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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.
Servings: 8 Servings
Calories Per Serving: 215 kcal
Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
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.
Ok, I’ll take all those tacos now please.
Awesome recipe I changed up a couple things because I wanted to smoke the meat before putting it in a slow cooker but amazing
So glad you enjoyed this recipe, Manuel! Thank you! xTieghan
Hi, is it 1 pound of pork shoulder or 3 lbs? It says “1 pounds lamb shoulder or pork shoulder 3” Just want to make sure before I buy!
HI! It is 1 (3 pound) pork shoulder. Please let me know if you have any other questions. I hope you love this recipe. Thanks so much!! xTieghan
This recipe looks amazing but I was wondering could you do this in a crock pot?
Thanks Amber! You can make this in the crockpot. Just slow cook on low for 6-8 hours. Let me know if you have questions. Enjoy!
Can I make this meat in a oven instead of a slow cooker? Woukd it still work? Thanks!
Hey Laura! Do you mean a slow cooker instead of an oven? The recipe is for an oven, but you can also cook the meat in a slow cooker on low for 6-8 hours. Let me know if you have questions. Thanks so much!!
Hi Tieghan
re: Birria Puffy Tacos- yummmmmm
My daughter in-law is allergic to mango…what other fruit do you suggest for the mango salsa?
thank you
kristine
Hi Kristine!! You could use pineapple salsa, peach salsa, strawberry salsa! Any of those would be great! Let me know if you have any more questions!! Thanks
Hello! This looks amazing! I live in Canada — I’m not sure where I would find some of those dried peppers. I imagine in the states you have more Mexican grocery stores.
Have you ever tried ordering them through Amazon? I find that really easy!
This looks absolutely amazing! As goat is fairly easy to source in Melbourne, Aus, would substituting out lamb or pork with the same weight in goat do?
HI! Goat will be amazing! It is actually traditional, but goat is hard to find here. Thanks!
Hi Tieghan,
this recipe sounds beyond amazing and it just made me realize that I need to get my hands on a dutch oven / slow cooker asap, haha. Would you mind sharing which brand you have? Or which one you’d recommend? Sorry in case you’ve answered that before.
Thanks so much
Lena
Hey Lena, I use this crockpot: http://www.crateandbarrel.com/all-clad-6.5-qt.-slow-cooker/s684409 . I think it works great! Let me know if you have any questions!
Hey Tieghan!
These look absolutely delicious! I was just wondering if I could use beef instead of lamb or pork? Do you think the beef flavour will go well with the recipe, or is it a no-no?
Thank you!
HI! I think beef will be great!! I would use short ribs or a chuck roast. Let me know if you have any other questions. Thanks!!
Hi! I made this yesterday with Beef Shoulder- fantastic!!! I actually used a chocolate stout instead of the mexican beer and it was delicious! I cooked it in my slow cooker on low all day while i was at work and the meat was beyond flavorful and tender. When I came home, it was quite a pleasant smell to walk in to!
Hi Tieghan!
So excited to make these tacos for dinner tonight ! I’m just curious though, I can’t find a temp to slow cook the meat at.
However, it may be there, but I’m pregnant and my brain doesn’t work sometimes!
Thanks so much!!
Hey Britt! I am so sorry about that! Slow cook the tacos at 325 degrees F. Let me know if you have any other questions. Hope you love the tacos!
Hi! This sounds so delish!! What temp should the oven be at for the braise? Also, what if i used a slow cooker? 4-6 hours on high?
325 degrees F. and yes 4-6 hours on high. Hope you love these tacos!
These were/are amazing! I made these for New Years Eve for my daughter and I. The puffy part of this made it to die for!!! (Interesting fact. My mom made puffy taco shells all my growing up years. Until the health food, “fried foods aren’t good for you” kicked in. I’ve always loved them. And for good reason!) I used pork and it was outstanding. The only thing I guessed on was a slow cook oven. I wasn’t sure what temp that was. I did 300 and it was perfect. Thanks for kicking off my New Years!! I look forward to many more great recipes in 2016.
I am THRILLED you loved these tacos! Thanks for letting me know and Happy New Year!
Oh my Good! I’m starving and reading this post… I have to eat tacos!!
Thank you and Happy New Year!
These tacos are killer! I’m suddenly craving a Mexican feast for NYE! 🙂
Thanks!
Hi Tieghan!
I was wondering for recipes that include beer or any other alcoholic beverage, can you recommend a substitute please! I do not drink for personal reasons but I would really like to make most of the dishes that include alcoholic beverages.
HI! Of course! You can either use chicken broth, veggie broth or water in place of the beer. Typically this will work for all recipes that call for beer! Let me know if you have any other questions. Have a happy New Year!