Beef Birria and Tuetano Tacos. I have never had birria, so I was intrigued. These days, I am finding myself open to different tastes and textures in what I eat. I read an article by Troy Johnson who writes for the San Diego Magazine. It was about a family restaurant in San Ysidro, San Diego area named Tuetano Taqueria. They specialize in Bone Marrow Birria Tacos. It sounded so good, I had to make my own version! I was right…it is a very unique and savory combination!

TO BRAISE OR PRESSURE COOK

Usually, the braising process for cooking the type of meat for this dish would take at least 4 hours. I decided to take the easy way and use the pressure cook feature in my insta-pot and cook for 1 hour. If I did not have a pressure cooker, my other option would be to marinate the meat in the sauce overnight and then braise it for 4 hours at 350°. The insta-pot worked perfectly! Making tacos with this delicious and savory meat and sauce makes it all worthwhile!

Part of the fun when making birria tacos is dipping the tortilla in your adobo broth to enhance the flavor and then crisping it up on a pan.

Add your beef to your crispy taco shell; top it with a good amount of roasted bone marrow and onions to make a killer taco.

TACOS OR BROTH (CONSOMÉ)

There are so many variations you can do with this recipe. You will enjoy experimenting! This recipe is a great base for making quesadillas and obviously, tacos. But another great way to enjoy your homemade birria is by having it in a bowl of the consomé. It would be just like having a bowl of chili, only different!

Try adding pickled onions to your bowl of birria. So good!

Unless you are a taco aficionado, you probably have been very satisfied to have your basic carne, or pollo asado. Maybe, you have taken the step to try al pastor or carnitas. Check here for my carnitas tacos recipe. Now is the time to be adventurous and make your own birria and bone marrow tacos with a very flavorful consomé! You won’t be disappointed!

WHAT ABOUT THE BONE MARROW?

Bone marrow is beefy, buttery, and is a perfect topping for your Birria Taco. Having bone marrow is definitely a unique experience. Like when I had steak tartar, caviar, or sweetbreads for the first time. Your first thought might be, “no way will I eat raw steak, fish eggs, or organ meat from the thymus gland”. However, when you take that first step and become a little adventuresome, your culinary experiences can be unlimited as you try new and exciting dishes! You still might have some conversations with yourself about not eating some exotic dishes. But who knows, the next time you just might find yourself in a position to take another step on your culinary path!

As always, thanks for Spending Time in My Kitchen!

Beef Birria and Bone Marrow Tacos; a Unique Experience!

Recipe by David Frank – Spending Time In My Kitchen

5.0 from 1 vote

Servings

servings

Prep time

minutes

Cooking time

hour

minutes

Ingredients

Adobo Broth/Consomé
4 Dried ancho chiles
2 small Dried arbol chiles
4 Dried guajillo chile
1/2 Tbl Chopped garlic
1/2 White onion, chopped
3 medium Tomatoes, chopped
1 Chipotle pepper, sauce reserved from can
1 tsp Ground Clove
1 tsp Ground Cinnamon
1 tsp Dried Mexican oregano
1 tsp Dried Thyme
1 tsp Dried Marjoram
2 tsp Cumin
2 Bay leaves
1/4 cup Apple cider vinegar
Salt and pepper to taste
Other Ingredients
2 lbs Boneless chuck roast
1 1/2 lbs Oxtails
Corn tortillas
Vegetable / Grapeseed oil
Garnish
1/2 White onion, chopped
Cilantro, chopped (optional)
3-4 Beef marrow bones

Directions

Salt and pepper your meat and let stand at room temperature for about 20 minutes. Drizzle some oil in your saute pan and brown your meat over medium heat; then set aside.
Put a pot of water on the stove over a medium heat.
Trim stems and de-seed the dried peppers. Place peppers on a pan and drizzle a small amount of oil over them. Toast them for 2-3 minutes. Continue to stir until fragrant. Do not burn. Place dried peppers in the pot of hot water to soften.
Take a large sauté pan and add a tablespoon of oil. Set pan to medium heat. Add onions, garlic, and tomatoes. Sauté till the onions have browned.
Add chipotle pepper and 2 tablespoons of adobo sauce from the can of chipotle peppers to the pan. Add remaining sauce ingredients to the pan and combine except for the vinegar.
Add peppers that are now soft to the pan and combine with the other ingredients. Take those ingredients and place them in a blender and puree until smooth.
Pour blended sauce through a strainer to catch any large chunks that did not puree smooth. Take your silicone spatula or the bottom of your ladle to help push your ingredient through the strainer.
Add meat to your insta-pot/pressure cooker. Add your blended sauce. Add vinegar and additional water if needed. (You can use the water that you used to soften the peppers. Check first. Sometimes that liquid can be a little bitter.) Stir until all is combined.
Set pressure cooker for one hour.
Prepare the Bone Marrow
Take your beef bones and add a pinch of salt on top. Place bones on a pan.
Set oven at 450° and roast the bones until they are brown on top. Don’t overcook it. You don’t want to turn your bone marrow into a puddle of beef oil. The marrow should just start to bubble a little. It should take about 10 to 15 minutes to cook.
Scoop beef marrow out of the bones and place in your taco as additional garnish.
Preparing your Tacos / Consomé
After the meat has cooked, separate meat from the broth and set aside. If making tacos, you may want to take some of the meat and crisp it up in a pan. That’s what I do when making carnitas.
You should have a good amount of broth in your insta-pot. If you need more, add another 2 or 3 cups of water and place broth in a pot to simmer until ready to eat.
Now let’s make tacos. Take your corn tortilla and let it soak up some of the beef oil that is sitting on the top of the broth.
Place tortilla on a pan over medium heat to puff and crisp up.
Add meat and garnish to your taco. And for additional flavor, go ahead and dip your taco into your broth for an additional flavor bomb. It’s allowed! Don’t forget to add your Beef Marrow to your taco. Enjoy!!