My ‘Viral Halal Birria Tacos at Home’ post covers the full from-scratch birria recipe with the long braise. This post is for the nights when you want birria tacos in 30 minutes, not 4 hours. The shortcut version uses ground halal beef and store-bought chipotles to get you to the same flavor profile without the full production.
This one is great for weeknights. Kids love it. Works as meal prep. And it uses ingredients you can find at any grocery store.
What you need
- 1.5 lbs halal ground beef (80/20 for best flavor)
- 1 chipotle pepper in adobo sauce plus 1 tbsp of the sauce
- 3 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 small white onion, diced
- 1 can diced fire roasted tomatoes
- 1 tsp cumin
- 1 tsp smoked paprika
- 1/2 tsp oregano
- 1/2 tsp cinnamon
- Salt to taste
- 1 cup beef broth (halal certified)
- Corn tortillas
- Shredded mozzarella
- Lime, cilantro, and diced white onion to serve
How to make it
Brown your ground beef in a large pan over medium high heat, breaking it apart as it cooks. Once browned, drain the excess fat. Add your diced onion and garlic and cook for 2 more minutes.
Finely chop your chipotle pepper and add it to the pan along with the adobo sauce, diced tomatoes, cumin, paprika, oregano, cinnamon, and salt. Stir everything together, then add the beef broth. Let it simmer on medium for about 10 minutes until the liquid reduces slightly but stays a little saucy. That saucy liquid is your quick consomme.
To make quesatacos, heat a pan on medium high. Dip a corn tortilla briefly in the consomme liquid (use tongs so you don’t burn yourself), lay it flat in the pan, add a spoonful of the beef mixture and a handful of shredded cheese to one half, fold it over, and cook until crispy on both sides, about 2 minutes per side.
Serve with a small bowl of the remaining consomme on the side for dipping, plus diced white onion, cilantro, and lime.
Quick, real, and genuinely good. This is on my table at least twice a month.