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Fall-apart tender Beef Birria with guajillo and ancho chiles is a satisfying, hearty, home-cooked meal. You’ll love this flavorful beef served in tacos, burritos, or over rice. It’s juicy, tender, perfectly seasoned, and feeds a crowd!
Have you seen those vids and photos of beef birria tacos floating around the Internet? This latest taco trend is mouthwatering, to say the least. If you’ve never made beef birria, it’s a bold, traditional shredded beef stew flavored with stewed chiles. Originally, it was made with goat meat, but birria de res (aka beef birria) is hugely popular these days, too. This recipe uses easily accessible chuck roast for a homemade birria that’ll have your mouth in party mode.
Why We Love Homemade Beef Birria
Versatile. Not only is birria amazing in tacos, but it’s also fantastic over rice, tucked into warm tortillas, or served just about any other way you can imagine.
Authentic Flavor. Though authentic birria was made with goat meat, you can embrace the bold, traditional flavors of beef birria using accessible ingredients like chuck roast. This recipe brings the authentic taste of Mexican cuisine right to your kitchen.
Crowd-Pleaser. Whether you’re feeding your family or hosting a larger gathering, this beef birria recipe is a guaranteed hit. The juicy, tender and perfectly seasoned beef caters to a variety of tastes and preferences, making it a meal everyone will rave about.
Beef Birria Vs Barbacoa Beef
These two beloved dishes are pretty similar, but a beef barbacoa recipe usually involves smoking or grilling rather than braising, while beef birria is a soupy, slow-cooked braise with plenty of flavorful juices. Another difference is that beef barbacoa may or may not have dried, reconstituted chiles involved, while chiles are a huge part of beef birria, giving the dish its distinctive flavor.
The Ingredients You’ll Need
I absolutely love the spice blend in this birria recipe. The addition of cumin and ginger is so warming and works so well with pungent bay leaves, thyme, and Mexican oregano! Paired with chiles and beef, this is one satisfying dish.
- Dried Chiles: You’ll need some dried guajillo chiles and dried ancho chiles, stems and seeds removed.
- Hot Water: For soaking the chiles.
- Onion: One large onion, cut into quarters. I used a white onion, but any kind is fine.
- Tomato: Quarter a large tomato, as well.
- Garlic: No need to mince or anything – just smash the cloves with the side of your knife, and remove the papery skins.
- Herbs and Spices: Dried thyme, Mexican oregano, cumin, ginger, salt, and pepper. If you don’t have Mexican oregano, marjoram is a good substitute.
- Olive Oil: For browning the beef.
- Chuck Roast: Cut the roast into four large pieces.
- Bay Leaves: To add a subtle depth of flavor and to enhance the overall taste of the dish.
- Beef Broth: I like low-sodium beef broth, but you could use regular beef broth, bone broth, chicken broth, or even water.
- Garnishes: Chopped white onion and fresh cilantro are bold, zesty garnishes!
How to Make Beef Birria
You’ll need a blender to make this recipe, because it starts with a homemade blended chile sauce. From there, you just need to brown the meat on all sides, and let it cook low and slow until tender. Here’s the rundown:
- Make the Chile Sauce: First, you’ll need to soften the dried chiles by soaking them in hot water for about 20 minutes. Next, put half the onion in a blender, along with the tomatoes, garlic, thyme, oregano, cumin, ginger, chiles, and the soaking liquid from the chiles too. Process until you have a smooth sauce.
- Brown the Beef. Heat the olive oil in a heavy pot or Dutch oven, set over medium heat. Sprinkle your chuck roast with salt and pepper, and brown it in the hot oil for about 3 minutes per side.
- Add the Remaining Ingredients and Bring to a Boil. Toss the bay leaves and the remaining onion into the pot with the beef, and pour the chile sauce all over the meat. Add the beef broth, as well. Let all of these ingredients come to a boil.
- Simmer Until Tender. Once the liquid is boiling, turn the heat down so that it’s gently simmering. Cover the pot, and simmer for 1 ½ to 2 hours. Check on the meat every so often and make sure nothing is scorching, adjusting the heat if necessary.
- Finish the Dish. Once the beef is fall-apart tender, transfer it to a large dish or cutting board. Let it rest while you remove the onion and bay leaves from the cooking liquid. Simmer the liquid for about 20 minutes more, until it’s reduced by half. At that point, shred the beef and add it back to the pot.
- Enjoy! Stir the beef and sauce together to coat, and then place in a serving dish. Garnish with onions and cilantro, and serve warm with tortillas or other sides.
Recipe Tips
There are almost as many recipes for beef birria as there are cooks, so you can bet there are tons of ways to tweak this basic recipe. Here are just a few tips for making adjustments.
- Slow Cooker Option: If you like, you can make this recipe until the step where you simmer the beef, and then let it finish in the slow cooker. It should take 2 to 3 hours on High or 5 to 6 hours on Low for the beef to become tender.
- Add Cinnamon: Some birria recipes include cinnamon, which is a wonderful, warm option! If you would like to add cinnamon to yours, start small – I recommend adding ¼ to ½ teaspoon of ground cinnamon to the sauce.
- Spice It Up: Because this recipe uses only guajillo and ancho chiles, it doesn’t have a whole lot of heat. If you’d like to spike it with some spicier chilies, cayenne pepper, or crushed red pepper, go for it!
Serving Suggestions
Beef birria is perfect piled into tacos or layered into a quesadilla. But it can also be a hearty main course with a few simple side dishes like a cornbread casserole and this authentic elote Mexican street corn, which is a gorgeously messy corn-on-the-cob loaded with a creamy topping that includes cilantro, lime, and chile flavors.
A saucy beef dish is fantastic when served over cumin rice or cauliflower rice. I’ve been known to take a piece of naan just to sop up all the sauce. Lastly, no matter how you serve beef birria, make sure you include some fresh restaurant-style salsa on your menu!
How to Store and Reheat the Leftovers
To store leftover birria, place it in a zip-top bag or airtight container, along with the juices. Keep refrigerated until you are ready to reheat and serve. Properly stored, it will keep for 3 to 4 days. You can also freeze it for up to 3 months. Thaw it in the fridge before reheating.
To reheat, place the steak and juices in a covered skillet over low heat. Allow to heat until the meat is completely warmed through, but do not overcook or it may become dry.
More Flavorful Beef Recipes
- Slow Cooker Beef Chili
- Beef Stroganoff
- Pepper Steak Stir Fry Recipe
- Instant Pot Meatloaf
- Slow Cooker Short Ribs
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Beef Birria
Ingredients
- 4 dried guajillo chiles,, stems and seeds removed, and discarded
- 2 dried ancho chiles,, stems and seeds removed, and discarded
- 4 cups hot water
- 1 large white onion,, quartered and divided
- 1 large tomato,, quartered
- 6 cloves garlic,, smashed
- 1 teaspoon dried thyme
- 1 teaspoon dried mexican oregano
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon ground ginger
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 3 pound boneless beef chuck roast,, cut into 4 pieces
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
- 2 bay leaves
- 2 cups low sodium beef broth
- chopped white onion,, for garnish
- chopped fresh cilantro,, for garnish
Instructions
- Combine the chilis and the hot water in a large pot or bowl, and let stand 20 minutes, or until chiles are softened.
- In a blender, combine two quarters of the onion, tomatoes, garlic, thyme, oregano, cumin, ginger, and the chiles and liquid. Process until smooth.
- Meanwhile, heat olive oil in a Dutch oven set over medium heat.
- Season the beef with salt and pepper. Add the beef to the heated oil and brown it on all sides; about 3 to 4 minutes per side.
- Add in the bay leaves and remaining onions. Stir in the blended sauce and add in the beef broth. Bring the mixture to a boil; then, reduce the heat, cover, and simmer for 1-½ to 2 hours, or until meat is fall-apart tender.
- Remove the cooked meat from the pot and transfer it to a cutting board. Remove the onions and bay leaves from the pot, too.
- Continue to simmer the liquid, uncovered, until reduced by half; about 20 to 30 minutes.
- Meanwhile, shred the meat with forks and then stir it back into the pot until well combined.
- Transfer the beef mixture to a serving bowl or a platter and garnish with onions and cilantro.
- Serve in warm tortillas, over rice, or as a filling for tacos, burritos, quesadillas, and more.
Equipment
Notes
- Beef: I only use chuck roast to make this recipe, but it’s important to note that different regions in Mexico all prepare birria in their own way. Some places use beef, others use goat, or even lamb.
- Chile Peppers: The Guajillo and Ancho peppers are mild, so if you want to add some heat, don’t skip the guajillo, but go ahead and add in some cayenne pepper, or even arbol chiles.
- Cinnamon: Birria recipes can include cinnamon, and if you would like to use cinnamon, start small, with about 1/4 teaspoon, and adjust later. Or, you can use a small cinnamon stick, too.
- Using Beef Birria: Use the shredded meat to make tacos, or as a consomme (soup), fill tamales, serve over noodles, serve over rice, etc…
- Make Ahead: Make this recipe up to 3 days ahead of time. Warm it up on the stove and then use the shredded meat in tacos, quesadillas, or as you wish.
Nutrition
Nutritional info is an estimate and provided as courtesy. Values may vary according to the ingredients and tools used. Please use your preferred nutritional calculator for more detailed info.
“let it finish in the slow cooker. It should take 2 to 3 hours on LOW, or 5 to 6 hours on HIGH for the beef to become tender”
I think that you meant to say “high for 2-3 and low for 5-6”?
Yes, you are right. Thank you so much for letting me know! 🙂
To many ingredients that are not typically on hand. Lovely taste but not worth the prep assembly effort.
Home cooking often involves gathering a variety of ingredients to make a meal. I understand it can be a bit of a process, but the delicious, home-cooked results are worth it.
Thank you for your honest feedback. I’m glad you enjoyed the taste, but I understand that the prep and ingredients might be too much. I’ll keep this in mind for future recipes. 🙂
I love all your recipes, they’re great. Can this be made in the instant pot? How many minutes?
Hi! Yes, you can definitely cook it in the IP.
First, follow the recipe’s steps 1 and 2. Then, use the Sauté function to brown the beef and cook the onions, garlic, and spices.
After browning, add the rest of the ingredients (including the blended chiles and broth) to the Instant Pot. Seal the lid and set it to Pressure Cook on High for 45 minutes.
Once the cooking time is up, let the pressure release naturally for about 15 minutes, then do a quick release for any remaining pressure.