Birria Tacos

The first time I experienced birria was at a baptism celebration for my cousin’s daughter in the Mexican state of Coahuila, about 30 years ago. A large white tent shaded rows and rows of tables with fold-out metal chairs. Over 100 guests showed up ready to dance, laugh, drink, and celebrate with a plateful of my aunt’s famous birra de chivo (goat birria). 

In its traditional form, birria is a Mexican delicacy and a meaty, celebratory stew served during the holidays, at weddings, quinceañeras, and baptisms. It’s also served at afterparties as a hangover cure. The rich broth, made with a medley of dried red chiles, is the star of the dish. 

In recent years, birria has evolved as a culinary fusion of a taco and birria, known as birria tacos, or a quesadilla and birria mash-up known as quesabirrias — often with beef instead of goat. These sloppy street tacos are served with a small bowl of the meat and chile consommé to further drench in. 

The trendy tacos began to take over social media channels about 10 years ago. Many tourists and locals visiting the food trucks of Tijuana in Baja California began publishing mesmerizing clips of sizzling red tacos gooey with cheese. They eventually made their way to the food trucks of the U.S., and are now part of our street food favorites.

Beef birria tacos are messy, mouthwatering, crispy, and irresistible. Make sure you have a large stack of napkins, because you’re going to want to enjoy (or catch!) every drop.

Related Recipe: Tacos Gobernador

Gather ingredients:

The list of ingredients for birria tacos may be a bit lengthy, but you’ll be surprised how easily everything comes together.

Short ribs and beef shank. Birria stew is traditionally made with goat, lamb, or beef, and I made this recipe with beef short ribs and beef shank. They’re readily available and most cooks are familiar with cooking them slowly to tenderness. Birria can certainly be made with other types of beef such as sirloin and beef chuck roast or any type of shredded meat. Prefer white meat? You can make birria tacos with chicken, but watch the prep time, cooking time, and total time because chicken cooks faster.

Red dried chiles. Every cook has their preferred dried red chile combination for their signature birria sauce. For me, guajillo chiles must always be part of the mix. I pair them with at least one other flavorful dried red chile such as pasilla or ancho chiles because guajillos on their own tend to be bitter. If guajillos aren’t available, you can use dried red California or New Mexico chiles. Feel free to add puya chiles or chiles de arbol if you prefer something spicier. Look for dried red chiles in the Hispanic foods aisle at your nearest grocery store and online.

Onions, roma tomatoes, and 7 cloves garlic. These vegetables are the base of the sauce, along with chiles. For the most flavor, make sure your tomatoes are ripe and have deep red color. 

Vinegar. For a tasty tang, this recipe calls for distilled white vinegar. Apple cider vinegar works just as well.

Other seasonings. Salt, black pepper, cumin, thyme, dried Mexican oregano (or regular oregano), cinnamon stick, and bay leaves are my favorite spices for the birria sauce. The combination brings out a smokiness this dish is known for.

Cheese. As soon as you add cheese to this birria tacos recipe, it becomes a quesabirria recipe. Go with any melting cheese such as mozzarella, Monterey jack, munster, or Oaxaca cheese.

Corn tortillas. Because quesabirria tacos are wet and hold a substantial amount of birria, cheese, diced onion, and cilantro, the tortillas must be thick and rustic. If the tortillas you buy are soft and humid out of the packaging, they will fall apart. If needed, lay out single tortillas on a kitchen towel overnight to remove excess moisture. Reheat them on a griddle or a few seconds in a microwave to soften prior to frying them in vegetable oil, adding filling, and soaking them in sauce.

How to make birria tacos sauce

Rich with chiles and seasonings, the consomé is the heart of birria tacos.

Start with the dried chiles. Using kitchen scissors, cut off the stems and shake out the seeds. Cut each dried chile lengthwise and remove any veins and leftover seeds. Then give the chiles a rinse. Rinse chiles and set aside.

Next you’re going to saute diced onion, tomatoes, and garlic in a Dutch oven until soft. Add black pepper, cumin, thyme, oregano, cinnamon, and bay leaves, then the chiles, vinegar, and some water. Cook, stirring occasionally, until chilies break apart easily when pressed with a spoon, about 10 minutes..

Now just transfer the chile mixture to a blender and carefully blend until smooth with the lid slightly ajar and a kitchen towel draped over it to catch any hot splatters.

How to cook meat for birria tacos

Once you’ve pureed the red chile mixture, pour it into the Dutch oven and add 8 cups of water, some salt, and the beef short ribs and beef shank. Simmer until the meat is tender enough to pull from the bones and can easily be separated with 2 forks – this takes about 2 1/2 hours.

Let the meat cool until you can handle it, then discard the bones and chop or shred the meat into small pieces. 

How to assemble birria tacos

This part’s a little messy, but it’s worth it.

To assemble each taco, heat a little of the chile broth at a time in a frying pan. Place a corn tortilla in the broth and heat it on each side until it’s lightly wet and softened but not soggy. Sprinkle the tortilla with a little cheese (if you’re making quesabirria), then top with some shredded beef, a sprinkle of onion, and cilantro. Fold the tortilla over to close. 

When you’ve got a tray of filled tacos, sprinkle them with more onion and cilantro. Serve the birria tacos with radish slices and lime wedges. Ladle the remaining broth into bowls and serve on the side for dunking.

Thanks to social media, these mouthwatering tacos inspired by the original goat stew delicacy from Jalisco, Mexico are trending around the world. Beef simmers to tenderness in a richly seasoned broth, which you use for dipping the tortillas and also serve on the side for dunking the tacos. Be sure to get thick, sturdy yellow corn tortillas so they hold up when dipped. (Or if the tortillas you buy are too thin and soft, lay them out in a single layer on a kitchen towel overnight to dry out a bit, then reheat them on a griddle or a few seconds in a microwave to soften prior to frying.) A combination of smoky dried guajillo and ancho chilies, plus spices, seasons the meat and broth. Going with two kinds of chilies enhances the flavors and decreases any bitterness you might get from using guajillo chilies alone. For quesabirria tacos, simply add a sprinkle of shredded melting cheese when assembling. Look for the dried chilies at well-stocked grocery stores and Latino markets, or buy them…online. 

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Birria Tacos

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• Author: Ericka Sanchez
• Yield: Serves 8

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Description

These beef birria tacos are messy, mouthwatering, crispy, and irresistible. Make sure you have a large stack of napkins, because you’re going to want to enjoy (or catch!) every drop.

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Ingredients

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• 6 dried guajillo chilies (or New Mexico chilies)
• 4 dried ancho chilies (or pasilla chilies)
• 2 small white onions (divided)
• 7 Roma tomatoes (1 1/4 lb. total)
• 2 Tbsp. vegetable oil
• 7 garlic cloves (peeled)
• 1 tsp. black pepper
• 1 tsp. cumin seeds
• 1 tsp. dried thyme
• 1 tsp. dried oregano
• 1 cinnamon stick (3 inches)
• 2 bay leaves
• 2 Tbsp. distilled white vinegar
• 16 cups water (divided)
• 2 tsp. salt (plus up to 2 tsp. more to taste)
• 1 1/2 lb. beef short ribs (with bones)
• 2 lb. beef shank (bone-in, or 1 1/2 lb. if boneless)
• 16 corn tortillas (yellow, thick and rustic, 5-6 inches wide, such as La Fe brand; or use handmade-style corn tortillas with corn and wheat, such as Maria and Ricardo’s)
• 2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese (or Monterey jack cheese, optional)
• 3/4 cup finely chopped fresh cilantro
• lime wedges (for serving)
• radish slices (for serving)

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Instructions

1. Cut off stems from guajillo and ancho chilies. Cut chilies lengthwise with kitchen scissors. Shake out seeds, pull off veins, and discard. Rinse chilies, then set aside. Coarsely chop enough onion to make 1 cup; set it and remaining onion aside. Quarter the tomatoes.
2. Heat oil in a 6- to 8-qt. pot over medium heat. Add coarsely chopped onion, the tomatoes, and garlic. Cook, stirring often, until vegetables are slightly softened, about 5 minutes.
3. Add black pepper, cumin, thyme, oregano, cinnamon, and bay leaves. Cook, stirring often, until tomatoes begin to break apart and release liquid, about 5 minutes.
4. Add guajillo and ancho chilies, vinegar, and 4 cups water. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to maintain a low boil. Cook, stirring occasionally, until chilies are soft enough to break apart easily when pressed with a spoon, 10-12 minutes. Remove pan from heat. Discard cinnamon stick.
5. Transfer mixture to a blender (in batches, if needed). With lid slightly ajar and a towel over lid to catch any splatters, blend chili mixture until smooth, about 1 minute.
6. Transfer chili mixture back to the 6- to 8-qt. pot. Add remaining 12 cups (3 qt.) water, 2 tsp. salt, and short ribs and beef shank. Cover and bring to a boil over high heat, then reduce heat and simmer until meat pulls from bones and can easily be separated with 2 forks, about 2 1/2 hours.
7. While meat cooks, finely chop remaining onion and set aside.
8. With a slotted spoon, transfer beef to a plate and let stand until cool enough to handle. Cut meat from bones, discard bones, and then chop meat into small pieces. Put meat in a bowl, season to taste with more salt, and set aside. Strain broth through a mesh sieve into another pot. Season to taste with more salt and keep warm over low heat.
9. To assemble tacos, heat a large frying pan over medium heat. (Using a wide pan allows the broth to thicken rapidly and become more of a sauce, which makes a lovely and tasty coating on the tortillas.) Spoon 1/4 cup broth into pan and place a corn tortilla in the broth. Heat tortilla until it’s lightly wet and softened but not soggy, about 20 seconds, then flip it over. Sprinkle tortilla with 2 Tbsp. cheese (if using), then top with 1/4 cup chopped beef, a sprinkle of onion, and cilantro. Fold tortilla over taco to close.
10. Using a wide spatula and tongs (preferably with silicone ends), transfer taco to a serving dish, then tent with foil to keep warm. Repeat to make remaining tacos.
11. Sprinkle filled tacos with more onion and cilantro and a squeeze of lime juice. Serve with radish slices and more lime wedges. Ladle broth into bowls and serve on the side for dipping. Freeze extra broth to use as a flavorful base for soup.

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