Birria de Res

Ingredients

• 1.5kg beef chuck, cut into large chunks
• 800g bone-in beef short rib
• 8 guajillo chiles
• 4 ancho chiles
• 3 chiles de árbol
• 2 ripe tomatoes
• 1 white onion, quartered
• 8 garlic cloves
• 60ml apple cider vinegar
• 1 tsp cumin seeds
• 6 black peppercorns
• 4 whole cloves
• 1 cinnamon stick (5cm)
• 2 bay leaves
• 1 tsp dried thyme
• 1 tsp dried marjoram
• 1 tsp dried Mexican oregano
• 2cm piece fresh ginger, peeled
• 1 tbsp fine sea salt
• 1.5 litres beef stock or water
• 2 tbsp lard
• 24 corn tortillas
• 1 white onion, finely diced, to serve
• 1 large bunch coriander, chopped
• 3 limes, cut into wedges
• 200g quesillo or mozzarella, grated (optional, for quesabirria)

Before you cook

• Cut the chuck into large chunks and pat all the beef dry with kitchen paper.
• Stem and seed the guajillo, ancho and árbol chiles.
• Quarter the onion, peel the garlic and peel the ginger.
• Dice the second onion finely and chop the coriander for serving, then keep them in the fridge.

Steps

1. Toast the guajillo, ancho and árbol chiles in a dry heavy pan over medium heat for about twenty seconds a side, until they smell sweet and turn faintly translucent at the edges.
2. Cover the toasted chiles with boiling water and soak them for twenty-five minutes, weighed down with a plate.
3. Toast the cumin, peppercorns, cloves and cinnamon in the dry pan for forty seconds, until fragrant.
4. Char the tomatoes, quartered onion and garlic in the same pan over high heat for eight minutes, turning until blackened in patches.
5. Blend the drained chiles with the charred vegetables, toasted spices, vinegar, thyme, marjoram, oregano, ginger, the tablespoon of salt and 300ml of the soaking water until perfectly smooth.
6. Pass the adobo through a fine sieve, pressing hard, and discard the skins.
7. Put all the beef in a large bowl, pour over the adobo and turn every piece until it is completely coated.
8. Cover the bowl and refrigerate it for at least four hours, and overnight if you can.
9. Heat the oven to 160C and take the beef out of the fridge.
10. Melt the lard in a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat.
11. Lift the beef out of the marinade, letting the excess drip back, and brown it in batches for about three minutes a side. Do not crowd the pot.
12. Return all the beef to the pot, scrape in every drop of the remaining adobo and add the bay leaves.
13. Pour in the stock so the meat is roughly two thirds submerged, and bring it to a simmer.
14. Cover the pot tightly and slide it into the oven for three hours, until the beef falls apart under a fork.
15. Lift the meat onto a tray and let it cool for ten minutes.
16. Skim the bright orange fat off the top of the broth into a small bowl and keep it. It is the best part.
17. Taste the broth in the pot, season it with salt and thin it with a little hot water if it has reduced too far. This is your consomé.
18. Shred the beef with two forks, pulling out any bones and gristle, then moisten it with a ladle of consomé.
19. Heat a comal or heavy frying pan over medium heat and brush a tortilla with some of the reserved red fat.
20. Lay the tortilla on the hot pan, scatter over the cheese if you are using it, pile on the shredded beef and fold it over.
21. Fry the taco for two minutes a side, until the edges are crisp and lacquered red.
22. Serve the tacos with diced onion, coriander and lime, and a small bowl of hot consomé for dipping.