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You can’t have a Mexican feast without tacos.
You just can’t. You can however make your Mexican feast so much better with the addition of “puffy” tacos. If you’ve never had a puffy tacos, let me just tell you that you are missing out… big time. Especially when the puffy tacos are filled with birria.
Oh my gosh, so much YUM.
Birria is a traditional Mexican Stew. My brother Brendan’s girlfriend, Lyndsie told me all about it, Then I of course had to make it. I believe that traditionally it’s made with goat meat, but I wasn’t able to find any goat meat where I live. I saw a bunch of recipes that used pork and lamb, so I decided to go with lamb meat. If you’d prefer, you could use a beef roast, pork roast or even chicken thighs.
Birria is basically stewed meat in a spicy tomatillo chile sauce. It seemed like all the recipes I looked at were slightly different from one other, therefore, I decided to pick and choose the best parts. SOO… I’m not sure if this is truly a traditional birria, but it is delicious, and let’s be real, that’s really all that matters.
As I explained yesterday, my family always does Mexican on New Year’s Eve. Yesterday we did a little appetizer/snack recipe, today it’s tacos, and tomorrow…um well, let’s just say it’s going to be cheesy, oh so cheesy. And Wednesday?!? Citrusy and boozy.
Get excited!
These puffy tacos are surely the star of my Mexican Feast. They’re spicy, full of smoky flavors and the meat is perfectly tender. I paired the tacos with a quick mango salsa and a cilantro lime yogurt sauce. The meat is delicious on its own, well maybe just sprinkle of cheese. Then add it to a crunchy taco shell… so good!
You could also serve the meat as a stew in a bowl with warmed flour tortillas. I personally love a good taco though, and I mean, tacos are way more fun than stew. Plus, its New Years, all New Years food should be fun, you know?!?
I’m keeping this week’s posts short and sweet. My mom says I need to try to take a little Christmas break and just breath. For once I’m taking her advice. Well that and the fact that a couple of family members are sick, people are going down like bowling pins. As of right now, I feel A-OK, but I’m thinking I need to make some soup to help people get on the mend. I also need to stay healthy so I can come through on Thursday night with these delicious Birria Puffy Tacos that everyone has been waiting for.
So what are you guys up to this week? Any fun New Year’s Eve plans?? Leave a comment and tell me all about it!
Birria Puffy Tacos.
Ingredients
- 4 dried guajillo chiles
- 4 dried ancho chiles
- 2 cups boiling hot water
- 8 tomatillos
- 6 cloves large of garlic, skin on
- 1 sweet onion, halved
- 1 jalapeno
- 1/4 cup cider vinegar
- 2 teaspoons dried oregano, preferably Mexican Oregano
- 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon cumin
- 1/4 teaspoon ground pepper
- 1 tablespoon fresh ginger, grated
- 1 (3 pound) lamb shoulder or pork shoulder
- salt + pepper, to taste
- 1 1/2 cups Mexican Beer
- 1 1/2 cups chicken broth
- 1/2 cup fresh cilantro, chopped
Puffy Taco Shells
- 12 corn tortillas
- canola oil, for frying
- lime zest + salt, for sprinkling
Cilantro Lime Yogurt
- 1/2 cup plain greek yogurt
- 2 tablespoons fresh cilantro, chopped
- 1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
Mango Salsa
- 2 mangos, peeled + diced
- 1 ripe, but firm, avocado, pitted, peeled + diced
- 1 red fresno chili or jalapeño, seeded + diced
- 1 cup fresh cilantro, chopped
- juice of 1 lime
Instructions
- Bring 2-3 cups water to a boil, remove from the heat and add the dried guajillo chiles and ancho chiles, cover and let sit 30 minutes or until the chiles are soft.
- Meanwhile, heat a large dutch oven over high heat. Add the tomatillos, garlic, onion and jalapeño. Char the veggies all over. Remove from the pan and let cool slightly. Remove the skins from the tomatillos and garlic and remove any completely black pieces from the jalapeño. Add all the charred veggies (skins removed) to a blender. Grab the chiles that have been soaking in water and drain, reserving 1/2 cup of the soaking water. Seed the chiles and add them to the blender with the remaining 1/2 cup of soaking water. I like to leave some of the seeds in the chiles for more heat. The more seeds you have = more heat. To the same blender, add the cider vinegar, oregano, cinnamon, cumin, pepper and ginger. Puree until you have smooth red sauce, add water if needed to get the sauce moving a bit.
- Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F.
- Place the same dutch oven used to char the veggies back on the high heat. Rub the lamb with a little olive oil, salt + pepper. Once the pan is hot, sear the meat on all sides until browned. Remove from the heat. Poor in the red chile sauce, beer and chicken broth. Cover the pot and place on the middle rack in the oven. Slow cook for 3-4 hours or until the lamb is tender and falling off the bone. Check the lamb once or twice throughout cooking, adding chicken broth or water as needed to keep the liquid 1/3 of the way up the meat.
- About 30 minutes before eating, make the puffy tacos. Heat a large pot of oil (the oil should come 3-4 inches up the sides of the pot) to around 375 degrees F.
- Once the oil is hot, add one tortilla at a time. When the tortilla begins to puff, press the end of a metal spatula or metal kitchen tongs into the middle of the tortilla so that tortilla bends into a taco shape, hold the spatula within the tortilla until the taco is golden brown and crisp, about 1 1⁄2 minutes. Transfer the taco to paper towels to drain; repeat with remaining tortillas. Sprinkle each taco shell with salt and lime zest.
- Once the lamb is cooked, remove it from the sauce. Shred the meat with two forks and toss with the remaining sauce in the pot, add the cilantro. Season with salt. Serve the meat inside the puffy taco shells with salsa and cilantro yogurt (both recipes below!). EAT and EAT!
Mango Salsa
- In a bowl, combine the mangos, avocados, fresno chili, cilantro and lime juice. Toss well. Keep in the fridge until ready to eat.
Cilantro Yogurt
- In a bowl, combine all the ingredients. Mix until smooth. Drizzle over the tacos. Store covered in the fridge.
Nutrition
Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
Did you make this recipe? Please rate & comment below.
Ok, I’ll take all those tacos now please.
Here in San Antonio, Texas, where the puffy taco originated at Ray’s Drive-In, those taco shells would be termed a “Westside” taco, as factory corn tortillas are used in the article, whereas a true puffy taco uses a fresh, raw, yellow corn masa tortilla; the same masa as is used in making tamales. The difference in the end product between the two types of tortillas is substantial. I like them both!
White corn masa will not work as the masa is too refined and will not puff correctly.
As a point of information, I first made a puffy taco shell in 1968, and still make them today.
Whoa! Thanks so much for all this great info, so good to know! Have a happy New Year!
First of all these look AMAZING!!! All of your taco recipes have been the bomb… My families personal favorite is your sweet potato black bean tacos with the pom. salsa (OMG SO SO SO GOOD!!) But anyway my question…. If I want to use chicken thighs how long would a braise them in the oven for???And would the oven be set at the same temp??? And how much chicken should i use? Thanks so much !!
-Melody 😉
Hey Melody!! So, for the chicken, I would braise it at the same temp and anywhere from 2 1/2 to 3 1/2 hours. Just keep checking to make sure nothing is getting dry. But in general the longer and slower you can cook the thighs the better…just keep them in liquid! 🙂 Let me know if you have any other questions. Have a happy New Year!
I’ve literally just planned a Mexican themed dinner with our family friends and believe me, this will be making an appearance 🙂
Thanks Tieghan!
So fun! Thanks and have a Happy New Year!
Slow cooked meats like these are just perfect!! Great job Tieghan!
Thanks Gerry! Hope you had a great Christmas!
And have a Happy New Year!
I have always made my taco shells this way. I refuse to eat packaged
shells. When I eat in a Mexican restaurant I order soft corn tortillas.
GO YOU! Thanks and have a Happy New Year!
I would not mind a huge plate of these taco’s – not at all.
Thanks Nicole! and have a Happy New Year!
Love the tacos, Mango salsa and can’t wait to try the cilantro yogurt. Beautiful pics as always.
Thanks Dixie! Have a Happy New Year!
That is a crazy good recipe. I need to try this with chicken. Loving everything about this recipe.
Yum.
Thanks and have a Happy New Year!
How far in advance can you make the puffy tacos? Do you think they would keep for a week in airtight containers?
Hey Kate! Honestly, the tacos shells are best eaten right after frying. That said, I think you could fry and then store them for up to a week and then reheat them in a 350 degree oven for 5-10 minutes or until crisp. hope that helps! Thanks and have a Happy New Year!
These look great! Mentioned in your writeup and in the final photos, there appears to be a sprinkling of cheese… What kind did you use?
oops, sorry! that is cotija cheese! Thanks and have a Happy New Year!
What a great recipe! We have Mexican food pretty much every holiday. And I have never heard of birria!! I definitely am going to have to give this a try. Loving that sauce with all of those chiles.
So fun! Thanks and have a Happy New Year!
This looks gorgeous Tieghan! So many things happening right now. These tacos, the new blog layout (?) and these tacos! Wowzza! Enjoy your NYE!
awe!! Thanks and have a Happy New Year!
Yesterday half the family gathered for Christmas wanted Chinese and the others wanted tacos—-Chinese won.
Now I have tacos on the brain and I can’t wait until I have them and these look really good.
That sounds for so fun!! Thanks and have a Happy New Year!
These tacos look so good! That is such a different idea to make Mexican food for New Years. I am going to be at the beach in South Carolina with my family for New Years, and these sound like the perfect entree. 🙂
That sounds so fun!! Thanks and have a Happy New Year!
I love tacos, I love burritos, I love mexican food. Sadly, it does not agree with me and I always end up sick!!!
http://bloglairdutemps.blogspot.pt/
Oh no! That is a huge bummer! Have a happy new Years!