- A Blender- This is for blending the dried chile peppers and water together to make the adobo sauce.
- A Cast Iron Skillet- Use this to toast your chile peppers.
- A Dutch Oven- Choose a Dutch oven that will hold the beef along with a couple cups of liquid.
The Ingredients You’ll Need for Birria Tacos with Cucumber Salad
- Beef Short Ribs- If you feel this is too pricy, you could use a chuck roast instead.
- The Chiles- You will need both guajillo chiles and ancho chilles.
- Chicken Stock- I have linked my homemade chicken stock recipe, which I always use. This time, though, I used turkey stock that I made from my Thanksgiving turkey.
How I Made my Tacos
- First, I made the adobo sauce.
- Next, I took my time searing the short ribs. It’s important to get them nice and brown.
- Then, I added the liquids to the pot. You don’t want to totally cover the ribs. You want the liquid to go up maybe three quarters of the way up the ribs.
- After that, it was just a matter of letting them cook in the oven for three hours.
- Then, I removed the bones and shredded the beef.
- Next, I removed as much fat as I could from the stewing liquid. Then, I mixed all the meat into the sauce and filled my tortillas.
- Finally, I topped the meat with my salad mixture.
We really enjoyed these Birria Tacos with Cucumber Salad. If you’re a taco lover, you must try these slow cooked beef tacos!
Birria Tacos with Cucumber Salad
Short ribs braised in adobo sauce and topped with a cucumber, spinach, and radish salad.
Equipment
- blender
Ingredients
- 4 dried ancho chilies
- 6 dried guajillo chilies
- 1 tbsp. honey
- 1 tbsp. white vinegar
- 1 tsp. oregano
- ½ tsp. ground cumin
- ¼ tsp. each cinnamon and ground cloves
- 2 cups water
- 1 tbsp. olive oil
- 3½ pounds beef short ribs
- ½ tsp. each garlic powder, kosher salt, black pepper
- 2 bay leaves
- 2 sprigs of fresh thyme
- 1 cup chicken stock
- 12 corn tortillas
- 1½ cups English cucumbers, thinly sliced
- 1½ cups radishes, thinly sliced
- 3 cups baby spinach
- 1 cup fresh mint leaves
- 1 cup thinly sliced red onions
- 2 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
- 1 tbsp. lemon juice
Instructions
- For the adobo sauce: Remove the seeds and stems from the peppers and then toast them in a cast iron skillet on high heat for a few minutes, until you can smell their aroma.
- In a three quart sauce pan boil the peppers along with two cups of water, for five minutes. Drain the peppers, and then put them in the blender along with two cups of fresh water, the vinegar, oregano, cumin, cinnamon, and cloves. Blend until the mixture is smooth.
- Preheat the oven to 300 degrees.
- For the Birra beef taco filling: Dry off the short ribs and sprinkle them with the salt, pepper, and garlic powder. Heat the olive oil in a Dutch oven on medium heat. Sear the ribs, a few at a time, on all sides. When they're al browned add them all back to the pot along with half the adobo sauce (you can freeze the rest for another use), the chicken stock, the bay leaves and the thyme. Cover the pot and bake them for three hours, or until they're very tender.
- Remove the meat from pot and shred it. Pour the liquid in the pot into a measuring cup. The fat will rise to top. Remove and discard the fat. Pour the liquid back into the pot. At this point you could dip the tortillas into the liquid, fill them with meat, and then brown them in a cast iron skillet in a little butter. But, I prefer to add the meat back to the pot and stir the liquid in . Then, I fill the tacos with the meat and the following salad.
- For the salad: toss together all the vegetables and the lemon juice and extra virgin olive oil. Season with some salt and pepper. I think the salad really cuts a lot of the richness of the meat and adobo, and I highly recommend it.
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!
Chicken Stock
Homemade chicken stock
Ingredients
- 4½ lbs. chicken breasts and wings with skin and bones
- 10 cups water
- 2 peeled onions
- 2 peeled carrots
- 3 peeled parsley roots
- 1 tbsp. kosher salt
- 4 stalks celery
- 1 peeled parsnip
- 2 tbsp. garlic cloves
- 1 cup fresh parsley and fresh dill
Instructions
- Put the chicken and the salt in a large, tall pot and cover with ten cups of cold water. Bring to a boil and then simmer for 30 minutes, skimming any scum that forms.
- Add all the vegetables and herbs and simmer for two and a half hours. Pour the soup through a strainer to remove everything but the broth.
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!
