Birria Tacos Recipe | Authentic & Delicious

This authentic, from-scratch birria tacos recipe features slow-cooked meat marinated in dried chilies, garlic, and spices, shredded and served on warm corn tortillas with a side of rich, aromatic consomé for dipping.

Birria Tacos Recipe Ingredients

• 3 lbs chuck roast
• 1 lb short ribs
• 2 oz. guajillo chili peppers
• 2 oz. ancho chili peppers
• 7 oz. chipotle peppers in adobo sauce
• 1 large white onion, thinly sliced
• 3 Roma tomatoes, diced
• 3 cloves fresh garlic, finely chopped
• 1/3 cups apple cider vinegar
• 8 cups beef broth
• 1 tbsp smoked paprika
• 1 tbsp ground cayenne pepper
• 1 tbsp ground cumin
• 1/2 tbsp ground cinnamon
• 3 Bay leaves
• salt & pepper, to taste
• beef seasoning (optional, we used Kindred’s Carne Asada)

Birria Tacos Recipe Ingredients

1. Wash and prepare produce; thinly slice onions, dice Roma tomatoes, and finely chop garlic.
2. Quarter the chuck roast into equal sized pieces; generously season pieces of chuck roast and short ribs

Preparing and rehydrating dried guajillo and ancho chilis

3. Remove stems (and seeds, optional) from chili peppers
4. Add peppers to a large sauté pan over medium-high heat; toast peppers for 1-2 minutes, flipping half-way through

5. Remove toasted peppers from pan and set aside; add generous amount of water to the pan and bring to a boil.
6. Add toasted peppers to boiling water, allow peppers to soak in boiling water until softened/rehydrated; about 2-5 minutes; remove and set aside rehydrated peppers; do not discard the chili water (this will be used in later steps).

Searing the beef

7. In a large stock pot over medium-high heat, add enough cooking oil to thinly cover bottom (vegetable oil is recommended, as olive oil may burn). Note that the searing will need to be done in batches (one or two pieces at a time), and more oil will likely need to be added.
8. Once heated, add beef to stock pot and sear all sides of the meat until browned (1-2 minutes per side). Transfer seared chuck roast and short ribs to a plate and set aside.

Creating the consomé for birra tacos recipe

9. Add oil (if needed), tomatoes, and onions to stock pot and cook until browned & softened (3-5 minutes); stir occasionally. Once browned & softened, add garlic and cook until aromatic (about 1-2 minutes).
10. Pour in beef broth to deglaze pot; scraping fond off bottom & sides
    (I had forgotten to purchase beef broth at the store when making this recipe, so I substituted the beef broth by adding beef bouillon cubes to the water that the chilis were rehydrated in; add approximately one cube for every one cup of water – 8 cubes were added to this recipe, and it turned out perfectly).

11. Transfer beef and chilis back into the stock pot and bring to a boil; once at a boil, reduce heat to allow for a simmer. Add seasonings (smoked paprika, ground cumin, ground red cayenne, ground cinnamon, and Bay leaves); mix well. Allow ingredients to simmer for 20 minutes.

12. Carefully remove beef and set aside; using a slotted spoon, remove and transfer chilis, onions, and tomatoes to a food processor.
13. Add chipotle peppers in adobo sauce to the food processor and blend until smooth (if you have an immersion blender, you can blend directly in stock pot). If mixture in food processor seems too thick, add small amount of beef broth (1 tbsp. at a time) and blend until desired consistency (smooth and slightly thick, not runny).

14. Transfer round roast pieces and short ribs back into stock pot and pour sauce from food processor over meat. Cover stock pot and allow to simmer for about 3 hours (or until meat is tender and can be shred with a fork).

15. When there is about 1 hour remaining of cook time, remove about 1 cup of consomé and transfer to a bowl; cover and refrigerate.
16. Carefully remove meat with slotted spoon and tongs, transfer to a large cutting board; shred meat (using two forks seems to work best; meat should easily pull apart). If short ribs were added, use slotted spoon to remove bones from stock pot (there may also be bones on cutting board); discard.

17. Transfer meat to a large bowl (to prevent meat from drying out while preparing tacos, add one spoonful of consomé to bowl).

Assembling the tacos

18. Remove consomé from refrigerator; place a DRY large, non-stick saucepan (or well-seasoned cast iron skillet) over medium heat.

19. Dip tortillas (one by one) in bowl containing refrigerated consomé; ensure entire tortilla is well-coated
20. Carefully add coated tortilla to heated pan, cooking both sides until slightly crisp (1-2 minutes per side); add cheese and meat across middle of tortilla; fold in half using spatula and allow to cook for 1 more minute (flip after 30 seconds to ensure consistent texture on both sides of taco). Repeat process for each taco.
21. Carefully add consomé from stock pot to a bowl that will be used for dipping. Serve with freshly made tacos and enjoy!

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