Birria de Res

Season the beef generously with the salt and leave it while you make the chilli base.

Toast the chillies on a dry pan for a few seconds a side until fragrant, then soak them in hot water for 20 minutes.

Char the onion, garlic and tomatoes on the same dry pan until blackened in places. Peel the garlic.

Blend the drained chillies with the charred vegetables, oregano, cumin, cloves, vinegar and a ladle of stock until completely smooth.

Push the purée through a sieve. Skipping this leaves grit in the finished broth and it never goes away.

Brown the beef hard in a heavy casserole in batches. Crowd the pan and it steams instead.

Return all the beef, pour over the sieved purée and the rest of the stock, and add the cinnamon stick and bay.

Bring to a simmer, cover, and cook at the barest bubble for 3 hours, until the meat pulls apart under a fork.

Lift the meat out and shred it, discarding bones.

Skim the bright red fat from the surface of the broth and keep it in a separate bowl.

For tacos, dip a tortilla in the reserved fat, fry it with meat and cheese until crisp, and serve with a cup of the broth for dipping.

For a stew, return the meat to the broth and serve in bowls with onion, coriander and lime.