Birria recipes

• 2 to 3 lbs of chuck roast or shank
• Salt to taste
• 5 tbs of oil, split
• 1 onion, cut in half *
• 1 head of garlic, cut in half
• 1 tbs oregano
• 1 tsp thyme
• 2 tsp cumin
• 1 tsp peppercorns
• 1/2 ground cloves
• 1-2 tbs of beef or chicken bouillon
• 1/4 tsp cinnamon or 1 cinnamon stick
• 2-3 bay leafs
• 1 inch of ginger
• Enough water to cover meat completely
• 6 dried California chilies
• 2 dried Pasilla chilies*
• Corn tortillas
• 3-4 cups on melty cheese
• Onion, small dice
• Cilantro, diced

Note: instead of homemade sauce, you can substitute 1 large can of enchilada sauce and enough beef broth to cover meat. Skip everything between the *

1. Season meat with salt to taste
2. Heat half the oil in a pot
3. Brown meat on all sides, set aside
4. Add  onion and garlic, cut side down and brown.
5. Add in all spices and cook for about 3 seconds, stirring constantly
6. Add enough water to cover the meat completely
7. Bring to a boil and simmer on medium heat for 40 minutes
8. Cut steams and remove seeds from chilies
9. At 40 minutes of simmering add the chilies for 20 minutes
10. Remove chilies, onion, and any big pieces  along with 2 cups of broth
11. Blend chilies and broth until smooth
12. Add back until pot
13. Add additional water to cover the meat if needed
14. Continue to simmer meat for 1- 1/2 hours (meat should be fork tender)
15. Once meat is tender, remove and shed meat (pour some broth on top to make it juicy), set aside
16. Shred cheese
17. Heat remaining oil in a pan
18. In remaining broth, lightly dip a tortilla in broth
19. Put tortilla in hot pan, add shredded meat and cheese to one side of the tortilla. Fold over to make a taco
20. Cook on each side for about 1-2 minutes until crispy
21. Serve with onion,  cilantro, and a side of broth for dipping