Birria Tacos – Celebrate Cinco de Mayo

Cut the beef into similar-sized blocks of meat, then season with salt. Remove the stems and seeds of the dried chilies. Chilies de Arbol are hot, add these to your preference, keeping in mind that a little will go a long way.

Bring a saucepan with 3 cups of beef stock to a simmer. Add the dried chilies and simmer for 10 to 15 minutes.

Preheat the Napoleon BBQ infrared sear station side burner to medium-high. If you do not have a side burner, use the main burners of the barbecue, preheating two burners side by side to high. Preheat two side-by-side burners to low.

Place a Napoleon Dutch Oven onto the cooking grids over the burners that are set to low.

While the barbecue is preheating, take the rehydrated chilies and place them into a blender with the garlic, brown sugar, cumin and oregano. Add up to 1 cup of the beef stock from the saucepan where you rehydrated the chilies. Blend until smooth. If you need to, add more of the stock until the pepper sauce is smooth.

Sear the beef until deep grill marks appear on each side.

In the Napoleon Dutch Oven, add the oil and cook the onion until tender. Add the tomato paste and cook until it is a brick red color. Add the remaining beef stock, then add the paste you made from the rehydrated chilies and finally, add the beef, bay leaves and cinnamon. Set the main burners on the barbecue to a temperature that will allow the meal to braise, around 300°F. Cover and simmer for 1½ to 3 hours, or until the meat is fork-tender. This means if you put a fork into the meat it needs very little pressure to shred.

Remove the Napoleon Dutch Oven from the barbecue and then take out the beef, discarding any bones. Shred the beef into chunks that are small or medium, leaving as much or as little fat as you want.

Strain the consommé, season to taste with salt and pepper if needed. Allow it to settle so that any fat comes to the top.

Using heat-resistant gloves, as your cooking grids are likely to still be hot, remove a set of grids and replace them with a Napoleon cast iron griddle. You can also place this griddle directly onto the cooking grids if you would prefer. Preheat the burners under the griddle to medium-high.

Oil the griddle with a high temperature, neutral-flavored oil. Carefully dip a tortilla into the fatty consommé and place it onto the hot griddle. Top the tortilla with some shredded cheese and shredded beef. You can also drizzle the beef with a little extra consommé or even chili oil if you want. Fold the tortilla over and flip ensuring that the tortilla becomes crispy on the outside and melty on the inside.

Serve these birria tacos with the remaining consommé for dipping, top the consommé with diced white onion and cilantro. You can also add chili oil, a squeeze of lime, and even pickled onion with it.