Slow Cooker Birria Deer Tacos

Written by on in Meats

In Fall 2020, I got my first buck whitetail deer. I got the deer processed by my butcher. When I picked up the meat, he also gave me the head so I can have my antlers. Upon receiving the head, I noticed that there was still a lot of meat on the neck area. This could not go to waste! So, I took my pairing knife and retrieved about 3 pounds of meat. This meat was not very well butchered and has a lot of connective tissue.

So, I found this Mexican recipe to make tacos. Honestly, Birria tacos are amazing! Not only the taste will make you look around in disbelief after every bite, but it is also a great way to use off parts. You can use tough meats like venison neck or bear and incorporate some waterfowl gizzards and hearts. The Birria meat can also be used in many other recipes, which are coming soon. I am definitely making Birria deer tacos every Cinco de Mayo from now on! Enjoy!

Slow Cooker Birria Deer Tacos
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Slow Cooker Birria Deer Tacos

Cuisine: MexicanDifficulty: Medium
Servings

4

servings
Prep time

30

minutes
Cooking time

10

hours 
Total time

10

hours 

30

minutes

Ingredients

  • The meat

  • 3 pounds of deer roast, cut into 5 cm (2″) cubes

  • 1/2 pound of beef fat trimmings cut into 2 cm (1″) cubes (Optional, but recommended!)

  • 1 tsp. of salt

  • 1 tsp. of ground black pepper

  • 2 tbsp. of vegetable oil

  • Birria sauce

  • 5 guajillo chilis, ends trimmed and de-seeded

  • 2 cups of water

  • 2 tbsp. of vegetable oil

  • 1 white onion, roughly chopped

  • 4 roma tomatoes, cut in quarters

  • 6 cloves of garlic roughly chopped (or 1 tbsp. of garlic powder)

  • 2 cups beef broth (or game stock)

  • 3 chipotle peppers in adobo sauce (canned)

  • 1 tsp. of dried oregano

  • 1 tsp. of ground cumin

  • 1 tsp. of ground coriander

  • 1 tsp. of dried ginger (or 2 tsp. of fresh ginger)

  • 1/2 tsp. of ground cinnamon

  • 3 tbsp. of apple cider vinegar

  • Tacos

  • 8 corn tortillas

  • 2 cups of shredded mozzarella

  • 1 small onion, finely diced

  • cilantro, chopped

Directions

  • The meat
  • Rub the deer meat cubes and the fat trimmings with salt and pepper.
  • Heat a large deep skillet under medium-high heat. Once hot, add the vegetable oil. Add the meat and the trimmings. Brown all sides of the meat. May work in batches. Then, transfer the meat in your slow cooker (or large pot with lid if you do not have a slow cooker).
  • The sauce
  • Rehydrate the guajilla chilis by combining them with 2 cups of water in a sauce pot. Put the pot under medium heat to bring to a simmer. Then, remove from the heat and reserve.
  • Put the skillet used for searing the meat under medium heat. Add 2 tbsp. of vegetable oil and char the onions, the tomatoes and the garlic, for about 10-15 minutes.
  • Add the rest of the sauce ingredients in the sauce pan and let simmer for 5 minutes to lift the residues on the bottom of the pan.
  • Transfer the content of the pan in a blender and the rehydrated chilis (without their liquid). Blend the sauce until smooth. Add the blended sauce to the slow cooker (or large pot). If the liquid is not covering the meat, add some of the water that was used to rehydrate the chilis. Salt to taste
  • Turn your slow cooker to low and let it cook for 6-10 hours (if using a large pot, place in the oven at 350F for 3-5 hours or until the meat pulls apart easily)
  • The tacos
  • Fish out the meat from your slow cooker and place in a large bowl. Shred the meat with two forks until it is all stringy. At this point, remove any cartilage, tendons or any other pieces that are still hard.
  • Heat a large skillet under medium heat. When hot, add enough meat for two tacos. Cook for 3 minutes until it starts getting crispy.
  • Take a corn tortilla and rapidly fully dip it in the fat at the top of your crockpot sauce. Place the tortilla in the skillet and put some of the crispy meat in it along with some shredded mozzarella. Close the tortilla and cook it on both sides until brown and crispy.
  • Repeat steps 3 and 4 until you have enough tacos to have a taco baby in your belly.
  • Serve with your choice of: cooking sauce, slices of avocado, sour cream, salsa, hot sauce and/or pico de gallo. Enjoy!

SUBSTITUTIONS – Since we do not always have success when going outdoors or not everyone practices hunting, fishing or picking. here are a few ideas to substitute the harvested ingredients:

  • The deer meat and beef trimmings can be replaced with beef chuck or pork shoulder.
  • The deer meat can be replaced by turkey legs, goose breasts, goose legs, bear meat, moose meat, bird hearts, gizzards, or any other game meat that is tough and stringy

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