Mexican Beef Birria

Preparation

• Place beef cubes into a large pot
• Mix salt, black pepper, oregano, cumin, cinnamon, and cloves in a small bowl
• Pour spice mixture over beef cubes and toss thoroughly until the meat is evenly coated
• Cover and place into the refrigerator overnight (or in winter time place in unheated garage to save space in fridge 😊)
• Snip off stems and ends of chilis with scissors
• Slice open and discard seeds (I also tear into smaller pieces to make easier to blend later)
• Heat EVO in a medium pot or small Dutch Oven over medium heat
• Add dried chilis and stir for about 30 seconds
• Add chopped onion, garlic, and ginger – stir for about a couple of minutes until softened
• Add tomatoes and stir in
• Increase heat and bring the mixture to a simmer
• Reduce heat to medium-low
• Simmer for about 30 minutes
• Let mixture cool before using an immersion blender (or regular blender but I find that too messy) to make mixture as smooth as possible – be careful not to splash yourself if mixture still warm
• Remove the soup pot with meat from the refrigerator
• Strain the reserved chili mixture into the pot using a large mesh strainer
• Add bay leaves, honey, vinegar, and chicken broth.
• Bring to a boil for about 3 minutes and then lower heat to medium-low
• Let simmer and stir occasionally for about 2 – 3 hours until the meat is tender and can be either pulled apart for tacos or left in chunks if served as a stew
• For stew - Place some chunks of beef into a bowl and ladle some cooking juices on top.
• Top with garnish
• For tacos – shred the beef and place along center of taco
• Top with a combination of the following: shredded cheese, shredded lettuce, chopped tomatoes, chopped avocado, a little salsa – or whatever floats your taco 😊