Birria chuck tacos, smoke during the braise?

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Other notes - I had wrongly assumed that mexican oregano is just a different specific cultivar the way mexican cilantro isn't exactly like other cilantros but all of them share most of the same genome. mexican, european, and asian cilantros are all branches off the same genetic tree.

Nah, mexican oregano is a completely different plant, the same way that bay leaves in the low dollar bag at the meximart are leaves from a completely different tree with a few similar flavor traits.

So I'll be sure to get the mexican oregano next time. But I'm sure in such small quantity, it wasn't a big deal.

I used the mexican "laurel" leaves this time for the bay leaves.

I definitely recommend it. I think if i make it with the chuck and oxtail combination again i will score the oxtail fat in hopes that they cook down faster.

I might use a small pressure cooker to finish off the oxtails if they need it, instead of simmering. I have a 3qt hawkins that would be perfect for that.

When i was disposing of the seeds from the dried peppers i had a thought about how some guys who homebrew beer use a muslin bag they call a hop sock to contain their hops and other flavorings. If you wanted the heat from the seeds without having to pick them out of your teeth later, this would be one way to accomplish that.
 
I'm sure there are lots of good recipes out there. My cook was based on the "basics with babish" version, so, you know, a not-brown new york hipster self-taught cook's multi-layered vision of a dish from Jalisco.

It's tasty. I'm sure someone *from Jalisco might think it's a bit extra and silly. It is, for sure, a try-hard gabacho version. The hell if i know what "authentic" is.

But I gotta say, the first time i had birria quesatacos, at a little place that might have been an old tacobell or something in (I think) west valley city UT -- called Puerto Vallarta -- in 2019, they were really good. But that was 3 years ago so my memory is fuzzy. The other places I've had Birria since then, it was more like just damp beef roast dyed red with tomato paste and seasoned with salt, and there was nothing to recommend it.

I *can recommend experimenting with this recipe in your smoker or pellet grill. just keep an eye on the liquid level and add water as needed.

And I'm interested in hearing about other recipes that turned out tasty.
 
One final thought - I certainly ran out of fat to dip the tortillas in before i ran out of meat. Maybe put some of the bigger pieces of trimmings from the chuck into the pan with the rest of the food to render down into it.
 
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