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Rich and flavorful these beef Birria Tacos are perfect served with onion, cilantro and a squeeze of fresh lime juice with a bowl of consommé on the side for dipping! These Quesabirria tacos are famous!
These birria tacos are famous. They are possibly the most famous tacos you will find on social media. The image of these tacos with the fried and crispy meat and cheese sticking out the top, being dunked into a deep red consommé fill my feed.
This recipe may look long, but it’s because I want to give you as much information as possible to create this flavorful meal on your own at home. This deep rich bone broth and meat is great served as a stew. But if you want to go the extra few steps and fry up some tacos you will NOT be disappointed.
Ingredients & Substitutions
- Short Ribs (Bone-in)-This can be substituted for any cut with bones such as oxtails or simply beef bone. We need the bone for the broth. This is what is going to give us that nice thick texture to the broth/consomme.
- Chuck Roast: Any large roast will work, chuck roast is a budget friendly cut that provides a lot of meat. Since we’re cooking the meat low and slow the roast has time to break down and become tender. You can substitute with goat or lamb meat if desired.
- Guajillo Peppers: (2500-5000 SHU) these are a very common Chile used in Mexican cooking. Adjust the Chile used if needed, these are very mild and give color and flavoring to the broth. If you want heat you can add in a Chile de Arbol if desired. My preference is to start with the guajillo peppers and then add in chili powder as needed for flavor and coloring as the soup cooks.
- Carrots: this is a unique ingredient not in most recipes for birria. Adding the carrots give a bit of sweetness and color to the broth and just adds to the flavoring.
How to Make Birria
- Grab a very large pot! This recipe fills up my 7 qt dutch oven to the very top.
- Prepare the ingredients: halve the onion, slice the carrots, cut the tip off the garlic bulb, cut off stem of peppers and remove seeds.
- Simmer: Add all the ingredients to the stock pot and cover with water. Add in the seasonings, except for the chili powder.
- Skim: After 30 minutes of simmering skim the top of the broth to remove any impurities that have come out of the bones from simmering. It will look like little bits of foam on the top of the broth.
- Blend Peppers: remove the peppers from the broth, they will be softened, add them to a food processor or blender and blend until smooth. Add a small amount of broth if needed to get a nice smooth texture.
Recipe Tip
Strain the peppers if needed to remove bits of skin (if using a high powered blender this step is not necessary).
- Simmer: continue to let the stew simmer until the meat is tender and easily shreds. This takes about 3 hours or longer. Remove the lid and stir every 40 minutes or so. Taste the broth and adjust seasonings as needed during the cooking process.
Serving
Birria de Res:
To serve this as a stew, skim the grease off the top of the broth, SAVE THIS if you will be making tacos, the tortillas are fried in the grease. Serve up the stew by spooning up some of the meat and the broth. Remove the onion, garlic, and carrots. These of course can be served with the stew if desired, but typically just the broth and the meat is served.
Top with fresh diced onion, cilantro and a squeeze of lime juice. The broth is thick and rich and the fresh acidity of these ingredients complement the flavoring perfectly.
Quesabirria Tacos
Follow these easy directions to create those instagrammable tacos that have everyone drooling.
- Chop the meat: remove the meat from the broth and finely chop.
- Use the leftover grease: save the grease that comes to the top of the stew from cooking. Save it all and add the grease to a small/medium size skillet.
- Fry Tortillas: dip the corn tortillas into the grease, then place the tortilla on a large skillet or comal. Fry the tortillas in the grease over medium heat. Top the tortilla with chopped birria beef and shredded cheese. Fold the taco over while it’s frying, pressing down with the spatula to help flatten the taco. Fry both sides until the taco is crisp.
Use a cheese that melts nicely! I love using a Quesadilla cheese, it’s labeled quesadilla cheese and is usually with the Mexican cheeses at the market. You can also use Monterey Jack, Mozarella, or Oaxaca cheese.
- Serve with consommé: spoon some of the broth into a small bowl, top this with cilantro and onion and serve alongside the tacos. This is perfect for dipping the tacos in, or simply drink it. It’s bone broth, and has a lot of benefits, plus it’s absolutely delicious!
More Taco Recipes to Enjoy:
- If you need a quick and easy taco option, this Easy Ground Beef Taco Recipe has a 5 star rating!
- This Authentic Barbacoa recipe is made in the slow cooker and only needs a handful of ingredients.
- If it’s nice outside get the grill going and make some Carne Asada.
- These Shrimp Tacos are easy and made on the stovetop!
Birria Tacos (Quesabirria Tacos)
Rich and flavorful these beef Birria Tacos are perfect served with onion, cilantro and a squeeze of fresh lime juice with a bowl of consommé on the side for dipping! These Quesabirria tacos are famous!
Ingredients
- 7-8 cups hot water
- 4 lbs chuck roast cut into 4 large chunks
- 2 lbs short ribs (bone in) or back ribs bone in
- 1 large white onion dry skins removed, cut in half crosswise
- 1 garlic bulb cut the narrow top off, no need to peel
- 1 carrot cut in half crosswise, then cut in half (4 large pieces of carrot)
- 5 bay leaves dried
- 8 guajillo chiles stems cut off and seeds removed
- 3 tbsp chicken boullion
- 1-2 tsp chili powder
- 1 tsp mexican oregano
- 1 tsp ground cumin
- 1 tsp salt (adjust to taste)
Quesabirria Tacos
- 14-16 white corn tortillas
- 2 cups quesadilla cheese or any good melting cheese
Garnishes
- fresh cilantro diced
- fresh lime juice
- white onion diced
Instructions
- Combine Ingredients: In large pot add meat, onion, garlic, carrots, bay leaves and dried peppers. Cover with water. (This uses my large 7 qt pot and fills it to the top!)
- Add Seasonings: Add chicken bouillon, oregano, cumin and salt, stir to combine. Bring to a boil.
- Skim: After 30 minutes, skim the top of the pot to remove impurities from the bone cooking out. (will look like little bits of foam on the top)
- Blend Peppers: Remove the peppers (should be softened), onion, garlic (squeeze the cloves out of the bulb) and carrots and place in a blender or food processor. Blend until smooth, add up to 1/4 cup of broth if needed to help get a smooth consistency.
- Strain: Strain the peppers if needed to remove bits of skin (if using a high powered blender this step is not necessary).
- Combine: Add the blended peppers into the broth and stir to combine.
- Season: Add in the chili powder as desired to get a nice deep red color to the broth.
- Simmer: Cover and continue to simmer for about 3 hours or until meat is tender and easily shredding on it’s own. (remove lid and give a stir every 40 minutes or so. Can also taste the broth once the meat is cooked through and adjust seasonings as needed).
- Reserve Grease: Skim the grease from the top of the broth (SAVE THIS!) pour the grease into a small skillet or saucepan, this is used for making the tacos if desired.
- Serving: Remove the meat from the broth and cut into large chunks for serving. Remove any bones.
To Serve as a Stew:
- Serve a couple pieces of meat into a bowl, spoon broth on top.
- Top with diced onion and fresh cilantro. Serve with a wedge of lime to squeeze in.
To Make Quesabirria Tacos:
- Chop Meat: Remove the meat from the broth, and finely chop until only small pieces remain.
- Heat a large skillet/griddle over medium heat.
- Frying Tortillas: Dip the corn tortilla into the reserved grease from the broth.
- Place on heated griddle, top with the chopped meat and cheese.
- Fold the taco over and press down with a spatula. Continue cooking until the taco is crisp and golden on the bottom, about 2-3 minutes. Then flip and continue cooking the other side. (it’s ok if some of the cheese leaks out while frying, the golden cheese is the best part!) Plus you can spoon some additional grease onto the tortilla while it cooks if you need more coloring to the tortilla.
- Cook until both sides are crisp. Remove from heat and allow to cool briefly before serving, will be very hot.
- Continue until all tacos are cooked.
- Top tacos with fresh cilantro and onion if desired.
- Serving: Serve with a bowl of the broth topped with onions and cilantro on the side.
- Dip the tacos into the broth while eating.
Video
Notes
- Meat: bones are needed in this recipe to help create a rich and flavorful broth. You can use any cut of beef for this recipe needed, just ensure that you have some bones to add to the broth.
- Guajillo Peppers: (2,500-5,000 SHU) these are a mild pepper. You can adjust and use other chiles as desired. My preference is to start with the guajillo and I add Chili powder as needed as the broth simmers.
- Skimming the broth: boiling the bones releases impurities, after the first 30 minutes of boiling you can skim off the foam that appears on the top of the soup.
- Taste Adjustments: once the meat is cooked all the way through, towards the end, you can taste and adjust the broth as needed.
- Cheese: any good melting cheese will work in the tacos. Quesadilla cheese can be found in the market by the Mexican Cheeses. Other options would be to use Monterey Jack, Mozzarella or Oaxaca cheese.
Nutrition
Serving: 1serving | Calories: 857kcal | Carbohydrates: 24g | Protein: 77g | Fat: 51g | Saturated Fat: 25g | Cholesterol: 269mg | Sodium: 857mg | Potassium: 1232mg | Fiber: 4g | Sugar: 2g | Vitamin A: 2305IU | Vitamin C: 2mg | Calcium: 511mg | Iron: 8mg
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Like this? Leave a comment below!
Photography done by KJandCompany.co
Recipe first published January 8, 2021. Updated February 12, 2024.
This was fantastic. I used beef bouillon instead of chicken and left out the carrots but otherwise did everything the same. Absolutely delicious,
Very easy to put together. The ingredients are accessible and I love just throwing in whole, raw chunks of veggies. The tacos turned out incredible! Topped with onions, cilantro, the sauce in the pan, and a side of guacamole. Will definitely make again!
I am going to try and make this for my daughters sweet 16. we are having atleast 100 guest. Also doing bowls and nachos
This recipe is great. Although I was confused on what to do with the blended chilis. I just added them to the dipping broth when the tacos were made. Also that dude complaining about your life story on the recipe, hes an idiot because there a button to click to skip all that. Good job here
Thanks for the receipe?Can this be prepared in a Crock Pot?
I know this is lazy but can it be made in the crock pot?
I cooked mine for 30 mins in the stove top large pot then I transferred it to a crock pot and let it cook over night on low. Turned out suuppppeerr tender.
I love this recipe it came out amazing I just don’t know how to stop my tortillas from splitting I’m not sure if it’s the tortillas I have or if I’m doing something wrong but this recipe is amazing thank you for this one!!!!!
Warm them up first, you can do this in the microwave
Geez. Get to the recipe first. When I Google recipes, every one wants to tell their life story and then the recipe last. News flash: No. One. Cares. It’s people like you who are ruining these recipe websites.
Hello Todd, if you were reading the post you would notice there is no life story, it’s a simple step by step of how to make the recipe. Have a nice day and enjoy the free recipe.
Hey Todd, if the info that is provided before the FREE recipe you are seeking, then maybe you should pay the tuition to go to school and learn them. Or better yet, spent countless hours and years in hot kitchens working for low wages to learn the tricks of the trade. Either way, we’d prefer you just said thank you and be on your way. Your self entitlement is disgusting .
Preach!!!!!! Also, Todd, speak for yourself only. I personally enjoy reading some of the backstories on recipes. I find it’s a lovely way to connect with people without being in the room, & connect with the food.
Geez Todd, do you really not know how search engines work and why people add on to their recipe descriptions to allow their recipes to show up on a search? It’s 2021 so no excuses.
Todd, you need a daily dose of Jesus in your life.
To love is to be loved Todd.
I hope your soul heals.
House of Yumm – girl you crushed it. Thank you for your brightness and delicious recipes!
Todd, get yourself a dog, he/she will love you even though you are obviously socially challenged…
Tony
Geez Todd. Why don’t you just click on the “Jump To Recipe” spot, and ah, ya know, jump to the recipe? You could also, take note of what it actually says before b*tching about it. It’s people like YOU that are ruining these websites. Don’t like it? Go buy a stupid, plain recipe book and stay off of these sites with your negativity. Wishing you bad juju on all of the future recipes you try that don’t have notes and helpful tips.
I see a number of people replied here already but honestly – why would you take time out of your day to leave a comment like that? You must have nothing better to do. If you don’t like the site or her presentation of the recipe – move on. or just skip the story and go straight to the recipe. Would you have the guts to speak to someone in person like that? It honestly takes so much more effort to be unpleasant than it does to just go on with your day.
Amazing! The taste is so authentic. I cooked in dutch oven 350 degrees for 2- 3 hours.
Todd, there’s a reason it’s done this way. She needs room for ads and it keeps you on the page longer. If she doesn’t do this, she doesn’t make enough money to support the blog which in return would mean no birria tacos for you. How about thanking her for the recipe.
I’ve made this several times for me and my family, and we love it .
I do have a question my family wants me to cook this for a baptism.
For about 20 people how would I go about that with this same recipe?
Hi Adrian! I’m so glad y’all love this recipe. And I’m so excited you will be making it for a crowd, especially for a baptism. Praise be to God! Is it a group of 20 adults or adults and children? I would estimate about 1/2-3/4 a lb meat minimum per person. I typically round up when serving a crowd to ensure leftovers and no one goes hungry. Which would put 20 people around 15 pounds of meat. Do a combination of roast and the short ribs with the bones. But this will take a LARGE pot. If you go to the servings on the recipe card where it says 8, if you hover over it you can change the amount of servings, move it up to 20 and the recipe will automatically change to show you the amounts needed. It’s basically going to triple the recipe. If you have a LARGE stockpot of at least 24 quarts it might all fit in there. But I will expect that you will need at least 2 pots. But it’s going to be worth it and SO delicious!
This homemade Birria recipe is SO INSANELY GOOD! Seriously – I can’t believe this came out of my own kitchen! Definitely the best thing we ate in 2020 hands down!
I have prepared my recipe very similar to yours but I am certainly trying this one you have a very authentic recipe and from what I have seen so far I am very impressed with your blog, I also have a food blog I am always looking for and searching new blogs love yours. I will let you know my results when I complete this great recipe.
Ernesto` Contreras
Thank you so much Ernesto! I hope you try this one out and let me know how it compares!
I have seen pictures of these all over Facebook and I’m broke so I decided to give this recipe a try. I’m so glad I did it’s amazing I wouldn’t change a darn thing!!! Thank you for the hard work finding this recipe.
My family and I loved this recipe, I have a question though, could I make a chicken biria taco as well, how would that work without it getting dry. I love the beef ones, but some people in my family only eat chicken and fish, do you have a similar recipe using chicken