How to Make Jackfruit Birria

1. Prep in advance if desired: You can prepare the filling in advance by about 2-3 days. Preparing the birria filling takes about 45 minutes. Making the tacos takes 15-20, for reference.
2. Seed the peppers: Now, if you like things pretty spicy AND you have a high powered blender (because seed bits in your consomme aren’t super pleasant), you don’t need to seed it. Just remove the stems. I however seeded my peppers and it was very easy. First, place a dried pepper on your cutting board and with a sharp knife, cut just below the stem and discard that. Then make a cut lengthwise from end to end. You can cut the first layer, or all the way through--it doesn’t matter. Then open the pepper flaps and shake out all the seeds over a plate or something to easily keep the seeds from flying everywhere. Most will fall out quite easily. For any still hanging on, you can easily remove them with your fingers or the dull side of your knife. Repeat this process with all the peppers and discard all seeds and stems.
3. Start birria consomme/broth: Add the olive oil (if using), sliced onions, peeled garlic cloves, chilies, sliced carrot, and bay leaves to a large non-stick pot (preferably non-stick because so we can cook the jackfruit in it later). Cover with the vegan chicken broth (or vegetable broth). Give it a stir with a wooden spoon or your preferred cooking utensil. Now add the spices (except salt, you’ll want to add that at the end) and stir again. Bring the mixture to a boil over high heat.
4. Boil broth: After the mixture comes to a boil, turn the heat down a notch to medium high, and boil covered for 20 minutes. I say covered because otherwise, a lot of the liquid will evaporate and leave you with less broth.
5. Prep jackfruit: Drain all three cans well so there’s no liquid left. Using your fingers, remove the smooth, hard seeds from each chunk. These seeds are edible, but they’re not the best texture so most people prefer to remove them. Place all seeded bits in a bowl while you process everything. Give one piece a little taste if you’re worried about the brine. If it tastes briny, rinse the jackfruit thoroughly in a fine mesh strainer. I buy my jackfruit from Trader Joe’s and it doesn’t seem to need rinsing in my opinion. Now take a clean kitchen towel and wrap up all the jackfruit in it. Twist it over the sink (or over a bowl, just in case any bits fall out) until you’ve wrung out all the excess liquid you can. Give it a bit of a rub inside the towel with your hands which will shred the large chunks. You can also shred it by hand by just pulling apart the large chunks with your fingers. The jackfruit is ready! If it’s clumped up inside the towel, simply pull the clumps apart with your fingers before adding to the pot later on.
6. Remove bay leaves and reserve broth: When the 20 minutes is up, use kitchen tweezers or tongs to remove all the bay leaves and discard them. Use a measuring cup to remove about 2 ½ cups of broth only (no veggies). Reserve this as we’ll use some of it to dip our tortillas in, and some of it to serve as a dipping sauce for the vegan birria tacos.
7. Blend: Pour the contents of the soup now into a blender and blend until smooth. Be careful as the blender may get hot and steam may escape when removing the lid. You can alternatively use an immersion blender, but I find that my countertop blender gets this a bit smoother. You’re also welcome to NOT blend the veggies for a thinner liquid, but I would blend the pepper skins and keep those in there.
8. Cook jackfruit: Heat the empty birria broth pot (do not rinse it out--great flavor in there!) over medium high heat. Add in the drained, seeded, and shredded jackfruit. Spread it out across the pan and cook it for a few minutes with no oil or anything. Stir occasionally--when you see it start to brown, it’s ready for the next step. If you’d like it to be a bit more textured, add a few tablespoons of avocado oil (or another high heat oil) and stir for another 4-5 minutes while it gets more on the chewy/crispy side.
9. Add some of the blended sauce: Add most of the blended veggies/broth sauce, stirring well as you do it. You may need all of it, you may not, it kind of depends on how much sauce you have. Don’t add too much or your vegan birria will be very soupy. If you do add too much, you can either simmer it uncovered until some of the liquid reduces (it can splatter while it does this, so be careful) OR you can strain it through a fine mesh strainer. The latter worked very well for us in one of our tests of this recipe. After the jackfruit is mixed well with the sauce, the next step is to make our vegetarian birria tacos -- or vegan, if you’re adding dairy-free cheese like we did.
10. Stopping here? At this step, you can refrigerate the jackfruit birria mixture and the reserved broth SEPARATELY--until you’re ready to make tacos. I wouldn’t wait more than 2 days, though, as the “meat” may get a little soggy in the fridge.

How to Make Vegan Birria Tacos

1. Did you prep in advance? If you refrigerated your birria and consomme, take them both out of the refrigerator before you begin.
2. Make tortilla dipping sauce: If frying tacos, mix about ½ cup of the consomme/broth with ¾ cup of avocado oil (or another high heat oil). Place the mixture in a wide bowl. This is what we’ll dip our tortillas in.
3. Set up your taco station: Heat a large nonstick skillet or griddle over medium to medium high heat--it depends on how hot your stove gets and how browned you want your tacos. I preferred the medium heat, personally, but my stove is wonky and I had to somewhat adjust the heat throughout to keep it from smoking (when the oil gets too hot). Add a splash of oil to the pan to prepare. The rest of your taco station should consist of a bowl of shredded vegan cheese, a bowl holding the jackfruit birria, a plate of tortillas (if using corn tortillas, make sure to warm them first), the bowl with your oil/broth mixture, and finally a large plate for finished tacos (I used a few plates, since the tacos can sometimes start to stick together while they dry/cool).
4. Make tacos: When the oil is hot, start making the tacos. Dip a tortilla completely into the oil/broth mixture and let the excess drip off. Place in the pan or griddle. Place as many as your pan or griddle can accommodate but leave a couple inches between each one so you have room to work. I fit about 3 in my 12-inch nonstick skillet. I didn’t do it this way in the photos or video (which I’m kicking myself for now), but if you place the birria and vegan cheese on one half of the tortilla, it’s easier to fold over the other half to make the tacos.Using tongs, add a bit of the jackfruit mixture, sprinkle on a good amount of shredded vegan cheese, and move onto the next taco in the pan. When all are prepped, use tongs or a nonstick spatula or a combination of both, fold the taco and place on one side. Cook each side for a couple minutes until it’s done to your liking. Place on the plate and repeat until you’ve used all your tortillas and/or supplies.
5. Serve: Serve and eat tacos immediately with remaining broth/consomme (warm it up first), finely diced white onions, roughly chopped cilantro, and lime wedges. For a fun way to serve, top the consomme with very finely chopped onions and cilantro. Enjoy!
6. Store: Refrigerate leftover tacos for 3-4 days in an airtight container. I’ve found they taste best when reheated in a skillet or an air fryer!