Birria Tacos

In a large bowl, combine the chiles and hot water. Let stand for 30 minutes. Editor's Tip: Soaking the chiles softens and tenderizes the skins, and helps them blend more easily.

In a blender, add one of the onion halves, tomato, garlic, bouillon, peppercorns, thyme, oregano, cumin, soaked chiles and soaking liquid. Puree until smooth. Strain the sauce through a fine sieve.

Place the beef in a Dutch oven and sprinkle it with salt and pepper. Add the bay leaves and the remaining onion half. Add the strained sauce and 2 cups of cold water. Stir to combine. Refrigerate, covered, for two hours (or up to 24 hours). Editor's Tip: Make sure the beef is submerged in the red sauce.

Place the Dutch oven over medium heat and bring the mixture to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer, covered, until the beef is tender and starts to fall apart, 1 hour and 30 minutes to 2 hours. Remove the meat and set it aside. Remove the onion pieces and bay leaves and discard them.

Continue to simmer the liquid, uncovered, until it's reduced by half, about 30 minutes. Shred meat with two forks and return it to the pan.

To serve, dip a tortilla into the meat mixture, thoroughly coating it with the sauce. Place the tortilla onto a griddle, comal or cast-iron skillet over medium heat. If making quesabirria, sprinkle the tortilla with cheese and cook until the cheese melts. Editor's Tip: A comal is a Mexican cooking tool specifically designed to heat up tortillas. Top with some beef, and fold the tortilla over to form a taco. Serve with toppings as desired.