wtf is for dinner

a question I ask myself 365 times a year - and tonight it's birria tacos 🌮

If birria tacos can be sloppy & messy & still amazing SO CAN WE. They’re saucy. They’re comforting. and they’re weirdly low effort for something this good.

MAKE IT WITH ME HERE.

Ingredients:

• 🌶️ 2 medium red chillies (fresh, deseeded)

• 🍅 Punnet of cherry tomatoes or 4 medium tomatoes (roughly chopped)

• 🫑 1½ red capsicums (roughly chopped)

• 🧄 5 cloves garlic (peeled)

• 🧅 2 onions

• 🍅 1 tbsp tomato paste

• 🌿 2 tsp ground cumin

• 🌿 2 tsp dried oregano

• 🔥 1 tsp smoked paprika

• 🌶️ 3 dried chillies (guajillo or similar – optional for extra heat)

• 🧉 2 whole cloves

• 🍶 2 tbsp white vinegar

• 🧂salt & pepper

• 💧 Splash of water (2–4 tbsp) to help blend

• 🐄 1.2kg beef brisket (cut into large cubes)

• 🧂 Salt + pepper to season

• 🛢️ 1–2 tbsp oil for searing

• 🥣 2–2½ cups beef stock (enough to mostly cover the beef)

• 🍃 2 bay leaves

• 🪵 1 cinnamon stick (quill)

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🌮 To serve:

• 🌽 corn tortillas

• 🧀 shredded mozzarella cheese

• 🌿 Fresh coriander

• 🍋 Lime wedges (non-negotiable)

• 🌶️ Optional: diced chilli, jalapeños, onions or hot sauce

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🧑‍🍳 How to Make It:

1. Beef:

   Cut your brisket into chunks and season well.
   Sear in batches until golden and crusty on all sides.
   I used a Dutch oven made by a French company, but your pot doesn’t need a passport — use what you’ve got.

2. Adobo:
   Throw your chopped chillies, tomatoes, capsicum, garlic, onion, tomato paste, cumin, oregano, paprika, dried chillies, cloves, vinegar, salt, pepper, and a splash of water into your pot of choice.
   Stick blend until smooth.
   I used a stick blender because I am, at my core, lazy — but a regular blender works too.

3. Add it all back together.
   Beef goes back in.
   Add a couple of bent bay leaves, a cinnamon quill, and enough stock to mostly cover the beef.
   This is where the consommé magic begins.

4. Simmer low and slow.
   Stovetop works perfectly.
   Bring to a gentle simmer, cover (lid slightly ajar), and cook for 2.5–3 hours.
   Stir occasionally and top up with stock or water if it gets low.

5. Shred the beef.
   When it’s tender and falls apart with a fork, it’s done.
   Remove cinnamon + bay leaves, shred the beef and taste the consommé for seasoning.

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🔥 Taco Assembly:

- Dip a tortilla into the consommé.
- Fill with shredded beef and a handful of cheese.
- Fry until golden and crisp on both sides. (I use a sandwich press because it does both sides at once. No flipping. I warned you: lazy.)

Garnish with coriander, onion, maybe extra chilli. Squeeze of lime. Dunk in that hot consommé and enjoy with no regrets.