These rich, flavorful beef birria tacos combine tender beef birria (cooked with a stove, crockpot, oven, or Instant Pot) with cheese, onion, & cilantro in crispy tortillas alongside dipping consommé for a truly show-stopping meal!
Trim the ends of the chilies and de-seed them. If you cut off the top with kitchen shears, the seeds should fall out).
Roughly chop the meat into smaller pieces to fit a large saucepan or Dutch oven.For extra flavor, toast the coriander seeds and peppercorns in the pot first until fragrant (2-3 minutes).
Chop the carrot into 2-3 pieces, peel and cut the onion in half, and peel the garlic.
Add them to the saucepan with all the spices and broth.
Bring the mixture to a gentle boil, then reduce to a simmer and cook for 3-4 hours, or until the meat is tender, stirring occasionally.If you cut the meat into bite-sized pieces, it can become tender in as little as 2 hours. However, it could take up to 6 hours if it's in very large pieces.Check the notes below for alternative cooking methods.
Make the Birria Taco Sauce
About 30 minutes into cooking the birria meat, char the tomatoes over an open flame (or under a broiler) until blackened all over. Leave them to cool until manageable, then peel their skins.
Using a slotted spoon, remove the onion, carrot, garlic, and chilies from the pan and transfer them to a blender or food processor along with the tomatoes and a few tablespoons of the stew broth.
Blend until smooth, pour back into the saucepan, stir, and cook until the meat is tender.
Towards the end of the cooking time, prepare the taco toppings by chopping the onion, cilantro, and lime, and shredding the cheese.
Shred the Simmered Meat
When tender, remove the meat from the pan and remove any fatty bits from it.
Use two forks to shred the meat.
Dip the Tortillas in the Birria Sauce
Dip the tortillas directly into the top layer of fat in the stew pot OR skim the fat into a wide bowl first. Also, sieve the stew to remove the spices and bay leaves.
Working one at a time, dip the corn tortillas into the reserved fat and fry them in a pre-heated skillet over medium for about 20 seconds per side.
Assemble and Fry the Birria Tacos
To assemble the birria queso tacos, place some cheese, beef, onion, and cilantro into each tortilla, and fold them in two.
Transfer them back to the pan (1-2 at a time) and press with a spatula to fry on both sides until crisp and golden. Repeat with the remaining tacos.
Once ready, serve the tacos with consommé and lime wedges, and enjoy!If you need to keep the tacos warm until serving, spread them on a baking tray in the oven at 250ºF/120ºC.
Storage Instructions
It's best to store the beef birria and tortillas/taco toppings separately in covered containers in the refrigerator for 3-4 days (or freeze the birria meat for up to 3 months).
Notes
Don't rush the process: Allowing the stew to cook low and slow leads to melt-in-the-mouth meat and a TON of depth and layers upon layers of flavor.
Don't discard leftover birria broth: Along with serving as a consommé, this beef broth (especially when made with bones) has several health benefits and can be drunk.
For more flavor: Sear the beef on all sides before stewing it.
For a thinner consommé: You don’t have to blend the onion and carrot or use tomatoes.
To make ahead: For less prep on the day, prepare the birria base with the blended veg up to 3 days in advance. When ready, add the beef (seared or raw) and cook.
To avoid soggy tacos: Only lightly dip the tortillas in the fat. Too much liquid, or a pan that's not hot enough, leads to soggy, greasy tacos.
Swap the meat: You can use goat instead. Chicken also works (cooked for just 30-40 minutes in the sauce until tender. Omit the tomatoes).
Alternative Cooking Methods: For other cooking methods, I recommend toasting the spices and chiles for 1-2 minutes until fragrant, then adding the broth and veg to cook until they’re tender. Blend the mixture (minus the spices), and only then add the meat (optionally seared) and:
Oven: Use a Dutch Oven, cover it with a lid, and cook at 200ºF/95C for 5-6 hours.
Slow cooker: Cook on LOW for 8-10 hours or HIGH for 3-4 hours.
Instant Pot birria tacos: Add the ingredients to an Instant Pot (including the prepared, blended tomatoes) and cook on manual HIGH pressure for 50 minutes, allowing it to naturally release before removing the lid.
How to use leftover beef birria:
As a Mexican beef stew (Birria de Res) alongside tortillas or bread,
Birraquiles - like birria nachos: layer tortilla chips with birria, cheese, & consommé,
Birria tostadas - dip in the grease, fry, & top with beef, cheese, & garnishes,