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This Mexican Birria de Res (beef birria recipe) is loaded with tender and melt-in-your-mouth beef slowly cooked in a rich, spicy and irresistibly delicious broth. It can be enjoyed as a soup garnished with cilantro, diced onions and lime juice or in a corn tortilla for some outrageously delicious birria tacos. It also happens to be gluten-free, Paleo and Whole30 but it’s so flavourful that you’d never guess it.
What is Mexican Birria?
Birria is a rich, flavourful and spicy stew that originated in the state of Jalisco, Mexico. Traditionally, Birria is made with goat or lamb meat but beef has become a popular substitution in recent years. The meat is slowly braised in a spicy and flavourful broth made with dried Mexican chiles, onion, tomato, garlic, ginger, and a blend of herbs and spices, such as cinnamon, cumin, oregano and sometimes clove.
Birria is very often served in a bowl and enjoyed as a soup with fresh garnishes, like chopped cilantro, onion and lime juice. Other times the Birria meat is separated from the consommé or broth, shredded and served in a corn tortilla as a taco with the consommé on the side for dipping. If cheese is added to the taco it is called Quesabirria.
Ingredients You Need for Mexican Birria
- Beef: Traditionally, Birria is made with goat or lamb in Mexico, but beef has become a much more popular alternative in North America. I used a piece of brisket flat for its deep, beefy flavour and tender texture after braising, but you can substitute chuck, short rib, shank or any type of cubed stewing meat.
- Dried Chiles: A combination of chile guajillo, chile ancho and chile de arbol give the Birria a complex, aromatic and nutty spice profile that you just can’t get from pre-ground spices.
- Onion: Charring the onion in a hot and dry skillet is an easy and essential step to developing maximum flavour in the salsa.
- Roma Tomatoes: Just like the onion, you’ll get the best flavour if you char them in a hot and dry skillet first.
- Garlic: As always, measure this ingredient with your heart and don’t let anyone tell you there’s such a thing as too much.
- Ginger: For even more depth of flavour, try charring a small, thumbnail size of ginger root along with the tomato, onion and garlic.
- Herbs and Spices: In addition to the dried chiles, this Mexican Birria is seasoned with dried oregano, ground cumin, cinnamon and bay leaf.
- Apple Cider Vinegar: A splash of ACV will help balance the richness of the beef and add some acidity to the Birria consommé. You can substitute plain distilled vinegar, but I don’t recommend using a red wine vinegar or balsamic vinegar because the flavours will be different.
- Beef Bone Broth: For best results, use a high-quality beef broth to make the consommé. Homemade is best but you can save hours in the kitchen by buying cartons of Kettle & Fire. I actually use both their Beef Bone Broth and their regular Beef Broth. I find this gives a very deep, savoury and delicious beef flavour while also adding extra collagen and protein to the consommé.
Why You’ll Love This Mexican Birria Recipe
- Deeply Flavourful: The blend of traditional Mexican dried chiles, spices, and slow-cooked beef make for a truly delicious and deeply flavourful Birria.
- Versatile: You can enjoy the Birria as a soup in a bowl with consommé, serve it with a side of Mexican Rice or use the meat as a filling for tacos, burritos, quesadillas or sliders.
- Meal Prep Friendly: Make a big batch of Mexican Birria on Sunday and portion it out into containers for the week ahead.
How to Prepare Mexican Birria
1. Prepare the Chiles
- Season the beef with salt and pepper and refrigerate for at least one hour before cooking.
- Toast the dried chiles in a dry pan over medium heat until they become soft and pliable.
- Char the onion, tomatoes, garlic and ginger in a dry pan over medium heat until slightly blackened.
- Place chiles, onion, tomatoes, garlic and ginger in a high-speed blender along with the beef bone broth and blend until smooth.
- Heat the avocado oil in a Dutch oven or heavy-bottomed pot over medium-high heat. Sear the beef on all sides.
- Pour in the chile mixture and add the oregano, cumin, bay leaf, cinnamon stick, apple cider vinegar and additional beef broth.
- Bring the liquid to a simmer, cover the pot with a lid, reduce the heat to low and cook the meat for 3 to 4 hours or until the meat is fall-apart tender.
- Remove brisket, shred with forks, and return to the broth. Serve with finely chopped fresh cilantro, onion, lime wedges, radish and tortillas.
Recipe FAQs
Substitution Ideas?
- Meat Alternatives – Swap brisket for short ribs, chuck roast, shank, cubed stewing meat or lamb shoulder. Ideally, the cut of meat you use will have some fat and connective tissue, which will keep it juicy throughout the low and slow cooking process.
- Broth – Chicken broth works in place of beef broth if needed.
What if I don’t have dried chiles?
The combination of dried Mexican chiles is really what makes the flavour of this birria so special so I would first encourage you to find them locally or online. However, if you still can’t get your hands on them, you can substitute with dried chili powder. Just keep in mind the flavours won’t be as deep or complex.
Can I Make Birria Ahead of Time?
Absolutely! In fact, I would say that this Mexican Birria tastes even better the next day so by all means make it ahead of time.
Reheating Tips?
I don’t have a microwave so I reheat leftover Birria in a pot over a medium heat on the stove. If I notice the Birria consommé or broth starts to reduce in volume and become too thick as it reheats, I add a splash of water or beef broth to loosen it back to the consistency of a soup. As the broth starts to come to a simmer you can also taste it and adjust with salt or lime juice as needed.
Serving Suggestions?
- Tacos: Dip tortillas in the birria consommé, fry them lightly, fill with some of the shredded meat and cheese, and serve with extra consommé on the side.
- Soup: Serve the Birria in a bowl with chopped onions, cilantro, and a squeeze of lime.
- Burritos: Wrap the shredded Birria beef in a warm tortilla with cheese, rice and beans.
Can I make this in a Slow Cooker or Instant Pot?
Yes! You can prepare the birria in a slow cooker or the Instant Pot. For the slow cooker, I still recommend you brown the beef in a pan first. I also recommend you toast the dried chiles and char the tomatoes, onions, garlic and ginger before blending them into a purée. It will then take everything 6 to 8 hours on low or 4 to 5 hours on high to cook in the slow cooker.
If using the Instant Pot, follow all of the same steps outlined in the recipe and cook the beef in the broth for around 1 hour on high pressure with a natural pressure release. The broth will most likely be very watery because of the trapped steam. To develop more flavour, you can simmer the broth and let it reduce a little in volume to concentrate the flavours.
Can I Make the Birria Spicier?
I kept this recipe relatively mild with only a few of each dried chile. For extra spice, add extra chiles de árbol, which are the spiciest of the three chiles. You can also add chipotles packed in adobo for a smoky flavour and extra heat.
Alternatively, if you want it more mild, you can use less chiles de arbol.
Mexican Birria de Res – gluten-free
Ingredients
- 1 pound beef brisket, cut into large cubes, substitute chuck roast, bone-in short ribs or beef shank
- Kosher salt and freshly-cracked black pepper, to taste
- 2 chile guajillo
- 2 chile ancho
- 3 chile de arbol
- 4 garlic cloves, peeled and left whole
- 2 roma tomatoes, left whole
- 1 yellow onion, peeled and cut in half
- 1 tablespoon fresh ginger root
- 34 ounces Kettle and Fire Beef Bone Broth
- 2 tablespoons avocado oil, substitute beef tallow
- 32 ounces Kettle and Fire Beef Broth, substitute water
- 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar, substitute white vinegar
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1 small cinnamon stick
- 2 bay leaves
- Finely chopped yellow onion, for garnish
- Finely chopped fresh cilantro, for garnish
- Fresh radish, for serving
- 2 limes, cut into wedges for serving
- 8 corn tortillas, for serving
Instructions
- Place the beef on a tray and evenly season all sides with salt and pepper. Transfer the tray to the refrigerator, uncovered, for one hour to overnight.
- Preheat a dry cast-iron skillet over medium heat. Add the guajillo, ancho and arbol chiles and cook, flipping them every 30 seconds, until they become soft and pliable, around 2 minutes total. Transfer the chiles to a high-speed blender and set aside.
- In the same dry skillet, add the onion, tomatoes, garlic cloves, and ginger root and cook until lightly charred and blackened, around 2 minutes. Flip and char the other sides, around 2 more minutes. Transfer everything to the blender along with the chiles and 34 ounces of beef bone broth. Blend the mixture on high speed until completely smooth and set aside.
- Preheat a 5-quart Dutch oven or stockpot over medium-high heat. Add the avocado oil and heat it until shimmering. Add the beef brisket and cook, undisturbed, until deeply browned, around 5 minutes. Flip and brown the other sides, around 5 more minutes. Pour in the reserved blended chile mixture along with the additional beef broth, apple cider vinegar, oregano, cumin, cinnamon stick, and bay leaves. Bring the liquid to a simmer, cover the pot with a lid, reduce the heat to low and cook, stirring occasionally to prevent burning, until the meat is completely tender, 3 to 4 hours. If the meat is still not tender after 4 hours, continue cooking over low heat, checking on it every 30 minutes.
- Transfer the beef to a bowl and discard the cinnamon stick and bay leaves. Use your hands or two forks to shred the beef into strands. Return the beef to the broth, stir to incorporate, taste for seasoning and adjust with salt as desired.
- Ladle the birria into individual bowls, garnish with diced onion and chopped cilantro and serve with lime wedges, radish and tortillas.
Video
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
About the Author
Hi, i’m Ronny! In 2013, after a lifetime of struggling with my weight and body issues, I rehabilitated my relationship with food, lost over 40 pounds and completely changed my life.
So delicious Mexican birria . Thank you so much for all