Pastrami Birra Tacos

 

WHAT YOU'LL NEED

  • Beef Shin
  • Lane's 'BRANCHO' Brisket/Ancho Espresso COMBO rub 
  • 7-8 cups hot water
  • 1 large white onion, dry skins removed, cut in half crosswise
  • 1 garlic bulb, cut the narrow top off, no need to peel
  • 1 carrot, cut in half crosswise, then cut in half (4 large pieces of carrot)
  • 5 bay leaves, dried
  • 3 tbsp chicken boullion
  • 1-2 tsp chili powder
  • 1 tsp mexican oregano
  • 1 tsp ground cumin
  • 1 tsp salt, (adjust to taste)
  • 14-16 white corn tortillas
  • 2 cups quesadilla cheese, or any good melting cheese

DIRECTIONS

  1. We had our Beef Shin brined by our local butcher to ensure a safe and thorough process, if you're confident to give this a go yourself there's plenty of tutorials online that can help you with this step.
  2. Trim the shin. Remove the silver skin and any large deposits of hard fat
  3. Season the shin with your favourite rub, today we are using Lane’s BBQ Brisket & Ancho combo.
  4. Fire up the smoker to 250F (121c). Once at temp place the shin upright into the smoker, and smoke for 4-6 hours until the internal temperature of 165F (73c) is reached.
  5. Remove from smoker and tightly wrap in 2 layers of foil.
  6. Place back into the smoker and continue cooking until it reaches 210F (99c) internal temperature, this may take another 4-6 hours.

  7. While the shin smokes large pot add, onion, garlic, carrots, bay leaves and dried peppers. Cover with water.
    Add chicken bouillon, oregano, cumin and salt, stir to combine. Bring to a boil.
  8. Add in the chili powder as desired to get a nice deep red color to the broth.
  9. Cover and continue to simmer for about an hour. Taste the broth as you go and adjust seasonings as needed).
  10. Remove the Bay leaves from the broth and blend until smooth.
  11. Pull the meat into decent sized pieces and set aside
  12. Heat a large skillet/griddle over medium heat. 
  13. Put a scoop of broth on to a plate or tray and dip the corn tortilla into the broth and coat on both sides 
  14. Place on heated griddle, top with the pulled pastrami and cheese. 
  15. Fold the taco over and press down with a spatula. Continue cooking until the taco is crisp and golden on the bottom, about 2-3 minutes. Then flip and continue cooking the other side. (it’s ok if some of the cheese leaks out while frying, the golden cheese is the best part!) Plus you can spoon some additional grease onto the tortilla while it cooks if you need more coloring to the tortilla. 
  16. Cook until both sides are crisp. Remove from heat and allow to cool briefly before serving, will be very hot. 
  17. Continue until all tacos are cooked. 
  18. Top tacos with fresh cilantro and onion if desired.
  19. Serve with a bowl of the broth topped with onions and cilantro on the side. 
  20. Dip the tacos into the broth while eating.