This authentic recipe for Birria has the best flavor. Tender, flavorful Mexican beef or lamb stew is spooned into tortillas with melty cheese, pickled onions, avocado and cilantro. Birria can be cooked in a dutch oven, a slow cooker or in an Instant Pot. Video.
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What is Birria?
Birria is a Mexican stew, typically made with beef, lamb or sometimes goat. Tough cuts of meat are cooked long and slow until tender and falling off the bone. Infused with Mexican chilies and spices, the stew can be served in bowls or used as the filling for Birria Tacos, where tortillas are dipped in the flavorful stew juices, stuffed with birria meat, melty cheese, pickled onion and cilantro and fried. A total flavor bomb!
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 stovetop for about 2 1/2 hours. Lastly, you can cook this in your slow cooker for 6-8 hours. Lots of options here friends!
How to Make Birria Tacos | Video
Ingredients in Birria
- Beef or Lamb- Tougher cuts of red stew meat work well here and will tenderize in the flavorful sauce. Beef stew meat, chuck roast, or beef shoulder, lamb leg, lamb shoulder,lamb stew meat or goat meat all work great.
- beef stock (or sub chicken stock)
- Dried Mexican chilies- guajillo chiles or ancho chilies, or Pasilla chilies, chipotles, etc)
- onion and garlic
- diced tomatoes– canned fire-roasted or fresh.
- Mexican Spices: cumin, coriander, oregano, bay leaves, chile powder, chipotle, cinnamon stick
- apple cider vinegar
- Salt and pepper
Serve with tortillas, melty cheese, pickled onions, cilantro and avocado.
How to make Birria:
Heat oil in a dutch oven and saute the onions and garlic.
Add the all the spices, and saute a few minutes.
Then add the tomatoes and their juices.
Season the meat with salt and pepper.
Add the meat to the pot, along with the stock.
Remove the stems and seed of the chilies, and toast them in a dry skillet until they soften and release their oils, about 1- 2 minutes.
Nestle the toasted chilies in the stew, cover tightly and simmer on low heat for 2 1/2 hours, checking every 45 minutes, adding water ( just enough to cover the meat)(Alternatively, Pressure cook on high for 45 minutes.)
Create a tighter seal by placing a thin kitchen towel between the pot and the lid.
When the meat is tender, remove the chilies and blend with 1 cup of broth from the stew.
Blend into a smoother puree.
Pour this back into the Birria.
If serving as a stew in bowls, feel free to add more broth or water to loosen it. Or keep it thick for tacos.
If serving in tacos, shred the flavorful Birria with two forks and place it back into the flavorful juices.
How to make Birria Tacos!
Dip tortillas into the rich Birria broth, then place them onto a greased griddle, flat top, or skillet.
Tip: This will also help to skim some of the fat from the stew itself.
Place the dipped corn tortillas in a hot greased skillet (or griddle or flat top) to crisp them up.
Add melty cheese like queso fresco or Oaxacan string cheese.
Fill with Birra meat.
Top with some Birria stew meat and cilantro, fold the tortilla over and pan-sear each side until crispy and melty. Keep in a warm oven until ready to serve.
Serve Birria Tacos with your favorite toppings- pickled onions, avocado,or this hot sauce. Mexican Slaw would also work! These turned out so incredibly good- the family loved them!
Birria Stew
Birria can also be served in bowls as a stew. Top with cilantro, onions or pickled onions, queso fresco if you like or sour cream and avocado is nice. Crunchy radishes are also a nice touch. The pickled onions really help to cut the richness of the fat here. See recipe notes for removing fat.
Birria FAQS
- What does Birria taste like? Birria is a rich, brothy, flavorful stew, infused with Mexican chilies and tastes slightly spicy, earthy, and full of flavor. The meat is deliciously tender with the perfect amount of heat.
- Is Birria goat meat? Authentic Birria is often made with goat meat in Mexico, but beef or lamb are both good substitutes.
- What is the difference between Birria and Barbacoa? Birria originates from Jalisco Mexico and is meat braised in a flavorful chili-infused sauce. Barbacoa is the traditional Mexican technique of barbequing the meat- typically placed in a hole in the ground over hot stones.
The leftover Birria can be used in enchiladas, tostadas, quesadillas, nachos, or even frozen for another time.
WHAT to Serve with Birria
- Cilantro Lime Rice
- Mexican Pinto Beans
- Mexican Slaw
- Homemade Tortillas
- Mexican Papaya Salad!
- Fresh Tomatillo Salsa
- Pickled Red Onions
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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- 45 Fresh & Tasty Mexican Feast!
- Chicken Carnitas
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Birria
- 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
Description
How to Make Birria ( and Birria Tacos)- a traditional Mexican Stew, that can be made 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 Birria tacos. Great for meal prep and freezes well. This recipe has been simplified and updated- but see notes for the link to the original recipe.
Ingredients
- 1–2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 large onion, diced
- 6 garlic cloves, roughly chopped
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
- 1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
- 1 teaspoon ground pepper
- 1 teaspoon cumin
- 2 teaspoons coriander
- 1 teaspoon chili powder
- 2 teaspoons dried oregano
- 2 bay leaves
- 1 cinnamon stick ( or sub 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon)
- 14-ounce can diced tomatoes, preferably fire-roasted (and juices) or 1 1/2 cups fresh, diced tomatoes
- 3 cups beef stock ( or chicken stock)
- 3 lbs beef stew meat (or lamb or goat) cut into 1 1/2-inch pieces – chuck roast, shoulder, lamb leg, lamb shoulder.
- 4–6 dried chilies- guajillo chiles, pasilla, ancho – see notes.
- 1–3 teaspoons apple cider vinegar, optional
- 1–3 teaspoons honey to taste, optional
- Optional additions: 3-inch piece orange zest, 1-2 chipotle chiles (or 2-3 tablespoons adobo sauce sauce from the can)
Serve with: Tortillas, melty cheese, cilantro, chopped onions or pickled onions, Hot Sauce, avocado, sour cream, and radishes.
Instructions
Birria Stew
- Season meat with salt and pepper and set aside.
- Saute: Heat oil in Instant pot on SAUTE setting, (or large Dutch oven over medium heat) and add onion and garlic, stirring and sauteing until fragrant, tender and golden. Add all the spices, saute 2 minutes, add the bay leaves & tomatoes and their juices and the beef stock. Stir and scrape up any browned bits.
- Add the salted meat and stir.
- Toast the chilies in a dry large skillet over medium-low heat until softened, releasing their oils, about 2 minutes. Nestle into the stew. Add optional orange zest.
- INSTANT POT: Set instant pot to 45 minutes on high pressure. Let it naturally release.
- Dutch Oven: If using a dutch oven, add one more cups of water, cover tightly, and simmer gently on the stovetop, on low heat (or bake in a 350F oven). Check every 45 minutes, adding more water to keep water level just slightly over the meat for roughly 2 – 2 1/2 hours, until meat is tender and falling part.
- SLOW COOKER: You could also place this in a slow cooker on low for 8 hours.
- Once the meat is tender, fish out the chilies, and blend with a cup of the warm broth in a blender until pureed. Return to the pot, stirring it in. Shred the meat with two forks.
- Season: Taste and season, adding a splash of vinegar and honey to taste, and adjust salt and pepper to taste. For more heat blend in chipotle or add more adobo from the can.
Serving Options:
- Make Birria Tacos: Dip tortillas into the rich broth, lightly coating each side and place in a greased skillet, over medium heat, top with cheese, birria stew meat, and any fixings. Fold the over ( like a quesadilla) and pan-sear each side until crispy. Keep warm in the oven until serving.
- BOWL OF STEW: (feel free to thin this out with a little more broth if you prefer) Serve in a bowl, topped with cilantro, radish, cucumber, chopped onion or pickled onion, cotija cheese or sour cream and lime. (Fresh chopped things add good texture.)
Notes
Chilies: 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 attention to heat level.) Add Chipotle for more heat and smoky flavor. If you want a milder stew, I suggest using 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.
To Remove Fat: Make the stew ahead and cool – the fat will solidify at the top and then can be easily removed.
MY ORIGINAL RECIPE: Find it here.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: using beef, and no toppings
- Calories: 392
- Sugar: 9.3 g
- Sodium: 1764.7 mg
- Fat: 12.7 g
- Saturated Fat: 4.5 g
- Carbohydrates: 19.7 g
- Fiber: 5.7 g
- Protein: 52.9 g
- Cholesterol: 151.3 mg
Great recipe, full of flavour. I will add additional chilli’s next time as I do like lots of spice. But this is was perfect for the whole family.
At what point do you add the orange zest?
Stick it in the instant pot before pressure cooking.
I have a huge family so 3lbs will probably feed like 3 of us haha but wanted to see if I tripled it, should I add less of certain things or just triple all the ingredients like you would in baking.
Looking forward to making this for tomorrow! 🙂
I would triple everything. 🙂
Looks like a great recipe! Pretty close to my version. The only thing it’s missing is the pimienta gorda aka allspice. I use three in my recipe. Also, I’ve never used chipotle in mine. My Mexicano husband would think that was muy interesante but I’m going to try that for a little different spin next time. Yum!
P.S. Birria is awesome when made with pork. 😉
I should wait to rate this, but I can tell it’s going to be incredible. I first had Birria at a Mexican Restaurant in San Antonio. Unfortunately now closed. But I would order the Lamb Birria EVERY time I went. Rather than tacos, they served it over rice with chopped raw onion and cilantro. I will give you an update after I make it, but thanks for posting this!
Perfect David!
This was fabulous! Can’t believe my husband I had never heard of birria before this – Used venison stew meat and some sort of sweet pepper that we smoked ourselves instead of the pasilla chile; otherwise followed recipe precisely and served over the lime cilantro rice. WOW! New fall/winter recipe to add to our repertoire – thank you!
Glad you liked this Karen!
Looking forward to trying this recipe but trying to plan out the calories over it, do you happen to have a breakdown of how you got the nutritional info? I put the ingredients into my MFP and results came out different.
Hi Stacy- what type of meat are you using? Can you tell me more about where the discrepancy is? I basically copy and paste the recipe into a nutrition calculator and it spits out the results.
Read through and memorize this recipe because you will need no other! Going on a scavenger hunt to find the right chiles was so worth it. The aromatics, the spices, the dry roasted chiles all play their part in this rich, deep, flavorful sauce. Tried my first birria taco at a food truck and now I can have it whenever I want! Thank you, Sylvia, for bringing these birria tacos into my home!
Awesome Sarah! Glad you liked this!
Hi Sylvia,
You mention to leave the whole cinnamon to the side after toasting. At what point do you add it? Thanks. Juan
Sorry about that, just put it in the instant pot with the tomatoes. 🙂
Any thoughts on a vegetarian substitute?
Jackfruit? Just guessing here, have not tried this. 😉
Mushrooms work great!
i made this recipe about a month ago and it was delicious! initially, i didn’t think 3lbs of protein was much, but it was plenty for 4 people and enough for my husband and i for the next couple of days. easy recipe to follow; it was my first time making tacos without a package mix! the only change i would make for my own taste preference is less cinnamon. next time, i’ll use half a stick. for those making this recipe for the first time, add the cinnamon stick directly into the instant pot and remove after cooking.
there is a taco truck near me that makes fantastic birria tacos (cars lined down the street waiting to order) and my husband said, this recipe has more flavor/spices. thanks for a great recipe!
Great to hear! Glad you liked this!
Been craving birria for a while. Finally made it today and it was delicious! As the recipe says, read through the instructions first.
I’ve been craving this for a while as I see posts of Birria tacos on social media. Finally made it with beef today. Excellent recipe, so delicious.
As the recipe says, read instructions thoroughly first.
Made this last night, didn’t have the right chillies so used what I had and added bit of smoked paprika. It was delicious.
This is my first time making this I forgot to put sugar in it I’m cooking it in my instant pot hope everything come out good
Getting ready to make this for dinner tonight — so excited! I love birria tacos!
I read through the instructions and had 1 question – once you toast the cinnamon sticks with the spices, do you just discard it? Your recipe says to put all the spices other than the cinnamon stick in the blender but doesn’t mention if we add the cinnamon sticks in the instant pot at some point or just discard it. Thanks!
Add it to the Instant Pot, sorry. Will fix.
I am preparing to make this with beef. I’m tempted to use the Insta pot but worried that the slow braiding in the oven would produce a better result? What do you think?
I agree. If you have the time to slow braise in the oven, do it!
I’m not sure what we did wrong here, but the meat was extremely tough (as if it had seized up), it was quite greasy and grossly lacking in flavor. We followed the recipe exactly as written. This is the first and only recipe we have made of yours that we were unhappy with.
Strange. Sorry about that Mary. It sounds undercooked? Can you tell me if you used an Instant pot or stovetop? What type of meat did you use? Was it frozen?
I think it was previously frozen stew meat in the instant pot.
My guess is that it didn’t cook long enough. Maybe pieces too big, I’m not sure.
I immediately thought the pressure valve was released instead of natural release…maybe.
Oh maybe that was it?
I made this and I’m not sure what is really supposed to taste like. I
Mine tasted like Clove &!cinnamon. My meat was bland. What is the real flavor of this suppose to be?
Oh no! I’m sorry. I wonder what could have happened here- it really is not a bland recipe-quite opposite. Did you happen to use the recipe multiplier to make a bigger batch? Do you remember if you seasoned the meat with salt beforehand? Did you blend the sauce ingredients? The clove and cinnamon should only be hints. Something is off, sorry it didnt work for you.
Could you use pork??
I don’t see what not?! should work great!
Fabulous recipe! I have now made it 3 times in 2 weeks and it is such a hit. The family keeps asking for it again.
I have been craving Birria tacos since I first had them from a truck in Jackson Heights, Queens this February. These are killer! Definitely do the multiple kinds of chiles. I needed a some extra water to add to my dutch oven to make it more like a broth, added the stems from my cilantro (tied in twine for easy removal), and seared an oxtail in my dutch oven to add to the rest of the beef for extra collagen. An excellent recipe though, my wife and I both loved it.
Appreciate this! Glad you enjoyed!
So you didn’t actually try it, you just judged the hell out of it based off of what your “ancestors”might do. Interesting! Please enlighten the rest of us with your ancestor’s SUPER AUTHENTIC birria recipe. All hail Maria Valenzuela’s chef ancestors who absolutely know the perfect way to do things. Get a grip.
Anyway, thank you Sylvia for this splendid dish that has made a lot of people happy and satisfied. Please ignore the naysayers who contribute nothing but vitriol.
Is it okay to not use honey?
Yes! But giving it a little sweetness adds nice balance.
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?
Corn is traditional. Flour is not used in Mexico for this kind of tacos.
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.