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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!
With millions of views and counting since 2021, and more than 450 comments this famous Birria de res (Quesabirria tacos) has been the most popular recipe on my website year after year.
I’ve meant to comment on this wonderful recipe and keep forgetting, probably because I’m too busy eating these delicious tacos. Your recipe is spot on, thanks so much for sharing. I’ve made this recipe many times and it never fails to disappear quickly.
These birria tacos are famous. They are possibly the most famous tacos you will find on social media. My feed is filled with images of these tacos with the fried and crispy meat and cheese sticking out the top, being dunked into a deep red consommé.
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, like our Authentic Mexican Birria recipe. But if you want to go the extra few steps and fry up some tacos you will NOT be disappointed.
Why You’ll Love these Cheesy Birria Tacos
- Rich chile sauce made with guajillo chiles
- Slow braised beef until it’s fall apart tender
- Crispy tortillas dipped in flavorful consommé
- Better than restaurant style quesabirria tacos at home!
Key Ingredients
- 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– these are a unique ingredient not in most recipes for birria. Adding the carrots gives a bit of sweetness, color, and helps to thicken the broth.
How to Make Birria at Home
Find the complete recipe card below with measurements and full instructions.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- Serve with consommé: spoon some of the broth into a small bowl, top this with cilantro, onion, a squeeze of lime juice, 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!
Update to Recipe
When I first published this recipe, I blended only the peppers and left the onion, garlic, and carrots in the broth, we loved enjoying those separately. Over time, many readers suggested blending those ingredients into the broth as well for a richer broth. We’ve since started doing the same and have updated the recipe instructions to reflect that change.
Birria Success Tips
1. Strain the peppers if needed to remove bits of skin (if using a high powered blender this step is not necessary).
2. 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, Mozzarella, or Oaxaca cheese.
3. If you have the ability to make the birria the day before, store it in the refrigerator overnight and let the grease harden on the top, it makes it easy to scoop out and use for the tacos.
Birria Taco FAQs
The spicy broth adds extra flavor to the tacos when they are dunked, plus it helps to keep the meat juicy.
The spice level will depend on the chiles that are used in the broth. The guajillo is mild, for more heat add in some chile de arbols.
Yes, you can make birria with chicken. But, the chicken doesn’t have nearly the amount of fat as the beef to get the chile oil for the tortillas. The flavors just aren’t as bold.
Corn tortillas are best. My preference is to use white corn tortillas since they are mild in corn flavoring. This allows the flavor of the chile oil to come through in the tortillas. Flour tortillas will not crisp up the same as the corn tortillas.
Birria and barbacoa are both slow cooked, tender meats, but they’re not quite the same thing. Birria is braised in a rich chile-based sauce and served with its flavorful consommé for dipping, while barbacoa is typically cooked more simply, and focuses on the natural flavor of the meat without that signature broth. Check out our Barbacoa recipe post for more information.
Storage & Reheating
- Storage– Let the birria cool, then store the meat and consommé separately in airtight containers for up to 4–5 days.
- Freezing- Freeze the meat and consommé together or separately for up to 2–3 months.
- Reheating- Warm the meat in the consommé for the best flavor and texture. Reheat on the stovetop over medium heat or in the microwave in short increments, stirring as needed.
- Tacos- For tacos, reheat the meat first, then dip tortillas in the consommé and crisp in a skillet with cheese and filling. Reheat already assembled tacos in a skillet to crisp them back up.
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Birria Tacos (Quesabirria 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
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!)7-8 cups hot water, 4 lbs chuck roast, 2 lbs short ribs (bone in), 1 large white onion, 1 garlic bulb, 1 carrot, 5 bay leaves, 8 guajillo chiles
- Add Seasonings: Add chicken bouillon, oregano, cumin and salt, stir to combine. Bring to a boil.3 tbsp chicken boullion, 1-2 tsp chili powder, 1 tsp mexican oregano, 1 tsp ground cumin, 1 tsp salt
- 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
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Photography done by KJandCompany.co
Recipe first published January 8, 2021. Updated February 12, 2024, and March 18, 2026.
Hi I’m wondering if I could blend the carrots and onions in with the peppers?
Absolutely! That’s a great use for them.
I made this for Sunday dinner and it was a hit with all three kids and my wife! I made tacos for the boys and my wife and I. And I made ramen for my daughter and poured the the broth with some of the beef over it and she loved it. I will be making this again.
Question – have you or anyone browned the meet first, then all the other ingredients and pour in the water/beef broth?
I did since I cook a lot and that seemed appropriate. I also browned the onions and carrots.
What if you just want to make it in the oven? What temp? Covered?
If I’m using Better than Bouillon, how much should I sub?
It would actually come to the same amount from what I saw on their conversion calculator: https://www.betterthanbouillon.com/recipes-tips/conversion-calculator/
This recipe is a GOLD MINE! I replaced all the beef with 6 lbs of bone in chicken thighs. My family asked me to keep making it for about a week. Thank you for sharing.
Thank you for sharing that you tried this with chicken and with success. I can’t have beef as I have gallstones. I didn’t want to go through all the effort of trying such a highly rated recipe and be disappointed that I wasted ingredients. Thank you again for sharing your success.
Kudos, House of Yumm!! My daughter made this and it was yummy!
My son was craving birria tacos so decided to try to make it. This recipe came out great. The taste was great. The meat was so tender. Overall, great! But.. lol the stew part.. I’m not sure if I’m putting enough water to the pot or what but when I left it to simmer 2 1/2 hours goes by and the soup was already evaporating. I covered the ingredients with water. Please help me understand so I can make this again the right way lol. It was so good!
Damn delicious, this is! This is a very popular item in my Café. Thank you
Hello, can I cook it using a slow cooker? Will it make any difference? And how long do I have to cook it in a slow cooker? Please respond. Would really love to try this.
This can be done in a large slow cooker. The meat will need to cook on LOW for 6-8 hours until it easily shreds.