Birria tacos are a mouthwatering combination of tender, slow-cooked beef packed into crispy tortillas with melted cheese and onions. Then, just before taking a bite, this wonderful taco is dipped in rich, flavorful broth that takes it to another dimension. These tacos are loaded with authentic Mexican flavors for any taco lover craving something extraordinary!
In the late 80s, I took a month-long road trip with one of my best friends to his parents’ home in Oaxaca, Mexico. Growing up in Southern California, close to the Mexican border, I thought I knew what good Mexican food was. Until that trip with Miguel. Spanning 4,186 round-trip miles, that trip turned into a journey of culinary discovery. From the Carne a la Tampiqueña in Ciudad Juárez and Tacos al Pastor in Mexico City, to the Pozole and Chiles en Nogada in Puebla, each stop introduced me to a new flavor and the authentic tastes of Mexico.
What is Birria de Res con Consomé?
Birria de Res con Consomé is a variation of the traditional Mexican dish birria. Traditional Birria features goat or lamb, but Birria de Res substitutes beef (“res” in Spanish) as the main protein. The beef is slow-cooked in a luscious broth with chili peppers, tomatoes, garlic, and spices, creating incredibly flavorful, remarkably tender and juicy meat. This dish is served with consomé, the rich broth that just happens to be perfect for dipping tacos.
Using Birria de Res to make tacos infuses your tacos with a deep, authentic flavor that’s hard to match with other meats. The tender, juicy Birria is tucked into a corn tortilla that’s been dipped in the flavorful birria broth, then topped with cheese, onions, and cilantro. Fried until perfectly crispy, these tacos offer a true taste of traditional Mexican cuisine.
Ingredients to Make Birria Tacos
The first step to preparing this, or any recipe, is to read and understand the recipe, collect all the necessary equipment, and gather and measure all the ingredients required to make this Birria Tacos recipe. In culinary terms, we call this “Mise en Place,” which means “Everything in its Place.” Prereading the recipe, preparing ingredients, and setting up any needed equipment in advance not only speeds up cooking but also ensures you are familiar with each of the recipe steps, and that all the necessary components of the recipe are within reach and ready for the dish.
Key Ingredients
- Garlic Confit – Garlic confit brings a rich, velvety flavor with a mild sweetness, without the sharpness of raw garlic. The slow-cooked cloves become soft and buttery, adding depth to the Birria tacos. This method enhances the flavors of the chilies, rather than overpowering them.
- Beef Chuck Roast – Chuck Roast is a well-marbled cut of beef, that makes it perfect for slow-cooking.
- Short Ribs – Bone-in short ribs add an extra depth of flavor, thanks to the marrow and rich connective tissues that break down during cooking
- Ancho, Guajillo, and Pasilla Chilies – Ancho, Guajillo, and Pasilla chilies form the backbone of the rich, smoky flavor in Birria tacos. Ancho chilies bring mild heat and deep, fruity undertones, while Guajillo chilies add a subtle tang and bright warmth. Pasilla chilies contribute earthy, bittersweet notes, creating a well-balanced, flavorful base for the tender Birria meat.
- Spices and Vegetables – Roasted white onions offer a sweet, mellow contrast to the luscious richness of the garlic confit. Fresh tomatoes bring bright acidity, balancing the richness of the beef and chilies. Warm, earthy cumin and Mexican oregano enhance the dish, while bay leaves lend a mild, woodsy aroma. Cinnamon and cloves infuse subtle warmth and spice. Together, these ingredients create layers of flavor that elevate the Birria meat to perfection.
How to Make Birria Tacos
How to – Making the Garlic Confit
- You can do this the day you make the Birria Tacos although it takes a couple of hours to making the garlic confit the day before is a good option. If made the day before, store in the refrigerator in a tightly sealed container.
- Clean the garlic and peel the skin off of each clove.
Pro-tip – Using cleaned garlic that you can purchase in the produce department of most grocery stores saves a LOT of time. It’s fresh garlic that’s already cleaned. What’s not to love?
- Place 12 cloves of garlic into an oven safe container – I use a 4-inch ramekin. Cover the garlic with high quality Olive Oil. Place in a preheated 225°F oven. Allow to cook for 2 hours or until the garlic is light brown. Be careful not to boil the garlic.
- When done cooking, remove from the oven and allow to cool. Keep the garlic infused oil to use while searing the meat.
How to – Prepping the Ingredients
- Remove the stems from the tomatoes . . .
- And quarter the onion after removing the skin.
- Then, place the tomatoes and onion into a preheated 400°F oven. Roast for 20 minutes, or until the skins are cracked. When done roasting, remove from the oven and set aside to cool. Once cool, remove the skins from the tomatoes and discard. Set the tomatoes aside.
- While the garlic and tomatoes are roasting, de-stem the chilies and remove the seeds.
- Rehydrate the chilies by placing the cleaned chilies in a medium saucepan and cover with water. Bring just to a boil, then lower the heat to maintain a gentle simmer. The chilies will float so stir occasionally to make sure all of the chilies are submerged. After 15 minutes, remove the pan from the heat and set aside to cool.
- While the chilies are rehydrating, cut the chuck roast into 1-2 inch chunks. Liberally salt the chuck roast and short-ribs.
- Heat a large stockpot over medium-high heat. Add 2 tablespoons of the garlic infused olive oil from the garlic confit. Add chuck roast chunks in a single layer and brown each side. When browned, remove from the pan and set aside.
- Once all of the chuck roast has been browned, repeat with the short ribs.
- Add 2 cups of the beef stock to the stock pot. Scrape the browned bits of beef off of the bottom of the pot and stir into the beef stock. Lower the heat to low and allow to simmer.
How-to – Making the Adobo Paste
- Place the rehydrated chili peppers into a food processor or blender. Add the roasted tomatoes, roasted onion, and the remaining ingredients from the Adobo Paste ingredient list. Add enough beef stock to process, approximately 1/2 – 1 cup. Process until pureed. 2-4 minutes depending upon whether you are using a food processor or blender. (see note #1). Pour the puree into a fine sieve to strain the solid material. You will need to press it through with a large spoon.
How-to – The Birria
- Add the adobo paste into the stock pot. Add the the remainder of the beef stock. Stir to combine.
- Add the chuck roast, short ribs, onion, crushed garlic, and Kosher salt to the stock pot. Give it a quick stir to evenly distribute in the stockpot. Cover and simmer for 4 hours.
- Check the pot every hour or so and spoon the grease off of the top of the broth.
How-to – Making the Tacos
- Transfer most of the broth into a medium sauce pan. Using a pair of kitchen tongs, remove the short rib bones from the stock pot (the meat will be very tender and an easy shake will separate the short rib bones from the meat. Then use a potato masher to shred the short rib and chuck roast chunks.
- Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Dip a corn tortilla into the broth and place in the hot skillet. Top half of the tortilla with a generous amount of the shredded birria and some cheese. Gently fold the other half of the tortilla over to form a taco. Let it cook for about a minute on each side, until the cheese melts and the tortilla is crispy.
- Top with diced onion and chopped cilantro. Serve with a serving of the broth for dipping.
- If you are making more than a couple of tacos, keep them warm in a 175°F oven as you make the additional tacos.
Substitutions
- Substitute Arbol chilies for the Pasilla chilies if you want to bring the heat.
Storing Leftover Birria
Refrigerator – Up to 3-4 days
Storing the leftover birria in an airtight container. If you plan to use it within a few days, storing in the refrigerator is your best option. It will stay fresh for up to 3-4 days when properly sealed. Reheat in the microwave, or in a saucepan on the stovetop.
Freezer – Up to 3 months
For longer storage, you can freeze the leftover birria in an airtight container. Label the container with the date, and store in the freezer for up to three months. When you’re ready to use, simply thaw it in the refrigerator overnight.
Authentic Birria Tacos (Quesabirria Tacos)
Birria Tacos are the ultimate flavor-packed bite! Tender, slow-cooked beef in a rich chili broth, stuffed into crispy tortillas, and topped with fresh cilantro and onions. Dip them in the savory consommé for an extra burst of flavor! Perfect for taco lovers who want something bold and authentic.
#BirriaTacos #TacoTuesday #AuthenticMexicanFood #ComfortFood
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 4 hours
- Total Time: 4 hours 20 minutes
- Yield: 20 tacos 1x
- Category: Entree
- Method: Stovetop
- Cuisine: Mexican
Ingredients
Garlic Confit
- 12 cloves garlic
- 1/2 cup Olive Oil
- 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
Adobo Paste
- 8 dried Ancho chiles – stemmed and seeded
- 6 dried Guajillo chiles – stemmed, seeded, and deveined
- 6 dried Pasilla chiles – stemmed, seeded, and deveined
- 6 garlic cloves (from garlic confit)
- 2–4 Roma tomatoes, depending on size (you want about 8 ounces), roasted and skinned
- 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
- 1 tablespoon whole coriander seeds
- 1 tablespoon Mexican oregano
- 1 tablespoon. whole peppercorns
- 2 teaspoon dried thyme
- 1 teaspoon ground ginger
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 3 whole cloves
- 1/2 cinnamon stick – about 1-1/2 inches (or 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon)
Birria
- 3 pounds chuck roast, cut into 2 inch chunks
- 3 pounds bone-in beef short ribs
- 1 tablespoon Kosher Salt
- 2 tablespoons garlic infused oil (from garlic confit), more as needed to brown the meat
- 5 cups beef stock
- Adobo paste (from above)
- 1 large white onion – peeled and chopped into large chunks
- 6 garlic cloves (from garlic confit), crushed
- 4 bay leaves
Tacos
- 20 corn tortillas
- 8 oz. Oaxaca cheese (or queso asadero) – or other melting cheese (substitute Monterrey Jack if queso asadero is unavailable)
- 1 bunch fresh cilantro, chopped
- 1 white onion – diced
- 4 limes (quartered)
Instructions
Garlic Confit
- Clean the garlic and peel the skin off of each clove.
- Place 12 cloves of garlic into an oven safe container – I use a 4-inch ramekin. Cover the garlic with high quality Olive Oil. Place in a preheated 225°F oven. Allow to cook for 2 hours or until the garlic is light brown. Be careful not to boil the garlic.
- When done cooking, remove from the oven and allow to cool. Keep the garlic infused oil to use while searing the meat.
Prepping the Ingredients
- Preheat the oven to 400°F.
- Remove the stems from the tomatoes and quarter the onion after removing the skin.
- Place the tomatoes and onion into the preheated oven. Roast for 20 minutes, or until the skins are cracked. When done roasting, remove from the oven and set aside to cool. Once cool, remove the skins from the tomatoes and discard. Set the tomatoes aside.
- De-stem the chilies and remove the seeds. Then, rehydrate the chilies by placing the cleaned chilies in a medium saucepan and cover with water. Bring just to a boil, then lower the heat to maintain a gentle simmer. The chilies will float so stir occasionally to make sure all of the chilies are submerged. After 15 minutes, remove the pan from the heat and set aside to cool.
- Cut the chuck roast into 1-2 inch chunks. Liberally salt the chuck roast and short-ribs.
- Heat a large stockpot over medium-high heat. Add 2 tablespoons of the garlic infused olive oil from the garlic confit. Add chuck roast chunks in a single layer and brown each side. When browned, remove from the pan and set aside. Repeat for the short-ribs.
- Add 2 cups of the beef stock to the stock pot. Scrape the browned bits of beef off of the bottom of the pot and stir into the beef stock. Lower the heat to low and allow to simmer.
Making the Adobo Paste
- Place the rehydrated chili peppers into a food processor or blender. Add the roasted tomatoes, roasted onion, and the remaining ingredients from the Adobo Paste ingredient list. Add enough beef stock to process, approximately 1/2 – 1 cup. Process until pureed. 2-4 minutes depending upon whether you are using a food processor or blender. (see note #1). Pour the puree into a fine sieve to strain the solid material. You will need to press it through with a large spoon.
The Birria
- Add the adobo paste into the stock pot. Add the the remainder of the beef stock. Stir to combine.
- Add the chuck roast, short ribs, onion, crushed garlic, and Kosher salt to the stock pot. Give it a quick stir to evenly distribute in the stockpot. Cover and simmer for 4 hours.
- Check the pot every hour or so and spoon the grease off of the top of the broth.
Making the Tacos
- Transfer most of the broth into a medium sauce pan. Using a pair of kitchen tongs, remove the short rib bones from the stock pot (the meat will be very tender and an easy shake will separate the short rib bones from the meat. Then use a potato masher to shred the short rib and chuck roast chunks.
- Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Dip a corn tortilla into the broth and place in the hot skillet. Top half of the tortilla with a generous amount of the shredded birria and some cheese. Gently fold the other half of the tortilla over to form a taco. Let it cook for about a minute on each side, until the cheese melts and the tortilla is crispy.
- Top with diced onion and chopped cilantro. Serve with a serving of the broth for dipping.
- If you are making more than a couple of tacos, keep them warm in a 175°F oven as you make the additional tacos.
Notes
#1 – I prefer using a food processor to make the adobo paste puree. I burned up a medium quality blender a couple of years ago trying to do this. A food processor handles the task with no problem.
