Description
Mexican Birria features juicy, fall-apart beef slow-cooked in a smooth sauce made with guajillo, ancho, and árbol chiles, roasted vegetables, broth, vinegar, and warm spices. Serve the tender beef with rich consommé or use it to make crispy birria tacos.
Ingredients
Scale
- 4 pounds beef chuck roast, cut into 3-inch chunks
- 10 dried guajillo chiles, stemmed and seeded
- 5 dried ancho chiles, stemmed and seeded
- 3 dried árbol chiles, stemmed and seeded
- 2 Roma tomatoes
- 1 white onion, quartered
- 6 garlic cloves, unpeeled
- 2 cups low-sodium beef broth
- 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
- 2 teaspoons kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon dried Mexican oregano
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
- 3 bay leaves
- Chopped white onion, for serving
- Fresh cilantro, for serving
- Lime wedges, for serving
Instructions
- Slice the stems from the guajillo, ancho, and árbol chiles. Shake out the seeds and rinse the chiles briefly under cool water.
- Place the dried chiles in a medium saucepan and cover them completely with water. Bring to a gentle simmer and cook for 15 minutes, or until softened.
- While the chiles simmer, place the tomatoes, quartered onion, and unpeeled garlic cloves on a sheet pan. Broil for 4 to 6 minutes, turning once, until lightly charred.
- Remove the garlic skins. Transfer the softened chiles to a high-powered blender and add 1 cup of the chile-soaking water.
- Add the roasted tomatoes, onion, garlic, beef broth, apple cider vinegar, salt, black pepper, cumin, oregano, cloves, cinnamon, and ginger.
- Blend on high for 1 to 2 minutes until the birria sauce becomes completely smooth.
- Place the beef chunks in a 6-quart or larger slow cooker. Pour the birria sauce over the beef and add the bay leaves.
- Turn the beef with tongs until the sauce coats every piece. Cover the slow cooker.
- Cook on low for 8 to 9 hours or on high for 4 to 5 hours, until the beef separates easily with a fork.
- Remove and discard the bay leaves. Transfer the beef to a cutting board and shred it with two forks.
- Return the shredded beef to the slow cooker and stir it into the consommé.
- Cover and let the birria rest in the sauce for 10 minutes.
- Serve in bowls with consommé, chopped onion, cilantro, and lime, or use the beef and broth to prepare birria tacos.
Notes
- Use one árbol chile or omit them for mild birria. Use all three for a stronger kick.
- Taste the chile-soaking water before adding it to the blender. Replace it with plain water when it tastes bitter.
- Sear the beef chunks before slow cooking when you want deeper roasted flavor.
- Strain the blended sauce through a fine-mesh sieve for a silkier consommé.
- Mexican oregano provides the best flavor, but marjoram works as a substitute.
- Store the beef in its consommé in an airtight container for 4 to 5 days in the refrigerator.
- Freeze the birria with enough consommé to cover the meat for up to 3 months.
- For birria tacos, brush corn tortillas with reserved red fat, fill them with beef and melting cheese, and fry until crisp.
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 8 hours 15 minutes
- Category: Main Course
- Method: Slow Cooker
- Cuisine: Mexican
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 serving
- Calories: 514
- Sugar: 12
- Sodium: 902
- Fat: 28
- Saturated Fat: 12
- Unsaturated Fat: 16
- Trans Fat: 2
- Carbohydrates: 22
- Fiber: 8
- Protein: 48
- Cholesterol: 156