Wash and cut/divide the beef into smaller pieces and place it into a large pot. (Optional: Pre-soak in cold water to remove excess blood from meat)

Add in 10 garlic cloves, 3 bay leaves, 1 whole peeled onion, and 3 tablespoon salt. Then pour in enough water to cover everything by an inch. *Optional: You may also add in the chicken bouillon powder during this step if you chose to include it.

Cook on high heat until it boils, then reduce to medium heat and continue cooking on a simmer. Continue to cook for about 1.5-2 hours or until the meat is tender and falls apart. Check on it frequently and skim the scum off the top as it forms. After the 1 hour 30 min mark of cooking, remove the bay leaves & onion.

Deseed & destem all the chili peppers, then wash them a few times. Cover it with water in a pot and cook on the stove for about 6-10 minutes on high heat or until soft. *If you are sensitive to chilies you should wear gloves during this process. You can break the chillies in half to make it easier to deseed and destem them.

Once the peppers are soft, drain all the water and set it aside to cool for a bit .

In a strong blender, blend the cooked chilies, 10 garlic cloves, 4 bay leaves, cinnamon stick, peeled ginger, thyme, oregano, cumin, toasted sesame seeds, cloves, black peppercorns, vinegar, and 16 oz (2 cups) beef stock. Blend until you get a smooth mixture. The more smooth it is the less you have to strain and sift after. *You may need to stir the contents around to ensure everything gets nice and blended.

After the bay leaves and onion is removed from the pot, strain the chili sauce mixture into the pot in small batches. Add 2 more cups of beef stock into the blender to get the remaining chili sauce, and strain it into the pot. Mix the mixture into the pot and continue to cook until the meat is soft and tender.

Rinse the tomatoes and score the skin slightly at the side opposite from the stem with an X shape and put them in a small pot with water to cook. Make sure the water is covering the tomatoes. Cook for about 8-10 minutes, or until the skin starts to separate from the tomato and the tomato feels soft.

Blend the cooked tomatoes to make a tomato purée sauce. Once puréed, strain the tomato sauce into the pot and mix. Continue to simmer until the meat is soft and tender.

Once the meat is soft and tender, take it out of the pot and chill it slightly so you can shred or cut it up into smaller pieces. Then add it back into the soup. *I personally think that shredding the beef by hand creates a better texture.

Simmer for 30 minutes on medium heat then taste and add salt to taste if needed. You may serve immediately! *I recommend making this the night before and eating it the next day for better flavors

Optional: If your consomé is too thick the day after, or not as thin as you would like, add 1 cup of water at a time to thin it out until desired consistency and add salt to taste if needed.

Chop up the cilantro and dice up the onion and combine them in a bowl. Slice lime wedges if you wish to serve it with your tacos.

Dip the tortillas into the consome on both sides. Place the dipped tortillas onto a nonstick pancake griddle, or into a large flat non stick frying pan on medium to low heat. *I find that a pancake griddle works the best as you can cook several at a time.

Top off the tortillas with some of the shredded beef and shredded cheese if you want to add cheese. *You can put the cheese under the beef if you want, so that it melts better

Turn the heat on the griddle or the stove on med-high to fry up the tortillas. If the tortillas are heating up too fast and the cheese is not melting, turn the heat down a bit so it doesn’t burn before the cheese melts.

Once the cheese begins to melt, fold the tortillas in half like a quesadilla and ensure that both sides of the tortilla are nice and crispy.

Once they are crispy, top with cilantro onion mixture if desired.

Serve with lime wedges and the beef consomé and enjoy!