It’s amazing to me the trends that social media can start: skate boarding down a lonely street drinking a 32 ounce jug of Ocean Spray Cranberry juice and lip syncing to Fleetwood Mac’s “Dreams,” or the Ice Bucket Challenge where people dump buckets of ice water over their head and then make donations to further research with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, or ALS.
Food trends spread like crazy on social media. I noticed one recipe for a copycat Taco Bell Crunch Wrap Supreme, and then after I saw the first it seemed like a new copycat twist was released every time I logged on. And of course then I have to do my own twist! (Which I did with ground elk in a Crunch Wrap Supreme.)
The word birria means:“Exquisite savory dish, full of culture and tradition.”
So, the latest food trend I have been seeing is Birria Tacos, which aren’t a new creation, but somehow I saw one post and thought they looked amazing and interesting. Before I even had a chance to research how to make them it seemed Birria Tacos were everywhere!
Long story short, I feel like I am sharing a recipe that is all over the Internet right now for some food trend reason I will never understand, but I hope someone will be like me: see this post, become curious about birria tacos, and learn how to make this amazingly flavorful dish.
Birria tacos were born in Jalisco, Mexico around the 16th century. Spanish and Mexican cultures were intertwined heavily at this time and many new spices, animals, and cooking techniques were introduced. Goats were one of the new animals introduced to the Mexican landscape, but few people were interested in domesticating this animal and wild populations roamed around ruining crops and, frankly, were just a nuisance.
This time period was also a time of extreme famine for the area, and many native Mexican families were struggling to feed their families. Since the goat populations were increasing at a healthy rate and were easily accessible, people started using the goats for meat.
Here is where the birria tacos story begins! Goat meat is strong, and to help make it more appealing to the palate, the bierrieros (birria taco makers) added lots of herbs and spices. The meat was slow cooked in an earth kiln to enhance the depths of flavor as well as to create a more tender meat.
In its purest form, birria tacos are goats meat slow cooked all day in a mixtures of spices and chilies. The mixture of spices, chilies, and fats from the goat meat create a “consommé,” or basically a stew. Sometimes the shredded goat meat is eaten as a stew with this beautiful spicy base. Other times it is made into tacos and the crunchy street fair is dunked into the consommé.
As birria tacos have made their way across Mexico and eventually the border into the United States, they have stayed true in basic form as a street taco filled with spicy meat and a hearty consommé, but some things have changed. The most notable is the meat filling. Instead of goat, many cooks prepare the tacos with beef or pork.
As with my twist on the Crunch Wrap Supreme, I made a wild game version of the birria taco. For this dish I used wild turkey legs. They did not disappoint! So, let’s get started on how to make these wild turkey birria tacos.
Making the Wild Turkey Birria Taco Marinade
Bring a medium saucepan of water to a gentle boil and add your dried peppers. I used three large guajillo peppers I found at the grocery store. You can use any time of dried pepper that fits your fancy: ancho peppers are another one of my favorites.
Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference.
Let the peppers sit in the gently boiling water for about ten minutes. They should be soft and pliable at this point. Cut the tops off the peppers and the seeds will most likely just fall out with a few shakes. I didn’t stress too much about getting all the seeds out since they were headed to the food processor next.
In your food processor, place the rehydrated peppers, a can of chipotles in adobo sauce, a quarter cup of vinegar (your choice on what kind, I used apple cider vinegar), five cloves of garlic (I didn’t bother to chop them up and just let the food processor do the work), a teaspoon of dried oregano, a teaspoon of paprika, and a teaspoon of cumin.
Before pulsing everything the tomatoes need to go in. So you can just buy a can of crushed tomatoes, the 15 ounce can will work, and dump that in. I used three whole tomatoes that were from my garden to give things a little extra special kick. I removed the core at the top of the tomato but otherwise just dropped them in and started the food processor. Pulse everything until a thick paste is formed.
Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference.
Pour the marinade over the an entire wild turkey leg, leaving it on the bone, and refrigerate for at least four hours and up to overnight if that is what works for you.
Preparing the Instant Pot
Normally I do all my slow cooking in a crock pot. I like the feeling of walking in the house after work and knowing dinner is waiting for me. I also love, love, love the way my house smells.
I decided to branch out a little and use some of the other kitchen appliances I own this time though. I don’t use the Instant Pot a ton, but I do like to make French dips in it, tamales, and broccoli cheddar soup. So, I figured I would try a turkey leg in it and see how things went. It worked pretty well. But the house didn’t smell near as good.
To the Instant Pot, add a full large diced onion, a few whole cloves, two sticks of cinnamon, and a couple of bay leaves. Then, drop in your marinated wild turkey leg and pour the rest of the marinade from the dish on top. Finally, pour in a quart of your favorite stock. I used vegetable.
So, the reason I like to use a whole turkey leg for this dish is to help increase the depth of flavor for the consommé. Normally, the consommé gets its texture, which is kind of greasy and hearty, and its incredible flavor from the fats in the beef. Turkey leg is obviously a lean meat, and wouldn’t even be described as fatty, but the bone from the leg can add tons of flavor and texture from the marrow and ligaments.
Okay, continuing on, lock the lid on the Instant Pot, make sure the pressure release is closed, and set it to high pressure for one hour. You will do a slow release once the hour is finished.
I was skeptical the turkey leg would be shreddable after just an hour in the Instant Pot, but I was incredibly impressed. It was just like it had been in the crock pot all day and the consommé left over in the pot was greasy and vibrant red and…just delicious!
You will want to shred the turkey meat from the bone, discard the bone, and return the turkey meat to the pot to stay warm. Before returning the meat to the pot, pull out about 2/3 of the consommé and set it aside. You will use it for frying your tortillas and for serving alongside the tacos.
Frying the Tortillas
So, the trick to birria tacos is in the tortilla preparation! To start, put a small pour, just enough to coat the bottom, of oil in your skillet. Turn it up to high heat. In a bowl next to your skillet you will want to put some of the consommé.
Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference.
Dip your corn tortillas (here’s a link to my favorite tortillas) into the consommé, getting a nice coating of the thick, juicy, red sauce all over the tortilla, and then drop it into the skillet to fry. Top the tortilla with a heaping scoop of your wild turkey meat and a layer of queso fresco. Let the tortilla fry for about one minute, until the cheese is melted, and then fold the cheesy side over the meat.
Continue frying for about thirty seconds more, flip and fry the other side for an additional thirty seconds.
Plating Up the Wild Turkey Birria Tacos
So, all that is left to do is plate these bad boys up! In your warm, slightly soft with just a hint of crunch, tortilla, with your heaping serving of the shredded wild turkey leg meat and melted cheese, add your favorite toppings. I kept mine simple with a little more crumbled queso fresco and some diced green onions.
Other topping ideas include diced white onions, pico de gallo, chopped avocado, cilantro, or tomatoes. Birria tacos typically don’t include a lot of toppings and the focus instead is on the meat filling and then dunking the taco in your side serving of consommé.
Happy Hunting!
Wild Turkey Birria Tacos
Ingredients
- 1 turkey leg, on the bone
- 3 dried chili peppers, such as ancho or guajillo
- 1 can chipotle peppers in adobe sauce
- 1/4 cup vinegar
- 3 whole tomatoes, or 15 ounce can crushed tomatoes
- 5 whole cloves garlic
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1 teaspoon paprika
- 1 teaspoon cumin
- 1 medium onion chopped
- 2 cinnamon sticks
- 2 bay leaves
- 5-6 whole cloves
- Quart of stock
- Corn tortilla shells
- Queso freso cheese
- Other optional toppings: diced green or white onions, avocado, cilantro, tomatoes, pico de gallo
Instructions
- Bring a medium saucepan of water to a gentle boil and add your dried peppers.
- Let gently boil for ten minutes
- Cut tops off peppers and remove seeds
- Add peppers to food processor
- Also add the can of chipotles in adobo sauce, vinegar, garlic cloves, oregano, cumin, paprika, and tomatoes to the food processor
- Processor until smooth
- Pour over wild turkey leg and refrigerate for four hours and up to over night
- To make the consomme stew for your wild turkey meat to cook in, to an instant pot add one large diced onion, the cinnamon sticks, cloves, and bay leaves.
- Add the wild turkey leg and pour in any remaining marinade in the bowl.
- Add the quart of stock
- Lock the lid to the Instant Pot and set on high pressure for one hour. Make sure the pressure release valve is closed.
- High pressure cook for one hour and then release the pressure release valve, letting the pot slowly pressure down.
- Remove the leg from the pot and shred. Discard the bone, cinnamon stick, and bay leaves.
- Remove 2/3 of the consumme from the pot and put in a bowl. Return the shredded turkey meat to the pot to keep warm.
- Heat a large skillet over high heat on the stove.
- Dip the corn tortilla shells in the consumme and then place in hot skillet.
- Add layer of queso fresco cheese to each tortilla and a heaping spoonful of meat on half the tortilla. Cook for one minute
- Fold the tortilla in half and cook for thirty more seconds. Flip and cook a final thirty seconds.
- To serve, add toppings of your choice to tacos and serve with a side of consomme for dunking the tacos.
