Birria Tacos

These Birria Tacos have an incredible depth of flavor made with a combination of two meats slowly cooked in an incredible chili-spiced sauce. With my easy recipe, you’ll master the art of making beef birria! Although you’ll need some time to make these, they’re pretty simple to do, plus you’ll have lots of leftovers to enjoy throughout the week.

The Best Beef Birria Tacos

Have I got a treat for you today! While I usually love giving you my quick and easy recipes, sometimes I love to give you guys something different, like this beef birria. Although this recipe will take you a bit of time, it’s really not that difficult to make. But what I love about this recipe the most, is that you end up with lots of leftovers!

I love challenging you guys sometimes, because it’s these times when you get to discover something incredible. Trust me, if you make this recipe, you will fall in love with this type of dish. What’s there not to love about slowly cooked beef in the most incredible sauce that has the most depth of flavor you’ll ever try!

For Beef Birria

• Beef – You’ll want to use two different cuts of meat such as beef short ribs and chuck roast. You’ll get the most flavor this way. You can also use lamb if you wish, such as lamb shanks, lamb shoulder or leg.
• Dried Chiles – You’ll need dried Ancho chiles and dried Guajillo chiles. I find them on amazon, but sometimes you can even find them at your local grocery stores. This is where a lot of that depth of flavor comes from.
• Onion And Garlic – You’ll need lots of onion and garlic for extra flavor.
• Spices And Herbs – I used cloves, a cinnamon stick, paprika, black peppercorns, ground coriander, bay leaves and Mexican oregano. I recommend using Mexican oregano in this recipe for a more authentic taste. Mexican oregano has lemon and citrus flavors with some tones of licorice. Regular oregano is slightly sweet with bitter and peppery notes. You can also use coriander seeds instead of ground, you’ll just have to toast them with the rest of the spices.
• Tomato Paste – I love adding tomato paste to sauces/stews like this because it really can intensify and deepen umami flavors.
• Salt – You’ll need lots of coarse salt to season your meat with and also for the sauce.

For Tacos

Obviously, you can make your tacos how you like but here are my recommendations.

• Tortillas – Corn tortillas are probably best, but flour tortillas will work as well.
• Limes – Squeezing some lime juice on the final tacos will really take these birria tacos to a whole new level.
• Oaxaca Cheese – This is a Mexican cheese but it’s quite similar to mozzarella cheese, so if you can’t easily find it, don’t worry about it. Mozzarella works just fine.
• Red Onions – Or green onions.
• Cilantro – What’s a good Mexican taco without some fresh cilantro.
• Radishes – Slice up some radishes for some extra crunch.

How To Make Birria Tacos

Prep The Ingredients

1. Prep The Beef. Place the chuck roast and short ribs on a baking sheet and generously season it with salt all around. Transfer the baking sheet to the refrigerator and chill for 30 minutes.
2. Prep The Peppers. Add the ancho and guajillo chillies to a pot with boiling water. Cover with lid and let them soak for about 5 minutes until they begin to soften. Transfer the chillies to a cutting board and carefully remove the seeds and stems. Set aside. I recommend using gloves.
3. Toast The Spices. Heat a skillet over medium heat. Add the cinnamon stick, black peppercorns, and cloves. Toast for about 2 minutes or until aromatic. Transfer them to a spice grinder or blender including the bay leaves and blend into a fine powder.
4. Sear The Beef. In a large Dutch oven heat the oil over medium-high heat. Add the chilled meat to the Dutch oven and sear on all sides until golden brown, working in batches. Transfer the meat to a plate and set aside.

Cook The Meat

1. Cook Onion And Garlic. In the same Dutch oven add the onion and cook for about 5 minutes or until onion softens. Add the garlic and cook for another 30 seconds until aromatic.
2. Add Remaining Ingredients And Cook. To the Dutch oven, add the tomato paste, the ground spices, oregano, lemon juice and chiles. Add the meat back to the pot, pour in the water and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium-low, cover and simmer for 30 minutes.
3. Prep The Oven. Preheat the oven to 300°F.
4. Blend The Chiles. Carefully remove the chiles from the pot using tongs and place them in a blender with a couple cups of the broth from the Dutch oven. Blend until smooth. Pour this pepper mixture back into the Dutch oven and stir well.
5. Cook Beef In The Oven. Cover the Dutch oven and transfer it to the preheated oven. Cook for 2 to 3 hours or until the meat shreds easily with 2 forks.

Assemble Birria Tacos

1. Shred The Beef. Transfer the meat from the Dutch oven using tongs to a large bowl. Reserve the broth (this is called consommé). Shred the beef using 2 forks. Set aside. Strain the consommé through a sieve.
2. Fry Tacos. Heat about 1 tablespoon of oil in a large skillet. Dip a tortilla into the consommé then place it in the skillet. Top with some shredded Oaxaca cheese, and shredded beef. Fold the taco in half then flip it over to cook until the cheese melts, another 1 to 2 minutes.
3. Serve And Enjoy. Serve tacos with leftover consommé topped with some red onion, cilantro and a wedge of lime.

What Is Beef Birria?

Beef Birria is a really popular Mexican dish that is usually made with lamb or beef. It consists of slowly cooked meat with lots of spices and herbs. It’s served a few different ways. One is as tacos and another way is as a stew or soup, known as a “consommé”. The meat is shredded and served in the soup with toppings some as cilantro and onion.

Can I Cook The Beef Birria In An Instant Pot?

Absolutely! As a matter of fact, if you want to save some time, the Instant Pot or any pressure cooker is perfect for cooking this beef birria. Simply prep the ingredients as directed, including searing the beef directly in the instant pot or in a pan or skillet. Add the rest of the ingredients and secure the Instant Pot lid and turn the valve from VENT to SEAL. Cook on high pressure for 60 minutes, then let the pressure release for 15 minutes. Quick release any remaining pressure. That’s it, shred the beef and serve it as instructed.

Beef Birria In The Slow Cooker

The slow cooker is another great option to cook this beef. It will take about 8 hours on low, or 4 to 6 hours on high. You’ll also need to sear the beef first and follow all the other steps as directed.

Are Birria Tacos Spicy?

Surprisingly they are just slightly spicy and have an earthy and smoky flavor. I think it all depends on how well you remove the seeds from the dried peppers. I did a really good job in removing all the seeds, because I can’t handle a lot of spice, so my tacos just had a hint of spice. If you like them spicy, leave more seeds on or just add some hot chili powder or cayenne pepper to the sauce.

Leftovers

Bring the birria and consommé to room temperature before storing it in separate airtight containers in the refrigerator for up to 3 days or frozen for up to 3 months. Thaw in the fridge overnight then reheat over medium heat until warmed through. If the beef birria seems dry, add some of the consommé to it.

More Must Try Taco Recipes

• Steak Tacos
• Easy Ground Beef Tacos
• Fish Tacos
• Cajun Shrimp Tacos
• Breakfast Beer Braised Pork Tacos
• Mexican Beer Chicken Tacos
• Barbacoa
• Tacos Al Pastor