EASY SLOW COOKER BEEF BIRRIA
Beef birria in the slow cooker is an easy option to get your birria quesatacos and consomé fix. This is a popular street food that can be made right at home.
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INGREDIENTS
3 guajillo chiles (18 g) 1 ancho chile (18 g) 1 pasilla chile (12 g) 6 cloves of garlic (24 g) 1 chipotle pepper in adobo sauce (optional)
1 tsp (1 g) Mexican oregano
3 lbs (1.36 kg) beef shanks 1 small onion (100 g) 2 1/2 tsp (12 g) salt 1 tsp (2 g) black pepper 1/8 tsp (.33 g) ground clove 1/8 tsp (.33 g) ground cinnamon
1 Tbsp (3 g) fresh thyme
2 dried bay leaves 5 cups (1.18 L) water
Remove the stems and seeds from guajillo, ancho and pasilla chiles. Rinse and wash well to remove any debris.
Add the cleaned chiles to a small pot of water, bring to a boil, turn off heat, cover with a lid and steep for 30 minutes or until softened.
Remove the chiles from the pot and discard soaking liquid. Add softened chiles, garlic, Mexican oregano, chipotle pepper and 1 cup of water to a blender. Blend until pureed well. Set aside until ready to use.
In a preheated large skillet, add 3 Tbsp cooking oil and brown the beef shanks on each side for 2 minutes on a medium heat. Then remove from the pan and place all the browned beef into a 4.5 quart slow cooker.
Dice the onion and add to the slow cooker along with chile puree, salt, beef bouillon powder, black pepper, ground cloves, ground cinnamon and fresh thyme. Then combine well.
Pour in the remaining 4 cups of the water, add the dried bay leaves and cover with a lid. Cook for 6 to 8 hours on the low setting or cook for 4 to 6 hours on the high setting.
Once the cooking time is up, skim out all of the rendered fat, stir the beef birria and shred some of the meat. Serve in a bowl or use for tacos.
NOTES: You can salt and season to your preference. You can garnish your bowl with fresh onion, cilantro and a squeeze of lime. This makes at least 4 to 6 servings.
PRINTABLE RECIPE