Birria, Explained — Why Sydney Loves the Dipping Taco

Published 18 April 2026 · 6 min read

If you've spent five minutes on food TikTok in the last three years, you've seen a birria taco being dipped into a bowl of crimson broth in extreme slow motion. There's a reason. It's the most cinematic taco ever invented — and one of the oldest.

Where birria comes from

Birria is a stew from the state of Jalisco, in western Mexico, dating back to the 16th century. Spanish colonists brought goats. The locals weren't impressed with the meat's strong flavour, so they dealt with it the way cooks have dealt with tough meat for a thousand years: slow-braise it with chillies, garlic, and acid until it surrenders.

The stew was traditionally served in a bowl, with the meat piled in one dish and the braising liquid (consommé) in another. Tortillas came on the side for scooping. Somewhere along the way — most people credit Tijuana in the 2010s — someone decided to put the meat inside a tortilla, griddle it with cheese on the plancha, and serve the consommé for dipping. The modern birria taco was born.

Why it went viral

Three reasons:

1. It's photogenic. The drip of consommé, the cheese pull, the red-stained tortilla — all perfect for Instagram.
2. It's interactive. You don't just eat a birria taco, you dip it. Food with a ritual travels further.
3. It's genuinely delicious. Slow-braised meat + fat + chilli + cheese + acid = every flavour receptor in your mouth at once.

How we cook ours at Tommy's

We use beef brisket rather than goat — it's what the local palate responds to, and the fat content is ideal for long braising. The brisket goes in with dried guajillo, ancho, and pasilla chillies, plus garlic, onion, tomato, cumin, oregano, and a short list of spices we won't write down in full here.

It braises for six hours. By the end, the meat pulls with a spoon and the consommé is dark, rich, and slightly sweet from the roasted chillies.

Tortillas are pressed to order from fresh corn masa, dipped briefly in the consommé, filled with the shredded meat and melted Oaxaca cheese, and crisped on the plancha until the edges are dark. They come three to a plate, with the consommé in a bowl on the side.

How to eat one properly

In one word: slowly.

• Hold the taco in one hand, the consommé bowl in the other.
• Dip the taco corner-first into the consommé. Count to two.
• Bite from the dipped end, tilting forward so the consommé runs back into the bowl (or down your arm — locals know).
• Between bites, sip the consommé. It's not a sauce, it's a drink.
• Don't wear white.

When to come

Birria Thursdays run weekly at Tommy's Darlinghurst. Three tacos and a consommé is $27. Add starters, a margarita, and churros for the full experience at $45pp. The room fills from 6:30pm onwards — book a table if you want the 7pm window.