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Birria taco recipe with neck meat?

perma

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I tried making birria neck meat and it came back softer but still tough, and extremely dry. I did 8 hours in crock pot on low. Anyone got a good recipe for birria and maybe some advice on cooking neck meat?
 
if it’s tough it wasn’t in long enough. Crock pots are different, animals are different, etc. Stick a fork in and twist it, if it shreds easily you should be good. Or if its bone-in it can be falling off the bone. Time will make it submit!

Did your recipes have some fat added? Birria I thing is traditionally pretty fatty. Some lard or other fat added would help the dryness.
 
I tried making birria neck meat and it came back softer but still tough, and extremely dry. I did 8 hours in crock pot on low. Anyone got a good recipe for birria and maybe some advice on cooking neck meat?

Try braising instead of crock pot.

 
if it’s tough it wasn’t in long enough. Crock pots are different, animals are different, etc. Stick a fork in and twist it, if it shreds easily you should be good. Or if its bone-in it can be falling off the bone. Time will make it submit!

Did your recipes have some fat added? Birria I thing is traditionally pretty fatty. Some lard or other fat added would help the dryness.
I added some butter and oil to the crock pot. I would be surprised if 8 hours wasn’t enough time. Although it was my first shot at neck meat.
 
10-12 typical for a crockpot. Braising in a Dutch oven is faster and probably better, though I probably couldn’t tell in blind taste test.
 
Neck is genuinely one of my favorite cuts but you want a long, low, slow, *wet* braise. Don't be afraid to add a tablespoon or two of manteca or beef tallow to the mix, either.
 
I added some butter and oil to the crock pot. I would be surprised if 8 hours wasn’t enough time. Although it was my first shot at neck meat.
I do it in bone broth. Add herbs and spices and slow cook all day long. It's the softest meat of a deer done this way. Never fails.
 
Neck is genuinely one of my favorite cuts but you want a long, low, slow, *wet* braise. Don't be afraid to add a tablespoon or two of manteca or beef tallow to the mix, either.
Do you find that helps with the dryness? It was a very lean cut as it is. My wife hates dry meat. She thinks 10 hours will dry it out more.
 
Do you find that helps with the dryness? It was a very lean cut as it is. My wife hates dry meat. She thinks 10 hours will dry it out more.
Absolutely, kind of like a barbacoa.

Worst case scenario— shred it, drench in a couple jars of red chile, heat through and make burritos with it.

Think you can convince your wife to try corazon next?
 
Do you find that helps with the dryness? It was a very lean cut as it is. My wife hates dry meat. She thinks 10 hours will dry it out more.
If you want to eliminate the guesswork on how to cook venison, head over to Hank Shaw's website (of course there are other great ones but his is best in my opinion) and follow his venison recipes to a tee. I say venison recipes because beef cooks differently, it's fattier, etc. Once you do a bunch of those recipes, you'll have a good feel for cooking it and can tinker all you want. But he has very explicit directions, essentially written for people who suck at cooking. That's how I learned. Cooking longer will not dry it out if it's cooking in a brothy, juicy, fatty liquid like most of these braising recipes are.
 
If you want to eliminate the guesswork on how to cook venison, head over to Hank Shaw's website (of course there are other great ones but his is best in my opinion) and follow his venison recipes to a tee. I say venison recipes because beef cooks differently, it's fattier, etc. Once you do a bunch of those recipes, you'll have a good feel for cooking it and can tinker all you want. But he has very explicit directions, essentially written for people who suck at cooking. That's how I learned. Cooking longer will not dry it out if it's cooking in a brothy, juicy, fatty liquid like most of these braising recipes are.
Yeah maybe I need a better broth. I’ll have to see what ol Hank has to say. I like his tutorials and that recipe looks really good.
 
Yeah maybe I need a better broth. I’ll have to see what ol Hank has to say. I like his tutorials and that recipe looks really good.
Get Buck Buck Moose, too (his Venison book). It's really well written, and a fun book to page through and read. You'll be eating like a king in no time.
 
I can honestly say I've never cooked a nexk roast. Always into the grind.
I wasn’t sure if it would be too tough after a grind so I never did. Truth be told, it slow cooked really well. (aside from the issues in this thread) and had the same texture as a shoulder blade roast. If I were to make a pot roast with neck, I’d keep it bone in and slow cook it.
 
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