This chef-tested recipe for Mexican Short Rib Tacos features tender, fall-of-the-bone beef short ribs, braised low and slow with dried Mexican chilies, beef stock, and stout. Rich, authentic flavors make these tacos ridiculously satisfying-perfect for a special weekend meal or entertaining.
Why You’ll Love Short Rib Tacos
Oh my goodness, these Mexican short rib tacos are about as satisfying as it gets, and to me, they are the epitome of comfort food. As a chef, I’ve created numerous versions of braised short ribs over the years, but this is one of my all-time favorites because the process is remarkably simple, yet the results taste as if you’ve spent all day in the kitchen. The magic comes from braising the beef low and slow with dried Mexican chilies, which create a rich, earthy depth of flavor. The whole family will love these for taco night!
I love making these on lazy days off, while puttering around the house in pajamas. They require less work than you would imagine, allowing time to lounge and read, fold laundry, or clean out your spice drawer! At home, when it’s just the two of us, I prefer them served up very simply, along with caramelized onions, melty queso fresco cheese, and a little cilantro. The tender meat is sufficiently flavorful. If entertaining, pickled onions and pico de gallo make great side dishes.
Benefits of Braising Short Ribs
Braising is a great technique to master, because it allows you to tenderize tougher cuts of meat, completely transforming them into tender, mouthwatering deliciousness. Another benefit is that these tougher, muscly cuts of beef are generally quite affordable. Braises can be made ahead and actually taste even better the next day. After making these in various ways, hundreds of times in our catering business, here is what I’ve learned.
5 Tips to Successful Braising
- Salt the meat generously.
- Give the meat a deep sear, browning on all sides.
- Season the liquid well to create a flavor-filled braising liquid.
- Create a tight seal on the pot with a tight-fitting lid or 2-3 layers of foil.
- Cook at a low temperature.
Short Rib Taco Ingredients
- Beef short ribs: Use meaty short ribs that are 3 inches tall and about 3-4 pounds. If you can’t find “meaty” short ribs (like the photo above), order from a butcher or substitute a 3-lb beef roast. Use bone-in beef, not boneless short ribs.
- Beef stock: While you can use any type of broth, beef stock enriches the meaty flavor and adds incredible depth.
- Dark beer: Use a stout, porter, dark ale, or brown ale.
- Dried New Mexico chilies: I use milder New Mexico chilies, but this could easily be made with something spicier.
- Garlic cloves and onion: Gives the short ribs savory, aromatic depth. You’ll need an additional yellow onion to make the caramelized onions.
- Spices: Cumin seeds, coriander seeds, cinnamon stick, ground allspice, bay leaves, and Mexican oregano.
- Brown sugar: Adds sweetness, balancing the savory and spicy flavors.
- For assembling: Corn or flour tortillas, fresh cilantro, hot sauce, and queso fresco cheese (optional).
See the recipe card for a complete ingredient list and measurements.
How to Make Short Rib Tacos
1. Brown the short ribs. Preheat the oven to 300°F. Season all sides of the short ribs with salt and black pepper, being especially generous with the salt. Heat oil in a heavy-bottom, large Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Once hot, add the ribs and brown all sides. This process takes time and is important, so be patient! If splattering, you can partially cover with a lid. Aim for a nice, deep color on all sides. Be careful not to overcrowd the pan, working in batches if needed. Once browned, remove and set aside.
2. Sauté aromatics and spices. In the same pot, reduce to medium heat, then add onions and whole garlic, stirring continuously until golden brown, about 3-4 minutes. Add cumin, cinnamon stick, allspice, oregano, and bay leaves, and stir for 1-2 minutes. Add chilies, beer, stock, and brown sugar, and stir. Place the browned short ribs in the liquid with the bone sticking straight up-the liquid should come to the top of the ribs.
3. Bake. Bring the pot to high heat to boil. Cover with a tight lid (or with 2-3 layers of foil) and place in the middle of a hot oven. Bake for 3 hours without opening the lid.
4. Make the caramelized onions. While the short ribs bake, prepare the caramelized onions. Slice a large onion into 1/3-inch thick rings and sauté in a little oil over medium-high heat for 5 minutes, then turn to low heat and sauté until caramelized and golden, about 10 additional minutes.
5. Prepare pico de gallo or pickled radishes (optional). If desired, make the pico de gallo and pickled radishes (or onions).
6. Finish the meat. After 3 hours, the meat will achieve tender perfection. Leave the bone tender meat in the braising liquid until ready to serve.
When ready, remove the ribs and skim the fat from the pot. With a fork or tongs, separate the meat from the bone and remove fatty parts. Taste the meat for salt, adding more as needed. Fish out some of the flavorful chili peppers from the liquid and toss with the meat, along with a few tablespoons of juices. The cumin seeds are good, too! The meat will dry out quickly once removed from the cooking liquid, so if not serving right away, keep the ribs in the liquid.
7. Warm tortillas, assemble, and serve. Top the flour or corn tortillas with cheese and place directly on oven racks inside a 350°F oven until melted.
If not using cheese, you can “grill” the tortillas over a gas flame. Remove, then top with some of the meat, caramelized onions, cilantro, and hot sauce. Serve immediately.
Chef’s Tips
- Select the right meat. It’s important to use beef short ribs that look meaty, thick, and red, about 2-3 inches tall. Remember, all the fat will melt away, so make sure to get a good cut. Call your butcher ahead and ask them to cut for you, the thicker, meatier end of the ribs. If you can’t find “meaty” short ribs, use beef chuck roast instead.
- Salt the meat generously. Generously rub salt and pepper into all sides of the ribs, using a little more salt than you think.
- Be patient when searing the meat. Deeply sear each side of the rib. Don’t crowd the pan, be patient, take your time, and work in batches if you need to. Sear all of the outer edges to keep the juices in, adding deep umami flavor.
- If you don’t own a Dutch oven: When catering for very large groups, the beef is seared in giant heavy-bottom skillets, then placed in large hotel pans along with the braising liquid. I use 3 layers of foil, crimping the edges well, to create the very important seal. I tell you this because, even if you don’t own a Dutch oven, you can still make this dish by improvising a little. After searing in a skillet, use a deep baking dish, or even a large, deep sauté pan or a large pot. Sometimes, foil and a lid are called for… as long as you can create a seal.
Storing Short Ribs
This short ribs recipe tastes even better the next day! Store leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 3-4 days. Store each component separately. You can also freeze the short ribs for up to 3 months. Thaw in the fridge overnight before reheating on the stovetop with a splash of stock or water.
Serving Suggestions
Serve Mexican Short Rib Tacos with any of our Mexican sides and favorite toppings!
- Pico de gallo
- Pickled red onion
- Chipotle pineapple salsa
- Pickled jalapeño peppers
- Mexican Slaw or Mango Cabbage Slaw
- Fermented Hot Sauce
- Mexican Street Corn
- Cilantro Lime Rice
- Guacamole or sliced avocado
- Squeeze of fresh lime juice
- Dollop of sour cream
FAQs
Braising is the best method for cooking short ribs. First, season the short ribs generously with salt, brown on all sides, then cook low and slow in the oven with a flavorful braising liquid.
Let the short ribs rest in the braising liquid until ready to serve, whether 30 minutes or a few hours. Once the short ribs are removed, they will dry out quickly, so it’s best to keep them in the liquid until just before serving.
Beef short ribs are ready when they are fall-off, fork-tender.
In Spanish, “costillas de res” means beef ribs.
More Favorite Mexican Recipes
After you try this Mexican Short Rib Tacos recipe, let us know how it turns out in the comments below. Your review will help other readers, too! Sign up here to join our community and receive our latest recipes and weekly newsletter! xoxo Sylvia
Mexican Short Rib Tacos
- Prep Time: 30 mins
- Cook Time: 3 hours
- Total Time: 3 hours 30 mins
- Yield: 4-6 1x
- Category: Main
- Method: Braised
- Cuisine: Mexican
Description
Slow-braised Mexican Short Rib Tacos- infused with dried chilies, this slow-roasted meat literally falls off the bone.
Ingredients
Beef Shortribs
- 6–8 meaty beef short ribs – 3 inches tall (3–4 lbs) (if you can’t find “meaty” short ribs like in the photos above, either order from a butcher or substitute a 3 lb beef roast)
- kosher salt and pepper to taste
- 2 Tablespoons olive oil
- 4 cups beef stock
- 16 oz dark beer (or sub more stock)
- 5–6 dried Mexican Chilies – Ancho, guajillo, pasilla, or New Mexico chilies (destemmed, seeds removed, crumbled)
- 8 garlic cloves- whole
- 1 large onion- roughly chopped
- 1 tablespoon cumin seed
- 1 tablespoon coriander seed
- 1 cinnamon stick
- 1 tsp allspice
- 2 bay leaves
- 1 tablespoon Mexican oregano
- 2 tablespoons brown sugar
Caramelized onions (or make pickled onions)
- one large onion sliced into 1/3 inch rings
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
Taco Fixings
- Corn or flour Tortillas
- handful Cilantro
- hot sauce
- 1/2 cup queso fresco cheese ( optional)
Instructions
- Pre-heat oven to 300 F
- Generously salt and pepper all sides of the short ribs. (Use more salt than you think) Heat oil in a heavy bottom Dutch oven over medium high heat. When the oil is hot,add the ribs and brown all sides of the ribs – be patient, it takes time and this step is quite important. If splattering, cover partially with a lid. You want a nice deep color on all sides. This is crucial! Be careful not to overcrowd ( you may want to do in batches). Once they are nice and brown, remove and set aside.
- In the same pot, turn heat to down medium and add onions and whole garlic, stirring constantly until golden brown and just tender about 3-4 minutes. Add cumin, cinnamon stick, allspice, oregano and bay leaves, and stir for 1-2 minutes. Add chilies, beer, stock, and brown sugar and give a stir, and place the short ribs in the liquid with the bone sticking strait up. Liquid will just come to the top of the ribs.
- Turn heat to high, bring to a boil. Cover with a tight fitting lid …or with two-three layers of foil, creating a tight seal. Place in the middle of the hot oven and bake for 3 hours, without opening the lid.
- In the mean time, slice one large onion into ⅓ inch thick rings and sauté in a little oil on medium high for 5 minutes, turn heat to low and sauté until caramelized and golden, about 10 more minutes.
- You could also make pico de gallo or pickled radishes ( optional) … see link above.
- After 3 hours, the meat will be fork tender and flavorful. Leave the meat in the braising liquid until ready to serve. When ready, remove ribs from the liquid. Skim the fat, from the pot. Using a fork, or tongs, separate meat from bone and fatty parts and set meat aside. Taste the meat for salt, adding more if necessary. Fish out some of the flavorful chili peppers from the liquid and toss with the meat along with a few tablespoons of the juices left in the pot. The little bits of cumin seed are good too. Remember the meat will dry out quickly once removed from the cooking liquid, so if not serving right away, keep the ribs in the liquid.
- Place cheese on tortillas, then place directly on the racks inside a 350 F oven, until melted. Remove from the oven, and place some of the meat, caramelized onion, cilantro and hot sauce inside the tortilla. Serve.
Notes
Leftovers will keep up to 4 days in the fridge, or can be frozen up to 4 months.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: two tacos
- Calories: 716
- Sugar: 4.7 g
- Sodium: 540.8 mg
- Fat: 15 g
- Saturated Fat: 4.7 g
- Carbohydrates: 100 g
- Fiber: 9.3 g
- Protein: 55.3 g
- Cholesterol: 122.4 mg
Excellent.
wow, these were soooo good. the meat was meltingly tender and had such rich flavor! I haven’t yet had a miss with any of your recipes.
thanks so much Kate- so nice to hear this!
My whole family LOVED these! So easy! And the marinade made the grass fed beef perfectly tender!
Wonderful!
Thank you for this recipe! I’m making it (for the third time) tonight in prep for my friend’s birthday tomorrow! We are all so excited because we know how good it will be. It’s her fav meal of all of my specialties- thanks to your recipe. I looked at lots of methods before embarking the first time – nailed it by choosing this. Happy days.
I picked this recipe because it used beer instead of wine for the braise. I happened to have a few Guiness Stouts in the frig…. The meat was exceptionally tender. Instead of serving in taco form, I made whipped cauliflower.
Simply amazing recipe. I followed it exactly except I used a beef bottom round and it was still delicious!
Perfect Jeff, glad you liked it!
Just. Made. It. Still. Cooking. In. The boven. But. Can’t wait. To. Taste it. ….hope. Come. Up. Flavorfully. And. Good.
I used a sirloin roast and it turned out good. Guinness beer. I might try chipotle peppers next time.
Perfect, sounds good!
Have made this several times and it always turns out excellent!
Hi, I plan on having a taco party this sat. If I want to prep this dish ahead of time so I don’t have to do this on Saturday, what’s the best way to break this down? Brown the meat on Friday then do all other steps on Saturday? I will be using a Dutch oven. Thank you!!
I would also braise the meat ahead if possible…then just reheat in the juices (perhaps removing the fat that cools at the top), on Saturday before your party. You may want to try boneless short ribs to get more meat for a larger group.
thank you, I will give that a try! Much appreciated.
Should the allspice be whole or ground?
either, but ground probably best!
Hi Sylvia,
Your photos are excellent and I just go back from shopping for the ingredients for this recipe. I have my go to supermarket who used to have dried chiles (but of course I didn’t need them at that time – now they no longer carry them- I asked the manager, the produce guy, I looked everywhere but no dried chilies. Went to three other stores after that. So I have a question: Can I substitute (I would taste before adding too much) cayenne pepper instead of the chilies? Second question: I have coriander seeds, but I don’t have cumin seeds. Can I use ground cumin without altering the taste? And if yes, how much ground cumin. I eagerly await your response. Thanks!
Hi Donna! Sorry for the delay! Can you find canned chipotle peppers ( in adobo sauce)? They are usually in the Mexican section of the grocery store. If so use a few peppers and a few tablespoons of the sauce from the can. Using cayenne will give heat but not the depth and smokiness from the other chilies- so may be bland. Ground cumin is totally fine!
Hello, is the tablespoon of coriander seed a typo or does it actually go in? I cant detect any of the seed in your picture but there are certainly many in my dish and i m not quite sure if i should try to fish them out as they are still quite intact after a night in the oven.
Many thanks
Pauline
Hi Pauline, it’s not a typo, they go in. I will add to the recipe that one could crush them slightly, but I usually leave them whole. Does it seem like a lot?
I tried this tonight and the meat came out tender but, pretty bland despite all the spices and browning the beef.
Hey Joey, it sounds like a salt issue to me. Sorry it didn’t work for you- this one is usually pretty flavorful.
Love this recipe!!!! My husband is the cook in our house, but I’ve made this successfully several times. I thought I was very easy to make. One of our favorite dishes!
Ummmm. when do I add the brown sugar?
Sorry, add sugar when you add the stock and beer. I updated the recipe…thanks!
Hi Pat! Yes- you add the chilies when you add the stock and beer. I just fixed the recipe…thanks for pointing it out. Hope you like them!!!
Sylvia,i made your lovely tacos and added an avocado and cilantro sauce to put on them,I bought 31/2 pounds of the ribs which came out to 30.00 and it only came out to 1 cup(at the most) of meat..Did i do something wrong?
I love your site..I am passing it along to every one I know!!! Thank you so much! Ally
Hi Ally, thanks for your feedback. No, I don’t think you did any wrong. Unfortunately sometimes, short ribs, depending on the cut, can end up not having a lot of meat on them after all the fat has melted away. This has happened to me in the past, and it’s really disappointing and Im sorry it happened to you this time. When you pick our ribs, you can actually see how much meat/ bone and fat there is. You want ones that visibly look “meaty”. Packaged Ribs from the grocery store, will often lack in meatiness, so its almost not worth buying those. Now a days , I have my butcher cut for me the thick meaty ends of the ribs, about 2-3 inches tall. If you get a cut like this, you will end up with about ¾ C meat per rib. If you can’t get ribs like this, it’s best to use a roast for the recipe. I should clarify this in the recipe- and again I really appreciate your feedback…I think its really helpful!!
Maravillosa receta..
Un saludo
What can I substitute for beer? No alcohol in our house is allowed. Keeps for a happy home.
R
I’ve been on a taco kick lately and these look and sound heavenly. Definitely making them. I don’t own a crockpot either, I thought I was the only one. Lol. Great post!
Thanks Shereen!
Awesome post .i hope everybody will like your post
Your photos are so beautiful, do you take them all yourself and what sort of camera do you recommend for this sort of photography?
Thanks. I use a Canon 6 D w/ a 50 mm lens.
Gorgeous post… thanks so much for the braising tips… My family will love these tacos!
Oh my husband would love this! your pics and presentation are just gorgeous.
OMG! I am drooling….such beautiful photos – I can almost taste them!