Viral Birria Tacos-Easy Mexican Recipe

Birria is a Mexican stew traditionally made by slow-cooking goat or lamb in a chilli-based sauce for a few hours. The internet popularized Birria by serving up the cooked birria meat in a taco and frying it up in a bit of the rich red fat from the stew, essentially resembling a quesadilla. Serving the birria tacos or quesabirria alongside the rich stew as a dipping consommé, this internet favorite recipe IS worth the hype!

Which spices to use for the chili sauce?

Traditionally, guajillo, ancho and chipotle chilis are used for the Birria sauce. These chilis are easily available in any grocery store in the spice aisle. All I do is toss them in my Hamilton Beach 8-Cup Stack & Snap Food Processor and puree till smooth. I loved using this processor; it comes with multiple options to chop, slice, dice soft and hard foods and has a safety arm lock that keeps the bowl in place. The locking arm also makes it super easy to carry the processor.

Can Birria be made in the Multicooker?

Birria can absolutely be made in a multi-cooker. In fact, this recipe involves pressure cooking the stew on high for an hour and 15 minutes. The flavor will still be very rich and bold, I promise.

How to coat the Taco in the stew?

1. The fat rendered from the meat will come to the surface once the stew is ready. While the stew is still hot, dip the tortilla into that glistening red-colored fat till it's completely stained orange and pan-fry in a non-stick skillet.
2. Flip once before layering on the meat, onion and cheese or any other toppings that you prefer. Fold and let the quesabirria crisp up on both sides
3. The fat from red meat coagulates when it has cooled down so just heat it up before coating the tortilla. You can also collect the layer of fat in a separate bowl for convenience.
4. If you don't have enough fat, that's okay! You can simply dip the tortilla in the stew but be sure to add some oil to your non-stick skillet because the stew can make the tortilla stick to the pan.
   

Birria Tacos or QuesaBirria

Izzah Khan

Birria is a Mexican stew traditionally made by slow-cooking goat or lamb in a chilli-based sauce for a few hours. The internet favorite Birria Tacos are served with a side of the rich stew as a dip.

4 from 1 vote

Print Recipe

Cook Time 1 hour hr 30 minutes mins

Course Main Course

Cuisine Mexican

Servings 8

Ingredients

  

Chilli Sauce/Marinade

• 2 guajillo chili stem and seeds removed
• 2 ancho chili stem and seeds removed
• 2 teaspoon chipotle in adobo sauce available in a can
• 1 ½ cup beef broth or water

Birria Stew

• 1 lb beef chuck roast or brisket
• 1 teaspoon salt for searing the beef
• ½ teaspoon black pepper for searing the beef
• ½ red or white onion
• 4-5 garlic cloves fine chopped
• 1 teaspoon vinegar
• ½ teaspoon ground cumin
• ¼ teaspoon ground coriander
• ¾ teaspoon salt adjust later
• ¼ teaspoon Mexican oregano optional
• 1 bay leaf
• ½ cup beef broth

Taco Assembly

• flour tortilla corn tortilla is more traditional
• prepared birria meat
• cheese

Instructions

 

• In your Hamilton Beach Stack and Snap food processor or any food processor that you have, puree the chilli sauce/marinade ingredients till smooth. Set aside.
• Next, slice the beef into 4-5 chunks and sprinkle liberally with salt and pepper. Then, sear the beef on a hot pan with a little bit of oil 3-4 mins on each side till it has developed some color. I use my multicooker on "Sauté Mode" but use the pan in which you will be cooking your stew.
• Once seared, remove the meat, and in the same pan, add the chopped onion and garlic and stir for a minute. Then, add vinegar. Instantly the brown bits of flavor left from searing the meat will lift up. Stir for a couple minutes.
• Next, add the meat back into the pan along with the chilli marinade we pureed, the spices listed under Birria Stew (cumin, coriander, salt, oregano, bay leaf) and ½ cup of beef broth. You can add a bit more broth enough till the meat is loose and almost submerged in the liquid.
• Pressure cook with vent sealed on "High" for 55 mins at least and then check to see whether the meat is pull apart tender. I used chuck roast and it took me 1 hour and 15 minutes but if you use a brisket or any other cut of meat, it will take you less time.
• Shred the meat and set aside.
• To assemble tacos, heat a non-stick skillet with a touch of oil. Next, dip a 6" tortilla into the stew (the fat from the stew will come on top so you're essentially be frying up the tacos in the stew fat).
• Fry the taco on one side for a minute or two then flip. On the flipped side, layer on the meat, chopped onion and cheese. Fold the tortilla and let it crisp on both sides.
• Serve up the birria tacos or quesabirria with a side of the stew (consommé) for dipping.