Birria Style Beef Cheek-Birria de Res

Step 1

The night before: Trim excess fat from beef cheek and place into slow cooker. Add the bouillon powder, pepper, garlic and 3 cups of water. Turn onto low while you prepare the chile sauce.

Step 2

Remove the stems and seeds from large dried chile pods. Leave small morita chile as is. They typically don't come with a stem. Add the chiles, garlic and oil to a small sauce pan and heat to medium/low. Once chiles begin to soften in the oil, add 1 cup of water. Simmer for 10 minutes. Set aside for 10 minutes.

Step 3

To the blender add the chiles, garlic, 1 cup fresh water and all the cooking liquid from chiles in pan. Add remaining ingredients listed for sauce. Blend on high for 30 seconds. Push ingredients down in blender jar with a spatula. Cover and blend on high for 30-40 more seconds, making sure there are no large pieces left. Using a wire mesh strainer, strain the sauce into a bowl. Set aside.

Step 4

Preheat 2 tablespoons of oil to medium heat for a few minutes. Carefully pour in the strained chile sauce and cook at a steady simmer for 5 minutes. Pour the sauce into the slow cooker with beef. Pour in 1-2 more cups of broth or water to the slow cooker. Cover 3/4 of the way and continue cooking on low for 7-8 hours.

Step 5

The fat layer that forms on top is ideal for preparing quesabirria tacos. Or you can skim the fat off with a spoon if desired. Ladle birria into bowls with plenty of consome. Serve with warm tortillas or bolillo rolls. Garnish with cilantro, onion, Chile serrano and lime. Yields up to 6 servings.