Birria Tacos

4.88 from 33 votes

These Birria Tacos are cheesy and succulent on the inside, and crispy on the outside. Stuffed with juicy birria and served with consomé.

Prep Time15

Cook Time4 20

Total Time4 35

Course: Dinner

Cuisine: Mexican

Servings: servings

Author: Isabel Orozco-Moore

Ingredients

For the birria

4 to 5 pounds chuck roast, cut into large 4-inch chunks
½ tablespoon kosher salt
½ tablespoon black pepper
1 ½ tablespoon olive oil
12 guajillo chiles, rinsed, stemmed, and seeded (about 2.5 oz)
5 ancho chiles, rinsed, stemmed, and seeded (about 2 oz)
5 árbol chiles, rinsed and stemmed (about 0.1 oz)
2 large Roma tomatoes
½ medium yellow onion
1 Mexican cinnamon stick*
3 bay leaves
½ teaspoon whole black peppercorns
water, as needed
2 cups beef broth
¼ cup distilled white vinegar
5 cloves garlic
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon dried Mexican oregano*
½ teaspoon ground cloves

For the tacos

Corn tortillas (homemade or store-bought)
2 cups shredded cheese* (see Notes for best options)
½ white onion, diced
½ cup chopped cilantro
Lime wedges

Instructions

Generously season the meat with salt and pepper on all sides, and heat the olive oil in a large pot or Dutch oven over medium-high heat.
Working in 2 batches, add the meat and sear on all sides until browned. Remove the pot from the heat, add the seared meat back into the pot, and set aside.
While the meat is searing, add the guajillo chiles, ancho chiles, arbol chiles, tomatoes, onion, cinnamon stick, bay leaves, and peppercorns to a medium pot. Cover completely with water and bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce the heat to low, cover, and cook for 10 minutes.
Using a slotted spoon, transfer the softened chiles and all the other ingredients to a large blender.
Add 1 cup of the chile-soaked cooking water, the beef broth, white vinegar, garlic, cumin, oregano, and cloves. Blend on high for a few minutes until completely smooth. (You may have to do this in 2 batches if your blender isn’t big enough.)
Strain the blended sauce through a fine mesh strainer into the pot with the seared meat. Discard any solids left behind.
Stir the meat and chile sauce together to combine and bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce the heat to low, cover, and simmer for 3 to 3 ½ hours until the meat is fall-apart tender.
Transfer the meat to a large bowl and shred it with 2 forks.
Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Lightly dip both sides of a corn tortilla in the layer of fat that sits at the top of the red chile birria broth (consomé), then place it in the hot skillet to begin frying. Top half of the tortilla with a generous amount of shredded cheese and shredded beef birria meat. Fold the other half of the tortilla over to create a taco, and cook for 1 minute on each side until the cheese has fully melted and the taco becomes crispy and browned. Repeat to make more tacos.
Pour some of the birria consomé into a small ramekin or bowl. Stuff each taco with fresh cilantro and white onion and serve on a plate with lime wedges and the consomé as a dipping sauce.

Video

Notes

For best results, make your own corn tortillas at home, they're only 3 ingredients!
Shredded cheese: Traditional Mexican melting cheeses like Oaxacan (quesillo), Chihuahua, and Asadero are the best options, but you could also use Monterey Jack or Mozzarella if you can’t find those near you.
Mexican cinnamon: This cinnamon is also known as Ceylon cinnamon. It’s brittle, can be easily broken into small pieces, and is blended into the sauce. It’s readily available in most Hispanic grocery stores. If you can’t find it near you, I recommend using a regular cinnamon stick and removing it before blending or using 2 teaspoons of ground cinnamon.
Mexican oregano: If you don’t have Mexican oregano, you can use regular oregano instead.
To make this in the Instant Pot: Use the 'Saute' function to sear the meat, then add in the blended chile sauce. Close the lid and pressure cook on high for 60 minutes using the manual setting. Let the pressure release naturally for 10 minutes before manually releasing any remaining pressure.
To make birria in the slow cooker: Brown and sear the meat in a pot or skillet. Add the seared meat and blended chile sauce to the slow cooker, cover, and cook on low for 7-8 hours or on high for 5 hours.

Nutrition