Birria Tacos: Simplified!
Birria tacos are a beloved Mexican dish, featuring tender beef slow-cooked in a rich, flavorful chile and tomato broth. This recipe offers flexible cooking methods to bring this authentic taste to your home with ease.
Ingredients
- 3 lb beef chuck roast cut into large chunks
- 5 each guajillo chiles stemmed and seeded
- 3 each ancho chiles stemmed and seeded
- 2 each chile de arbol stemmed and seeded (optional
- 1 each medium white onion roughly chopped
- 4 cloves garlic peeled
- 1 each 28oz can diced tomatoes
- 1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
- 4 cups beef broth
- 2 tsp cumin powder
- 1 tsp dried oregano
- 1/2 tsp ground cloves
- 1/2 tsp cinnamon powder
- 1 tbsp salt or to taste
- 1 tsp black pepper
- 1 tbsp vegetable oil
- 24 each corn tortillas
- 2 cups Monterey Jack cheese shredded (optional
- 1/2 each white onion finely diced (for serving)
- 1/2 cup fresh cilantro chopped (for serving)
- 2 each limes cut into wedges (for serving)
Instructions
- Prepare Chiles: Rehydrate guajillo, ancho, and chile de arbol in hot water for 20-30 minutes until softened. Drain, reserving some liquid.
- Make Sauce: In a blender, combine rehydrated chiles, chopped onion, garlic, diced tomatoes, apple cider vinegar, beef broth, cumin, oregano, cloves, cinnamon, salt, and pepper. Blend until smooth. Add reserved chile water if needed for consistency.
- Sear Beef: Heat vegetable oil in a large pot or Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Sear beef chuck roast chunks on all sides until browned.
- Combine and Cook: Pour the blended chile sauce over the seared beef. Add more beef broth if needed to cover the meat. Bring to a simmer, then reduce heat to low, cover, and cook for 3-4 hours (stovetop) or until beef is fork-tender. (Refer to cook notes for slow cooker or Instant Pot timings).
- Shred Beef: Remove beef from the pot and shred it using two forks. Return shredded beef to the pot with the consommé.
- Assemble Tacos: Heat a comal or skillet over medium-high heat. Dip a corn tortilla into the consommé, ensuring both sides are coated. Place on the hot skillet.
- Build Quesabirria (Optional): Add a sprinkle of shredded cheese to one half of the tortilla, then a generous amount of shredded birria meat. Fold the tortilla in half.
- Crisp Tacos: Cook until cheese is melted and tortilla is crispy, flipping once. Repeat for all tacos.
- Serve: Serve the birria tacos hot with a side of the rich consommé for dipping, topped with fresh diced white onion, cilantro, and a squeeze of lime.
Notes
This recipe offers ultimate flexibility! For a slow cooker, cook on low for 6-8 hours or high for 3-4 hours. For an Instant Pot, pressure cook on high for 45-60 minutes with a natural pressure release. The consommé is essential for dipping – don't skip it! You can also turn these into 'quesabirria' by adding cheese to the tortilla before folding and crisping.