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Authentic Birria Recipe for Tacos or Stew

Authentic birria delivers a deep red consomé with tender shredded beef and a rich spiced broth. Simmered low and long, it’s served either as tacos dipped in consomé or as stew with lime.
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Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 2 hours
Total Time 2 hours 20 minutes
Servings: 8 servings
Course: Main
Cuisine: Mexican
Calories: 520
Ingredients Equipment Method Notes

Ingredients
  

Beef and broth base
  • 4 lb beef chuck roast Cut into chunks.
  • 8 cup beef broth
  • 2 tbsp tomato paste
  • 2 tbsp apple cider vinegar
  • 2 tbsp olive oil
  • 2 bay leaves
  • 1 cinnamon stick
  • 1 tsp oregano
  • 1 tbsp cumin
  • 0.25 salt and pepper to taste Season at the end; use as needed.
Chile sauce
  • 6 dried guajillo chiles
  • 4 dried ancho chiles
  • 2 dried chipotle chiles
  • 1 onion Halved.
  • 1 head garlic Crushed.
Serving
  • 1 corn tortillas For tacos; diced onion/cilantro/lime for serving.
  • 1 diced onion For serving with tacos.
  • 1 cilantro For serving.
  • 1 lime Wedges for stew; wedges for tacos to finish.

Equipment

  • 1 Dutch oven

Method
 

Toast and soak chiles
  1. Toast dried guajillo chiles, dried ancho chiles, and dried chipotle chiles in a dry skillet over medium heat until fragrant, about 2 minutes, watching closely so they don’t burn.
  2. Soak the toasted chiles in hot water for 10 minutes until softened, then drain well.
Blend and strain chile sauce
  1. Blend the drained chiles with onion, crushed garlic, cumin, oregano, and apple cider vinegar until smooth.
  2. Strain the blended sauce through a fine mesh sieve to remove solids, leaving a silky deep-red chile base.
Simmer the consomé
  1. Heat olive oil in a large pot (Dutch oven) over medium heat, then add the strained chile sauce and cook for 5 minutes, stirring until fragrant.
  2. Add beef broth, tomato paste, bay leaves, and cinnamon stick to the pot and bring to a boil.
  3. Add beef chuck roast chunks and return to a boil, making sure the liquid reaches a steady simmer-ready temperature.
  4. Reduce heat to low and simmer uncovered for 90-120 minutes until the beef is fall-apart tender, then season with salt and pepper to taste.
Serve as tacos or stew
  1. For tacos, shred the tender meat, dip corn tortillas in the consomé briefly, fill with meat, and serve with diced onion and cilantro.
  2. For stew, ladle meat and consomé into bowls and serve with lime wedges.

Notes

Pro tip: strain the chile sauce for a cleaner, deeper-red consomé and skim off excess oil if you want it lighter. Refrigerate leftovers in a covered container for up to 4 days; freeze the cooled consomé and meat for up to 3 months. For a dietary swap, you can use low-sodium beef broth and increase salt at the end only if needed to control sodium.