An authentic recipe for Birria, a flavorful Mexican Stew made with beef, lamb or goat, that can be cooked in an Instant Pot, Dutch Oven or Slow Cooker. Serve as a stew- in a big bowl or make Birria Tacos – the best!
Oh hello Birria! (Pronounced “beer-ya” with a lovely rolling rrrrr.) Turns out Birria, though hailing from Mexico, is all the rage down here in Southern California. And it’s not hard to see why. Tough cuts of meat are cooked until tender and juicy with flavorful chilies and Mexican spices. Traditionally goat is used, but more often here in the states, we see it with lamb or beef.
Using an Instant Pot takes a third of the time and yields the tenderest of meat in about 45 minutes of pressure cooking time. You can also roast this in a dutch oven or simmer on the stove for about 3 hours. Lastly, you can cook this in your slow cooker for 6-8 hours. Lots of options here friends.
Serve Birria up like a stew, topped with all the good stuff (pickled onions, queso fresco, cilantro, avocado) or make Birria Tacos, also super delicious.
It starts with seasoning the meat with salt. A good rule of thumb is 1 teaspoon salt per pound of meat.
Chop one onion and 4-6 garlic cloves.
Birria has the best flavor when you use whole spices and toast them – cumin, coriander, cloves, and cinnamon. But in a pinch ground spices work well too.
You’ll also toast dried chilis, hydrate them in hot broth and blend into a paste for the flavoful broth.
Here I’m cooking everything in an Instant pot– which turned out surprisingly easy and fast! Of course, you can do this on your stovetop, in the oven or in a slow cooker.
After 45 mins of pressure cooking the meat is tender and easily shreddable.
Shred with two forks and place back into the flavorful juices.
From here, you can simply serve as a stew, dividing among bowls. For a brothier soup, add more chicken stock and season with salt to taste.
Top with cilantro, onions or pickled onions, queso fresco if you like or sour cream and avocado is nice. Radishes are also a nice touch.
Now to make the traditional Birria Tacos- dip tortillas right into the flavorful fatty broth at the top, then onto a greased griddle, flat top, or skillet. This will also help to skim some of the fat from the stew itself.
See notes about removing fat.
Flip, then top with melty cheese and some Birria. Both queso fresco or Oaxacan string cheese works great here.
Then top the Birria Tacos with all your favorite fixings.
The leftover Birria can be used in enchiladas, quesadillas, nachos, or even frozen for another time.
Serve Birria with any of the following:
- Cilantro Lime Rice
- Mexican Pinto Beans
- Mexican Slaw
- Tortillas
- Mexican Papaya Salad!
- Fresh Tomatillo Salsa
I hope you enjoy this Birria Recipe as much as we do! Please let me know what you think in the comments below!
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PrintBirria Recipe
How to Make Birria- a traditional Mexican Stew (with Beef, Lamb, or Goat) in an Instant Pot, Dutch Oven (Baked or Stovetop), or in a slow cooker. Serve in a bowl as a hearty stew, or use inside tacos. Great for meal prep and freezes well. Serve with Cilantro Lime Rice and Mexican Pinto Beans
- Prep Time: 30
- Cook Time: 60
- Total Time: 1 hour 30 minutes
- Yield: 8 1x
- Category: Stew, beef, lamb
- Method: Instant Pot, Baked, Slow Cooker
- Cuisine: Mexican
Ingredients
- 3 lbs stew meat (beef, lamb or goat) cut into 1- 2 inch pieces
- 1 tablespoon salt
- pepper to taste
- ——
- 2 cups chicken or beef broth
- 4 dried guajillo chile (see notes)
- 2 dried Pasilla chilies (optional)
- ——-
- 1–2 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 large onion, diced
- 6 garlic cloves, roughly chopped
- 1 14-ounce can diced tomatoes, preferably fire-roasted (and juices) or 1 1/2 cups fresh, diced tomatoes
- 3 tablespoons vinegar (white or apple cider)
- 1 tablespoon dried Oregano(or thyme)
- 2 bay leaves
- optional: 3-inch piece of orange zest ( 1/2 inch wide) use a veggie peeler
Spices
- 1 cinnamon stick (or see notes)
- 6 whole cloves ( or see notes)
- 1 teaspoon cumin seeds
- 2 teaspoon coriander seeds
- 8 peppercorns
- 2 bay leaves
- —
- 1–2 canned chipotle peppers (optional), or 2–3 tablespoons adobo sauce ( from the can)
- 1 tablespoon honey, or sugar
Optional Garnishes: Cilantro, Lime, chopped onions, radishes, cucumber, pickled onions, Hot Sauce, Mexican cheese, avocado, sour cream. Chipotle Mayo, Fresh Tomatillo Salsa
Serve with: Tortillas, Cilantro Lime Rice, Mexican Pinto Beans, Mexican Slaw
Instructions
- Read all the way through before starting. 🙂
- Season meat with salt and pepper and set aside.
- Break dry chilies apart, remove stems and most seeds, and toast them in a dry skillet over medium-low heat until fragrant and slightly darkened (do not burn- they get bitter). Place chilies in a small pot with the chicken broth, bring to a simmer, cover, and let stand 20 minutes turning the heat off, until softened.
- In the same warm skillet, toast any whole spices you are using-cinnamon stick, cloves, cumin, coriander, peppercorns– until it smells amazing- 1-2 minutes. Place all but the cinnamon stick in a blender and pulse a few times, then set this aside ( you’ll add the softened chilies and broth to this blender later).
- In the meantime, heat oil in Instant pot on SAUTE setting, (or large Dutch oven over medium heat) and add onion and garlic, stirring until fragrant and golden. Add tomatoes and their juices, simmer 2-3 minutes until breaking down, then add vinegar and oregano, and scrape up any browned bits (important) using a wood spoon. Turn heat off.
- Add the softened chilies and broth to the blender with the spices plus roughly one cup of the tomato mixture from the Instant Pot (leave the rest of the tomatoes in the instant pot). Place a towel over the blender lid, and hold it firmly down (to prevent a blender explosion!), starting on low, and increasing to high. Turn blender off, and at this point add the canned chipotle peppers. 1-3 peppers will suffice, or for milder, just use the adobo sauce out of the can. Blend till very smooth.
- Pour this flavorful sauce back into the instant pot or Dutch oven and stir.
- Add the bay leaves and salted meat and stir to coat well.
- INSTANT POT: Set instant pot to 45 minutes on high pressure. Let naturally release. Shred the meat using two forks. You can skim the fat if you like, or use it for dipping tortillas, before frying them (traditional).
- Dutch Oven: If using a dutch oven, cover tightly, and either simmer on the stove over medium-low heat, 3 hours or bake in a 350F oven, 3 hours. Check at hour 2, for dryness, adding a little more broth if you think necessary.
- SLOW COOKER: You could also place this in a slow cooker for 6-8 hours.
- Stir in the honey. Taste, adjusting the salt, honey to your liking. Sometimes I’ll add a little more ground cinnamon.
- Serving Options: BOWL OF STEW: you could serve this as a hearty stew ( feel free to thin with a little more broth if you prefer) in a bowl, topped with cilantro, radish, cucumber, chopped onion or pickled onion, cojia cheese or sour cream and lime. (Fresh chopped things add good texture.)
- TACOS: You can use birria as taco filling. Often you’ll see (Food truck versions) the tortillas dipped into the rich broth, before being fried in a skillet, covered in melty cheese (Oaxacan string cheese) then filled with the birria and all the fixins’. Decadent but amazing!
Notes
If cooking in a Dutch oven, preheat oven to 350F
SPICES: sub 1 teaspoon cinnamon (for cinamon stice) and 1/2 teaspoon cloves
Use dry mild chilies like Guajillo and Pasilla Chiles, to add flavor and depth – but not too much heat. (Feel free to use other dried chilies, paying attenting to heat level.) Add Chipotles for more heat and smoky flavor. If you want a milder stew, I suggest use only Guajillos ( like 6). You can always add more spice at the end (cayenne, chili flakes, chipotle powder) if not sure. Using dried chilies really makes this dish.
If you prefer a brothier stew, you can always add more chicken or beef broth at the end of cooking, seasoning with a little more salt.
MEAT: I used a mixture of lamb and beef. Tougher cuts of meat work great here like stew meat. Shoulder, shank, leg, etc. Goat meat is traditional.
FAT: This can be made ahead; cooled – the fat will solidify, and then can be removed more easily if going for a leaner version.
Keywords: Birria Tacos, Birria Recipe, How to Make Birria, Instant Pot Birria, Slow Cooker Birria, Beef Birria, Lamb Birria
This is truly amazing! I grew up on Tex-mex and this is hands down the best taco/quesadilla I’ve ever had. I have three kids- 13, 8, 3 – and all love this recipe. I made it with beef only, and it’s now my go-to show off recipe.
★★★★★
Awwww, great to hear John, thank you!!!
Should you strain the chili’s like you would do for enchilada sauce?
No, do not strain here. They are softened in the broth and this add flavor.:)
No, do not strain here. They are softened in the broth and this adds flavor.:)
Are you using flour tortillas or corn tortillas for dipping in sauce and frying?
★★★★★
I usually use a blend of flour and corn. 🙂 I think corn is traditional?
Absolutely perfect! Ive tried to make birria several times before, and the overall flavor was always a bit bland. The sauce here really makes it. Thanks so much!
★★★★★
thanks so much Chris- very appreciated.