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Tacos de Birria

Cheesy Birria-Style Tacos

thisjewcanque
The flavorful shredded beef for these tacos is cooked for several hours in your Traeger, getting an amazing smoky flavor.
Prep Time 30 minutes
Cook Time 5 hours
Total Time 5 hours 30 minutes
Course beef, Main Course, tacos
Cuisine Mexican
Servings 4

Equipment

  • Traeger Pellet Grill
  • cast-iron Dutch oven
  • Cast iron griddle to go in your grill, or a Traeger Ranger
  • Mesh sieve

Ingredients
  

Smoked Beef Roast

  • 2-3 pounds beef chuck shoulder roast
  • juice of one lemon and one lime
  • 4-6 tbsp beef seasoning blend pick something with Mexican spices like chili powder, cumin and oregano

Birria Stew/Sauce

  • 12-15 dried Mexican peppers a combination of Chiles de Arbol, Guajillo, Ristra, and Birds Eye work great
  • 1 whole fresh jalapeno
  • 1 large white onion, cut into ¼ths
  • 1 large can crushed tomatoes
  • ¾ can Chipotles in adobo sauce
  • 1-2 cups beef broth
  • 1 cup boiling water
  • 1 tbsp dried oregano
  • 3 cloves garlic
  • 1 tbsp cumin
  • cup apple cider vinegar
  • 2 bay leaves
  • 2 cinnamon sticks
  • 2 tbsp whole cloves
  • 2 tbsp cumin seeds

Taco Assembly

  • 12 fresh, uncooked flour tortillas
  • 3 cups shredded Oaxaca or quesadilla cheese
  • cooking spray or oil
  • ¼ cup finely diced white onion
  • ¼ cup chopped cilantro leaves
  • ½ a jalapeno, finely chopped
  • ¼ cup chopped tomato
  • ¼ cup sour cream
  • wedges of lime for serving

Instructions
 

  • Preheat your Traeger Grill to 225°/Super Smoke.
  • While the grill heats, coat the beef roast with lemon and lime juice and then season heavily with your selected rub.
  • Place the meat directly on the grate of the grill and allow to cook for 90 minutes.
  • Arrange dried peppers on a cookie sheet, and place cookie sheet and sliced onions directly on the grill. Allow to cook for 30 minutes.
  • Remove peppers and onions from grill, put in a Dutch oven pot and sumberge in boiling water. Allow to sit for 15-20 minutes.
  • Using scissors, remove stems and some seeds from the soaked peppers. Place in the vessel of a blender along with the sauce ingredients through apple cider vinegar.
  • Blend on high until very smooth. Then transfer back to the Dutch oven.
  • Remove roast from Traeger and place in the sauce. Add some more beef broth to thin out the sauce and cover the roast.
  • Stir in the last sauce ingredients (bay leaf, cinnamon stick, cloves and cumin seeds).
  • Cover Dutch oven and return to the grill at 300°.
  • Cook for 2-4 hours until the beef is fork tender and temperature is between 205° and 210° internally.
  • Transfer the beef to a tray for shredding.
  • Pour the sauce through a mesh sieve to strain and return strained sauce to the stove to keep warm.
  • Preheat Traeger Ranger with a cast iron griddle (or your other Traegers with a griddle in it) on high until very hot.
  • Assemble tacos by dipping tortillas in the strained sauce, then placing them on a lightly oiled griddle.
  • Cook until starting to bubble, then flip and cover with cheese.
  • Add shredded beef and fold over, continuing to cook until everything is hot and melty.
  • Serve tacos on a platter with hot consomme/sauce, and dressed with toppings like diced jalapenos, diced onions, diced tomatoes, chopped cilantro, avocado chunks and wedges of lime.
Keyword beef tacos, birria, cheesy, cheesy tacos, shredded beef, tacos