Beef Birria. Rich and flavorful this beef birria is perfect served as a stew topped with onion, cilantro and a squeeze of fresh lime juice. OR chop up the meat and fry up some Quesabirria tacos! These are the most famous TACOS!
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 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 Needed for Homemade Birria:
Some Notes on the Ingredients:
- Short Ribs (Bone-in)– This can be substituted for any cut of meat, 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.
- 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.
Homemade Birria de Res in Step by Step Photos:
- 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.
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!
Best Beef Birria and Birria Tacos
Beef Birria. Rich and flavorful this beef birria is perfect served as a stew topped with onion, cilantro and a squeeze of fresh lime juice. OR chop up the meat and fry up some Quesabirria tacos! These are the most FAMOUS Tacos!
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
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) 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.
- Remove the onion, garlic, carrots, and bay leaves from the broth. (these ingredients were in the broth for flavoring…people are more than welcome to eat and enjoy them, so save them if you want!)
- 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
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Just made this recipe, and while I enjoy the tenderness of the beef, I don’t get any of the onion or garlic flavors coming through. I also don’t get that unctuous mouth feel I’d expect after using nearly a pound of good beef bones with plenty of marrow and cartilage on them. I can see how these tacos would be incredibly savory, but I feel like the recipe could use a bit more salt, and maybe (?) some chipotle peppers in Adobo sauce. From what I understand, that wouldn’t be traditional, but I’m wondering – what exactly is the flavor profile *supposed* to be? I really want to nail down this recipe. Thank you for sharing, and I appreciate any feedback I may receive.
Tried this recipe the other day and it was incredible!!! We adjusted some of the seasonings to our liking and blended the onions, garlic, peppers, and carrots all together to add back to the meat as it cooked. The flavor was phenomenal and we got plenty of compliments!! Definitely saving this recipe for the future and sharing with others as well.
Amazing, they turned out like I would have ordered from a restaurant !! That is all I have to say 🙂
I’ll have to try this! I’m from Mexico live in Texas so Birria for us also has ginger, cinnamon, clove and thyme along with what you’ve listed. I love seeing everyone’s take on birria ❤️
I tried this recipe last night. And OMG it was so good. Amazing my family loves it. I had one problem, The taco kept sticking to the pan. I tried 4x and wasn’t able to make it work.Please let me know the trick in this step. Love love the tacos
What type of pan were you using? If you have issues with sticking, try to use a bit more of the oil to fry the tortillas in.
Has anyone tried this in the pressure cooker to reduce the time? I looooovvvve this recipe, but am so impatient to wait 3 hours.
I made it in the Instant Pot – halfed the recipe because I didn’t want to overload it. Toasted the peppers (used Guajillo and chile japones) in avocado oil, then seared meat. Put everything else in – high pressure for 45 minutes, natural release.
Then blended the veggies, added back to pot and did 15 more minutes. I made them for another day, so broth into fridge to make skimming the fat easier.. Storing the meat separate from the consomme.
I made these tonight. When I went to the store the meat section was pretty slim pickins with no ribe or bone in roasts.. but a whole lot of tomahawk ribeyes on sale. That made for a damn nice set of circumstances I also spent an hour reducing the consomme to concentrate the flavors. Amazing!
Excellent but why dilute flavor with water?
I used 5 cups homemade bone broth, 1 cup wine and 1/2 cup coffee (espresso)
make sure to sear the meat first adds more flavor
I blended 1/2 of onion, small can tomato sauce with 2 garlic cloves with the peppers
I used 5 different kinds of dried peppers also
This recipe is amazing but you add these extra tips and it will be your go to dish when company comes over!
I love that you shared your tweaks…What 5 dried peppers do you use?
I’ve mad this a couple times but used beef stock instead. Just curious as to Why chicken bouillon in a beef recipe?
My wife is Mexican and uses powdered chicken bouillon in practically everything. Doesn’t matter the meat type. It’s just a solid whammy of extra flavors.
This was amazing! I halved the recipe and still had tons of leftovers. We made the Birria into tacos as directed.
Hello! I am pregnant and doing some freezer food prep, I’m wondering what would be the best way to freeze this…
Do you think the tacos would reheat well in the oven, and then the broth reheated on the stovetop?
I would freeze the meat and broth on their own. Then assemble the tacos fresh. I haven’t tried freezing fully assembled tacos and can’t say if the texture would hold up well to freezing and reheating that way.
Do you remove all the meat from the bones as well and discard?
Yes! Get all of the meat and discard the bones after they have been boiled.
Wish I could give this 10 stars! Loved this recipe, super easy just throwing everything together in the dutch oven. I used chipotle in adobo in combination with the guajillo chiles, for more chile flavor.
Everyone loved it- both as birria tacos and as a soup/stew. Would also love this as a posole w/ hominy.
Thanks again for this recipe- it’s life changing and I know i will be using it for a long time.
I made this and absolutely LOVED it! I made it in my Dutch oven and it was perfect. Have you made it in a crock pot and if so – or even if not – do you have any instruction about that? Sometimes it’s easier for me to use my slow cooker!
I use the crockpot! It’s easy. I start on high with the meat and veggies. Remover them after they’ve softened, blend and add back to the crock pot. Cook on low for as long as you desire. I usually cook mine for 8hrs. The meat is always tender and moist!
Hey there! I was wondering if you’ve ever tried to freeze the broth and meat when you have leftovers? I don’t think my girlfriend and I will be able to eat all of this in one sitting, but I refuse to waste something like this!
This is a delicious recipe for birria tacos! I used grass fed beef shanks. So tender and delicious! I added some Chile de Arbol & jalapeño along with the Chile cascavel. I will be making this again! My hubby loved it!
I’m new to using Dutch ovens! Do I cook it on the stove or oven?
This recipe cooks on the stovetop.
Delicious! I have a picky toddler and he even ate the birria. Definitely, making this again. I was just shocked on the amount of flavor the meat had. Such an easy dish to make and i had no left overs.
Looks great! Only have a 6 qt pot wondering if should split the recipe in half and use two pots or if I should use the 6qt Dutch oven and use less water/broth?
You need to make sure you have enough space to completely cover the ingredients with the water/broth. So you may need to cut down the amount of meat and other ingredients you are using to fit into a 6 qt pot.
Can I make this meal in a slow cooker as a stew?
Why not blend the onion and garlic together?
That’s literally what I did. Peeled them and puréed them with the peppers and some of the onions too.
Can you use beef stock instead of chicken bouillon or is the bouillon essential for the flavor?
The bouillon really does add some flavor, if you would prefer to skip this ingredient then you could use chicken stock. Beef stock has a really heavy flavor, but if you prefer that then by all means use it!
How if possible would I do this is the crock pot? Mom of 5! Thank you!!